The Ferrari-Carano Sonoma County Chardonnay 2015 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from Ferrari-Carano Estate vineyards in Alexander Valley AVA, Dry Creek AVA, the Russian River Valley AVA, and the Carneros AVA all inside the Sonoma County AVA. Those 4 AVA’s are an excellent selection of cool growing areas and warmer regions, giving this Chard a nice taste…
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The Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2016 is 98% Chardonnay and 2% Gewürztraminer grown in Wente Estates vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA just inland from the San Francisco Bay inside the larger Central Coast AVA of California. Wente Vineyards has a very interesting story, they are the oldest continuously (since 1883) operated family owned vineyards and winery…
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The Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio Rosé 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, it is one of Bronco Wine Company (2 Buck Chuck) extensive line of wine brands, this one is sourced from vineyards near the town of Verona in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, Prosecco is in the same general area. This is…
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The Hedges CMS Red 2014 is sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington, it is Hedges Family Estates iconic Red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, with the blend changing from year to rear. The blend also seems to change during the year, the Hedges website gives the 2014 blend as 40%…
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The 9 Lives Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is sourced from vineyards in the Central Valley of Chile. 9 Lives is one of San Pedro winery (founded in 1865) wine brands, others you may be familiar with are Epica and GatoNegro (translates to black cat) and since 9 Lives is also a cat reference I think the…
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The Edna Valley Vineyard Central Coast Chardonnay 2016 is sourced from vineyards in both the Edna Valley AVA (inside San Luis Obispo County, about 1/2 between L.A and S.F.) and the Monterey County AVA, both inside the Central Coast AVA. Edna Valley Vineyards were one of the pioneers of the Edna Valley AVA (founded in 1982)…
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The Santa Julia Malbec Bonarda Tintillo 2017 is 50% Malbec and 50% Bonarda, the Malbec came from vineyards in the Uco Valley and the Bonarda came from estate vineyards near the town of Santa Rosa in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The Bonarda grape originated in France, it never became particularly popular there, but does quite…
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The El Terrano Rosado 2017 is a Garnacha Rose’ sold exclusively by Whole Foods ($9.99) sourced from 4 vineyards located near the town of Longares in the Carinena DO in the Aragon province of northeast Spain. This area has been producing wine since Roman times and Aragon is thought to be where the Garnacha grape originated….
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The Maison Les Alexandrins Syrah 2016 is 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier sourced mainly from vineyards in the Northern Rhone region of France, but also from vineyards in the Loire and in the Southern Rhone Valley. Viognier is a White grape and is the only White grape that is regularly added to Red wine, I asked…
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The Coppola Rosso & Bianco Pinot Grigio 2016 is 86% Pinot Grigio and 14% Chardonnay, the Chardonnay is sourced from the Central Coast AVA and while Coppola does not say where the Pinot Grigio for 2016 is farmed, it has in the past and the 2017 vintage been taken from Monterey in the Central Coast AVA…
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The Wishing Tree Unoaked Chardonnay 2016 is sourced from higher elevation vineyards in the Adelaide District (Barossa, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, and Adelaide Hills) of South Australia. The South Australia growing region provides over 50% of the wine produced in Australia and the vineyards are located not far from the coastline. The reason high elevation vineyards…
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The Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Petite Sirah, 5% Malbec and 2% Tempranillo grown in Wente’s estate, sustainably farmed vineyards in the southern section of the Livermore Valley AVA, east of the San Fransisco Bay (south and west of Lodi) in the Central Coast AVA of California….
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The Tuatea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 100% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from vineyards in the Marlborough Region in the northeast corner of the South Island in New Zealand. Tuatea is Māori for “crest of a wave“, if you are attempting to learn the Māori language one random word at a…
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The Noble Vines 446 Chardonnay 2016 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from sustainable farmed Delicato Family Vineyards estate property in the San Bernabe AVA inside the Monterey County AVA below the Monterey Bay in the Central Coast AVA of California. Noble Vines is one of Delicato Family Vineyards (family owned since the 1920s with vineyards in Lodi,…
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The Evodia Garnacha 2016 is 100% Garnacha sourced from 40 to 100 year old vines located in the Calatayud DO inside the Aragon district of northeast Spain. Evodia is one of big-time importer Eric Solomon of European Cellars wines and this one of CWF’s personal favorites, we have write-ups on the 2008, 2010, and the 2013 vintage…
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The Bogle Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2016 was sourced from sustainably framed vineyards in the Monterey AVA, the Russian River AVA and the Clarksburg AVA (Bogle is located in Clarksburg). Clarksburg is east of Napa and south of Sacramento, at the end of the Sacramento River Delta that funnels cool breezes from the San Francisco Bay to…
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The Ste Michelle Vineyards Columbia Valley Chardonnay 2016 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards in different sections of the Columbia Valley in Washington. Ste Michelle Vineyards is the original name for Chateau Ste Michelle when they released their first vintage 50 years ago. The label is an accurate updating of those very first labels, I actually…
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The La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014 is 100% Grenache sourced from organic vineyards in the Ventoux AOP on the foothills of Mount Ventoux in the Rhone Valley of southeast France. La Joie du Boeuf translates to “joy of beef” and has a happy cow frolicking on a sunny day in a field of flowers on the…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Monterey County Pinot Noir 2014 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by ASV Wines sourced from a single vineyard (according to TJ’s Fearless Flyer) in the Monterey County AVA inside of California’s Central Coast AVA. Normally, who made these Trader Joe’s exclusive wines are a well-kept secret, but here,…
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The Hahn GSM Central Coast 2016 is a blend of 71% Grenache (mainly from vineyards in the Arroyo Secco AVA), 22% Syrah (mainly from vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA), and 7% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in the San Benito AVA, the Contra Costa AVA, and the Paso Robles AVA, all inside the Central Coast…
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The Lagaria Pinot Grigio 2015 is sourced from vineyards in the Val Lagarina (Lagarina Valley) in the Venezie district of northwest Italy. You may have noticed that many of the Italian Pinot Grigio on store shelves come from the Alto Adige area of Venezie, the Adige is a large river that runs thru this region and…
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The Novellum Chardonnay 2016 is one of Eric Solomon’s European Cellars Selection family of wines, produced by Domaine Lafage in the Côtes Catalanes district of the Roussillon growing region along the Mediterranean Ocean near the French border with Spain. Mentioning the importer is especially important with wines from France, Italy, and Spain, because the leading importers, in…
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The Bervini 1955 Spumante Rose’ Extra Dry is a blend of Glera (the grape used in making Prosecco) and Roboso (a local Red grape, this is where the Rose’ color comes from) sourced from vineyards of the family owned estate in the Friuli Venezia Giulia in the northern most eastern part of Italy. The Prosecco DOC…
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The Billy’s Shadow Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2014 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz (exact same grape as Syrah), and 11% Merlot sourced from vineyards in South Australia. In Australia, this wine is sold under the Jamiesons Run brand (known for delivering good wine for the money), a…
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The Chateau Ste Michelle Dry Riesling 2016 is sourced from contracted growers in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. Chateau Set Michelle is the largest and the oldest (1934) winery in Washington and Riesling is one of their specialties. This Riesling is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and intended to be a crisp,…
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