Send us Fan Mail Tazmin Breeze Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 This is a amazing five buck wine. You expect nothing nothing, but get a Sauv Blanc that competes with wines at twice the price. The podcast talks about why this happens, but also praises the producer for making a quality wine. Cheap good wine is…
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The Tazmin Breeze Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is a Trader Joe’s $4.99 import exclusive, The Story The Tazmin Breeze Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is imported by an entity of Delicato Family Wines of Lodi, California. They have many brands including Stoneleigh Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. There is no indication if there is any relationship or connection…
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Send us Fan Mail Hess Select California Chardonnay 2024 This is a Chardonnay sourced from all over California. 30% of the juice was both fermented and aged in French oak barrels. Hess has been around since the late 70s, so they have great contacts for purchasing grapes. All that combines to produce an excellent value-priced…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Josh Reserve Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel 2021 Bourbon barrels are charred. Wine Barrels are toasted. Bourbon barrel flavors can overpower wine, unless handled properly. The bourbon flavors here are handled in textbook fashion! Barrel flavors are not everything in wine. But they do add texture and flavor. These wines are fun to…
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The Josh Reserve Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel 2021 is a wine that lists for $21.99, but I found it on sale for $9.99. The Story The Josh reserve wines are the top-tier wines and are part of the bourbon barrel-aged series. Joseph Carr created the Josh brand in 2006 in honor of his father. I have…
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The Trader Joe’s Brut California Sparkling Wine is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced by Rack and Riddle who make most of TJ’s California Bubbly. The Story The Trader Joe’s Brut California Sparkling Wine is not a Reserve or Grand Reserve wine, but a plain old Trader Joe’s wine. We already have North…
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Send us Fan Mail Honey Moon Viognier 2024 Viognier is a Northern Rhone Valley (France) blending grape. It has a very fragrant scent and excellent natural acidity. It can help both Red and White wines that need a little boost. But when you put a chill on it, it makes a seriously good summer wine….
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The Honey Moon Viognier 2024 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive; it has kept the $5.99 price since at least the 2019 vintage. The Story The Honey Moon Viognier 2024 is produced for Trader Joe’s by some faction of Delicato Family Wines, which also makes Gnarly Head and recently purchased Coppola Wines. They make the…
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The Chasing Rain Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a wine that has been selling for $20, but I found it for $10. It is produced by winemaker Joshua Maloney. The Story The Chasing Rain Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a wine that has sold for between $20 and $25 and was considered a…
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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 Elliot Cooper California Chardonnay is a non-vintage $10 Aldi exclusive. Aldi owns the brand name, but a subsidiary of Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits produced the wine. The Story Aldi tends to own the brand names in case the need to change the producer arises. A popular product can continue and have several producers…
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The Lapis Luna North Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2024 s a wine I found at Trader Joe’s selling for $10.99. It is not a Trader Joe’s exclusive and a quick check of the internet found it selling in the $10 to $14 range. The Story Lapis Luna is Latin for the Stone and Moon. It is…
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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 Expecting a brooding beast from a “dark red blend”? We pop Intermingle California Dark Red 2023 from Aldi and find something better: a calm, balanced, mid-weight red that drinks clean, pairs easily, and costs just $6.99. We walk through the blend—Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah—exploring how inky color can still…
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 Curious about kosher wines but don’t know where to begin? Join Domain Dave as he uncorks the Twin Suns Lodi Mevushal Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, a $10 Trader Joe’s find that offers fascinating insights into the intersection of wine and religious tradition. This episode goes beyond typical tasting notes to explore how…
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The Bonflor California Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $7.99 wine found at Aldi stores. The name Bonflor translates to “Good Flower, which is “likely a reference to the type of plants grown in the organic vineyard to attract the kinds of insects and birds that feed on the insects detrimental to the vines. The…
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Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder if you’re overpaying for sparkling wine? That’s exactly what crossed my mind while sipping the surprisingly sophisticated Peaks and Tides Sonoma Brut from Aldi. At just $13.99, this California sparkler challenges everything you think you know about budget bubbles. I stumbled upon this gem during a routine Aldi visit,…
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The Aldi’s Peaks & Tides Sonoma Brut is a Sparkling wine sold at Aldi stores for $13.99. This Bubbly was produced by Rack and Riddle. The Story Rack and Riddle (these are terms used in making Bubbly) is a custom Sparkling wine producer located in several locations in Sonoma and Lodi. If you have tasted…
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Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder what happens when a prestigious Napa Valley winery known for $100+ Cabernets creates an affordable white wine? Pine Ridge’s Chenin Blanc Viognier blend shatters expectations at just $11.99, delivering complexity and refinement that punches well above its modest price tag. This delightful anomaly in Pine Ridge’s portfolio combines 80%…
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The Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier 2024 is a wine I found selling for $10.99 at a local wine shop. Pine Ridge Vineyards is a Napa Valley winery in the Stags Leap district. They typically produce Bordeaux-inspired wines, so this White wine is not typical of their wine program. The Story Pine Ridge Vineyards is…
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Send us Fan Mail Looking for a wine that punches well above its price tag? The Compass Bridge Sonoma Pinot Noir from Trader Joe’s might be your new favorite affordable discovery. This limited-edition $9.99 Pinot Noir comes from the powerhouse Delicato Family Vineyards, which recently acquired Coppola’s Sonoma operations. Between these two wine giants, they’ve…
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The Compass Bridge Sonoma Pinot Noir 2023 is a limited-edition wine available at Trader Joe’s for $9.99. The Compass Bridge brand is from a entity of Delicato Family Vineyards. The Story Delicato Family Vineyards, from the Lodi AVA, purchased Coppola Wines (Sonoma) a few years ago and formed a large wine company that produces wine…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Discovering exceptional value in the wine world feels increasingly rare, but Compass Bridge Sonoma County Chardonnay 2023 proves quality affordable wine still exists. At just $8.99 from Trader Joe’s, this newcomer delivers surprising complexity and balance that would satisfy even at twice the price. Behind this bottle stands an intriguing partnership….
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