The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced for them by the Miller Family Wine Company. The Miller Family has farmed in the Central Coast since 1871 and started their winery in 1973. They own the Central Coast Wine Warehouse, a specialty wine producer, that seemed…
Read More
The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is a wine that should be found selling for between $10 and $15. This brand from Pernod Ricard recently sold off their value-priced portfolio but kept Kenwood Vineyards. Kenwood Vineyards is a 160-year-old winery located in Sonoma that seems to be well worth visiting when tasting Sonoma. It has…
Read More
Send us a Text Message. Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Santa Barbara GSM 2022-Tj's Steps it's Game Up This is a $12.99 Trader Joe's Reserve wine. The difference is that is made by a producer that does not make value-priced wine! Is this a new trend for Trader Joe's? This Rhone blend is made by a…
Read More
The Field Recordings Freddo Paso Robles Sangiovese 2022 is a wine that lists $25, but I found it on sale for $16 (Binny’s). It is a blend of 79% Sangiovese, 16% Dolcetto, and 5% Valdiguié. Dolcetto is a grape from the Piedmont in Italy used to make sweet wines. Valdiguié is a grape from the…
Read More
The Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot sourced from several Northern and Central California AVAs. decoy is a second label from Duckhorn Vineyards, founded by Dan and Margret Duckhorn in Napa in 1976, and has been an elite winery ever since. This is very intentionally sourced wine the AVAs include…
Read More
Trader Joe's Reserve SLO County Chardonnay 2022- SLO=Real Good This is a San Luis Obispo County wine, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, arroyo Secco, and San Luis Obispo Coastal AVA are some of the Central Coasts best. This is a $9.99 New World Chardonnay is a crowd-pleaser wine. SLO County is a “HOT” growing region that…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve SLO County Chardonnay 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by Miller Family Wine Company. The SLO in the title is San Luis Obispo which is in the middle of California’s Central Coast AVA, inside the SLO AVA in Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Arroyo Secco, and the San…
Read More
The Aldi’s California Heritage Pinot Noir is a $4.95 non-vintage wine sourced, at least for now, from California’s Central Coast AVA. This brand is produced by International Wine Merchants who make Burlwood and Moiselle wines for Aldi. They are a division of E & J Gallo make Winking Owl and Hwy 5 Aldi wines. All…
Read More
The Chronic Cellars Suite Petite Petite Sirah 2021 is sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast AVA. It is 90% Petite Sirah and 10% Syrah. This brand was founded (in 2004) by the Beckett Brothers, the sons of Doug Beckett who was the owner of Peachy Canyon Wines, one of the folks…
Read More
The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found for $11.99, the label says the grapes came from California. Butternut is one of the brands in the Miller Family Wines line of wines. The Miller Family Wines also own Central Coast Wine Warehouse, a custom wine producer, who ten years ago was a major producer…
Read More
The Elouan Oregon Chardonnay 2020 is one of the brands from Copper Cane, the wine company owned by Joe Wagner who is part of the Wagner family of Caymus fame. Joe Wagner is the son and you should know him from Meiomi wines which he founded and sold for 1/3 of a billion dollars. The…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Ynez Valley GSM 2022 is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive. The blend is 47% Mourvedre, 34% Syrah, and 19% Grenache, so it is an MSG blend. The Santa Ynez Valley is located in southern Santa Barbara County, between 2 mountain ranges. The western part of the valley gets cool Pacific…
Read More
The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red Lodi 2021 sells for $7.99 at Trader Joe’s stores and seems to sell for as high as $14 in places that TJ’s does not cover. This is a wine that returns to Trader Joe’s vintage after vintage. We typically review the latest version of this Red Blend at this…
Read More
The Bay Moon Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s wine and is the same price as it was in 2012 when we first reviewed this brand. In places where there are no Trader Joe’s stores, this wine can sell for $11.99. The back label mentions this wine was “vinted and bottled by” Trader…
Read More
The Z Alexander Brown Uncaged Proprietary Red Blend 2020 is a wine I found for $12 at a local wine shop. It is a collaboration between musician Zac Brown and John Killebrew, the winemaker for Delicato Family Vineyards, the makers of Gnarly Head and Coppola wines. Proprietary Blend indicates that the blend is unique to…
Read More
Strap in and prepare for a wine mystery that rivals any detective novel! It’s your affable guide, Domain Dave, and today, I’m taking you on a journey through Costco’s wine aisle to uncover the story behind a puzzling blend – the McLean Vineyard’s Love, a red blend. We’re talking questions without answers, a winery that…
Read More
The McClean Vineyards Love Red Blend is a non-vintage Red Blend that sells for $13.89 at Costco. The price on the internet varies from $15 to $27. McClean Vineyards no longer has a webpage and they have not updated their social media in 6 months to over a year. This wine seems like a close-out…
Read More
The JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay 2021 is 100% Chardonnay and is a wine I found at Costco selling for $9.99 and is found on the web for 13 to $17. The JaM in the name stands for John and Michele Truchard. John is a second-generation California winemaker his father owns Truchard Vineyards in Napa. In…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2021 is a $9.99 TJ’s exclusive. The back label says this Red was “vinted and bottled by Healdsburg Wine Cellars.” That is a division of Delicato Family Wines, they make Gnarlyhead wines, along with many other brands. They recently purchased Coppola WInes and also have holdings in Napa….
Read More
The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive bottled for them by Miller Family Wines. Bottled for them means just that, they officially bottled the wine, and who knows who did the rest. Miller Family Wines are the parent company of the Central Coast Wine Warehouse which 10 to 15…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Red Wine 2021 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This wine is produced for Trader Joe’s by ASV Wines who have been in business since 1982 and own several sustainably farmed vineyards in the Central Coast AVA and an organic vineyard in southern Monterey County where they grow Cabernet Sauvignon…
Read More
The Hahn Appellation Series Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir 2020 is sourced from a single Estate vineyard the Ste—Philippe in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside the Monterey AVA again inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Arroyo Seco translates to “dry creek” and is south of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Hahn Estate Wines was founded…
Read More
The High Guard Chardonnay 2021 Trader Joe’s is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced for them by a family-owned winery located in Napa Valley, though the grapes are from California. A wine produced from grapes grown in California must show California as the place of origin f the grapes are not from one…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Syrah 2021 is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive. This Syrah is produced by the Miller Family Wine Company they are a fifth-generation wine company that owns 1,500 acres of vineyards in Paso Robles. They are also part of Thornhill Companies which own the acclaimed Bien Nacido and French Camp…
Read More
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