The Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s for $12.99, which may be slightly higher than other wine sellers. Harken is a brand from O’Neill Wines. The Story The main point of interest for the Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is the barrel fermentation. Both the initial fermentation and…
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The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $19.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label informs us that this wine was cellared and bottled by Isolated Cellars of Napa, California. The Story Cellared and bottled by means just that. They didn’t have a hand in the farming of the grapes or the…
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Send us Fan Mail Aldi's Mark Hill Pinot Noir 2023 This is a $7.89 California Pinot Noir. It is a little spicy for me, but a cheese plate or some munchees will balance it out. A very sippable, very inexpensive Pinot Noir if you prepare properly. Check us out at http://www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at…
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The Aldi’s Mark Hill Pinot Noir 2023 is a $7.89 exclusive to Aldi. This is a wine made from some entity of Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits. The Story The 2023 vintage has a new label; the previous vintages had labels reminiscent of Mark West Pinot Noir. The Mark West Pinot Noir (E&J Gallo) had…
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The Momentum Legacy Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $14.99 wine sold at Trader Joe’s. It was bottled by Momentum Wines in Napa, California. The Story Momentum Wines is part of the Fior di Sole winery, which is located along the Silverado Trail east of Route 29 in Napa Valley. It is interesting that the…
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Send us Fan Mail Mumm Sparkling Brut Prestige (2025) GH Mumm has been in Champagne for almost 200 years, and Mumm has been in California for over 50 years. That kind of Sparkling wine know-how is hard to find. Mumm's style is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with the Pinot slightly in the…
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The Mumm Sparkling Brut Prestige (2025) is a wine I found on sale, selling for $8.99. GH Mumm has been a French Champagne House since 1827 and has had a California outpost since the 1970s. The Story Mumm has been in Napa and Sonoma for 50 years. Their Estate vineyard is located in Carneros, where…
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The Stringtown Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023 is a wine I found selling for $13.99; the typical price is more toward $20. The Story The wine industry had declining sales in 2024 and 2025. I read that 40,000 acres of vines have been pulled up in California. There is a surplus of wine, and prices…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé (2025) is a $9.99 wine available year-round. It is produced by Rack and Riddle for Trader Joe’s. The Story The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé (2025) is a Sparkling wine that has been available at Trader Joe’s for the last couple of years. We reviewed…
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The Peaks & Tides Sonoma County Chardonnay 2023 is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive. This wine was previously sourced from the Sonoma Coast. The Story Aldi typically owns the brand names of their wines and then contracts with a winery to make the wine. The Sonoma Coast version of this wine was made by Delicato (Gnarly…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 2023 is a $9.99 wine from Trader Joe’s. The back label indicates that it was produced and bottled by Barrel 29 Wine Company, which had previously been a label of McPrice Myers Winery, also located in Paso Robles. The Story The Barrel 27 brand was founded in 2002…
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The Sonoma Grove Zinfandel 2022 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s, selling for $7.99. It is wine from the Navigator Wine Collection, which, up until recently, was known as Precision Wine Company. They have made many wines for Costco and Trader Joe’s. The Story The label says the grapes are sourced from Sonoma…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Brut Rosé is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle, located in Healdsburg, California. The Story The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Rosé Brut is made entirely from 100% Pinot Noir. If this wine were not a Rosé, it would…
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Send us Fan Mail This Chardonnay started as a restaurant-only wine, but its popularity caused the winery to offer it to retail wine shops. It quickly became the #1 wine in its price point. The reason is that it is an excellent half-California, half-Burgundian Chardonnay. Balance with flavor. Not that French Chardonnay does not taste…
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The Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found on sale for $15.99; it typically sells for $20 or more. The Sonoma-Cutrer winery is part of the Duckhorn family of wines. The Story The Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2023 is their “entry-level” Chardonnay. It is 100% Chardonnay sourced from 4 sustainably farmed estate…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Blanc De Blancs is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It was produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle of Healdsburg, California. The Story Rack and Riddle is a large custom Sparkling wine producer serving California. They produce both the Traditional Method (think Champagne) and the Charmat Method (Prosecco)….
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The Freakshow Lodi Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found at a local grocery store for $15. This wine is from Michael David Winery of Lodi, California. The Story Michael and David are brothers, and Phillips is the family name. They are fifth-generation grape growers. The family has farmed the land since the 1860s and…
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Send us Fan Mail A $12.99 Chardonnay from Willamette Valley that actually overdelivers? We pop the cork on Willa Creek 2023 and trace the bigger story behind Oregon’s quiet Chardonnay comeback. For years the region leaned on California clones that struggled to ripen in cooler sites, yielding lean, austere wines. The switch to Dijon clones—and…
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The Willia Creek Willamette Chardonnay 2023 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s wine. The Willia Creek Cellars trademark is held by Precept Wine & Spirits. The Story The back label shows this Chardonnay was ” produced and bottled by” Willia Creek Cellars of Dundee, Oregon. Produced and bottled by indicates the aforementioned winery may not have…
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Send us Fan Mail A $7.99 French Pinot Noir that’s organic, carbon neutral, and made by a B-Corp shouldn’t be this easy to drink—and yet here we are. We pull the cork on Florility French Organic Pinot Noir 2024 from Aldi and get honest about what’s in the glass, what’s on the label, and what…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail A skull on the label and real structure in the glass—this $7.99 Trader Joe’s classic surprised us in the best way. We uncork Dearly Beloved I The Red 2023 and follow the clues: who makes it now, why the blend works, and how Lodi’s delta breezes turn a hot inland zone…
Read MoreThe Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2023 is a $7.99 exclusive at Trader Joe’s. This wine has been produced since at least the 2009 vintage, with several different producers involved. It was a Central Coast AVA for most of its existence, but the last few vintages have been from the Lodi AVA. The Story Over…
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Send us Fan Mail Check us out at http://www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at [email protected] Kicking Off Halloween Wines SPEAKER_00 0:04 Hey welcome. It's still mine Dave again, uh cheapwinefinder.com. This is the first of our uh Halloween wines. A little early, but eh. Not too early enough to start planning. This is for Halloween parties,…
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The 19 Crimes The Mummy Hard Chard is a limited edition wine I found at Target, priced at $11.99. 19 Crimes is a brand owned by Treasury Wine Estates, an Australian company. In 2021, they reached sales of 5,000,000 cases globally, equivalent to 60,000,000 bottles sold annually. The Story The 19 Crimes The Mummy Hard…
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Send us Fan Mail A single sip of Wente Morning Fog Central Coast Chardonnay 2023 tells a bigger story—one about a 140-year family legacy, a game-changing clone, and the craft behind a clean, vanilla-tinged style that wins without the heavy butter. We open the bottle and trace Wente’s roots in Livermore, where the family helped…
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