The Lindquist Family Bien Nacido Chardonnay 2020 is sourced from a single block (Block L) of the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard located inside the Santa Maria AVA which is part of the Santa Barbara AVA in California’s Central Coast AVA. Bien Nacido Vineyard has been called one of the best 5 vineyards in California, the…
Read More
The Sea Sun California Chardonnay 2021 is sourced from three AVAs, 52% Monterey, 3% San Benito County (inside the Central Coast AVA), and 45% Soldano County, (southeast of Napa inside the North Coast AVA). Sea Sun is one of the brands from the Wagner Family (Caymus) with a history in California dating back to the…
Read More
The Red Cloak Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir 2021 is an $11.99 Aldi exclusive made for them by a winery located in Greenfield, California (Monterey County). Arroyo Seco translates to dry creek, (there is also a Dry Creek AVA in Sonoma). It is part of the Salinas River Valley which runs north/south along the Pacific Coast….
Read More
The Zombie Zin is a non-vintage wine that is 95% Zinfandel and 5% Syrah sourced from vineyards in several locations in California. Zombie is a brand from Chateau Diana a family-owned and operated winery started in 1981 and is located in Sonoma. Zombie Zin may be a brand that was produced to take advantage of…
Read More
The Dearly Beloved I The Red 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in California’s Central Coast AVA. There are 3 wines in the Dearly Beloved line, another Red with a different blend of grapes from California and a North Coast Chardonnay. These wines are made by Precept Wine, the largest privately…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2021 is a Trader Joe’s limited release exclusive. It is produced for Trader Joe’s by the Miller Family Wine Company which also makes Trader Joe’s Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc, also from Paso Robles grapes. The Miller Family Wine Company also owns the Central Coast Wine Warehouse…
Read More
The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a $13.99 Aldi wine exclusive. The Exquisite Collection is essentially Aldi’s version of the Trader Joe’s Reserve wines. Wines from the high-end growing regions at a bargain price. Paso Robles is located inside California’s Central Coast AVA and is halfway between Los Angeles and San Fransico….
Read More
The Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 is one of the new “fitness” wines with zero sugar, 85 calories, 9% alcohol content, gluten-free, and sustainably farmed. This is one of the brands from Scheid Family Vineyards from the Monterey AVA on the Central Coast of California. This Chardonnay is sourced from Scheid’s sustainably…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Santa Lucia Highlands is situated in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, a coastal range located near Big Sur and the Monterey Bay inside the Monterey AVA of California’s Central Coast AVA. The Santa Lucia Highlands is a…
Read More
The Outlander Meritage Red 2019 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles, California. This wine was produced by Coppola Winery from Sonoma California and was purchased the last year by Delicato Family Vineyards, headquartered in Lodi. A Meritage Red blend is a California wine that uses the approved grapes of the…
Read More
The Scarlet Path Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2020 is an $8.99 Aldi exclusive, it used to be $7.99, but things cost more now. This wine is made for Aldi by a wine company in Greenfield, California, inside the Monterey AVA in the Central Coast AVA. A family-owned winery in Greenfield produces many of the California…
Read More
The Angeline California Pinot Noir 2020 is the second brand of wine from the Martin Ray Winery of the Russian River AVA in Sonoma. While the Martin Ray brand wines are expressions of the AVA or a single vineyard or two, the Angeline wines are more about the varietal. Martin Ray Winery was originally in…
Read More
The Coppola Diamond Collection Chardonnay 2019 is sourced from grapes grown in coastal vineyards. It may be confusing but there seem to be three Diamond Collection Chardonnays, a black-label Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, a Monterey Chardonnay, and a California Chardonnay. The last two both have an orange label. This Chardonnay lists for $16 on the Coppola…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2020 Lot 229 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Sta. Rita Hills AVA (pronounced Santa Rita Hills) is located inside the Santa Ynez Valley AVA which is inside the Santa Barbara County AVA which is part of the Central Coast AVA. It is called the…
Read More
The Wonderwall Edna Valley Pinot Noir 2019 is sourced from three vineyards, Morro View, Greengate, and Jesperson, in the Edna Valley AVA just north of the town of Arroyo Grande, a few miles away from the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast AVA. Wonderwall is a brand from Andrew Jones of the Field Recordings WInery….
Read More
The Lazy Bones Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2020 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It has been $6.99 for years we first reviewed the 2013 vintage, here s a link. This Red was produced by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse back then. Today the producer on the back label is Miller Family Wine Company. It…
Read More
The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by Miller Family Wine Company. The Caretaker brand has been available at Trader Joe’s since at least the 2009 vintage when CWF reviewed their Pinot Noir. In the past, the Caretaker wines had the Central Coast Wine Warehouse as the…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Paso Robles Syrah 2019 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Most of these Trader Joe’s Reserve wines are one-offs. Wines that disappear after the run sells out, but this wine, Lot 100, has been offered since the 2013 vintage. The back label says this Syrah was produced by Familia Neuva Vineyards,…
Read More
The William Wright Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive, produced for them by Scheid Vineyards located in Greenfield, Monterey County in the California Central Coast AVA. Scheid is a large family-owned winery and this wine does show up in their portfolio on their website. The back label says “This classic Chardonnay was sourced…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Paso Robles Organic Zinfandel 2020 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a wine that seems to be available every year, most Trader Joe’s Reserve wines are one-off wines. TJ’s does not offer information concerning the vineyard selection or the production techniques but there are details that we can…
Read More
The Mon Fére Chardonnay 2018 is a brand and winery from Taub Family Selections, which are mainly importers but have their own vineyards and wineries. They have a very extensive portfolio of wines. This Chardonnay is sourced from grapes grown in Mendocino, Monterey, and Lodi. That is a textbook example of why the Chardonnay shows…
Read More
The Paso Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes farmed in the Paso Robles AVA inside the larger Central Coast AVA. The Paso Dragon name comes from Lake Nacimiento, which shoreline does resemble a dragon. Check out the label for an artistic representation. I found a website that exports…
Read More
Sobon Estates Old Vine Amador County Zinfandel 2019-A Delicious Value Zin A tasty Zinfandel from the gold rush country! California is a treasure trove of excellent Zinfandel regions. Lodi, Sonoma, Central Coast, Napa, and Amador County offer excellent and individual takes on ZInfandel wine. I say, explore them all. Check out www.cheapwinefinder and listen to…
Read More
The Meiomi California Pinot Noir NV is a very popular wine. In 2015, Constellation Brands purchased the Meiomi brand from Joe Wagner of the Wagner family of Caymus fame for $315,000,000. At the time, Meiomi was selling 600,000 cases of Pinot Noir per year, that is, over 7 million bottles. From what I have read,…
Read More
The Upper Eden Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2019 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive wine made for them by an independent specialty wine brand producer located in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA of Monterey County in California’s Central Coast. The vineyards sit in the highlands or benchlands of the Santa Lucia Mountains with elevations…
Read More