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 Aldi Landkastel Mosel Riesling 2024 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive. Aldi owns the trademark to the Landkastel name, but a winery named St. Gisbertus is mentioned on the back label. The Story Mosel in Germany is the premier Riesling growing region in the world; some say it is the greatest wine region over Napa,…
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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 Aldi Specially Selected Douro Doc Reserva Red 2022 is a $9.99 Aldi exclusive. The Specially Selected line of Aldi wines is a curated line that features affordable wines from the world’s greatest growing regions. The Story This red blend is produced and bottled by Van Zeller and Company, the oldest Port wine producer in…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Not to be mistaken for the Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir, which has been a Trader Joe’s staple for 15 years. We reviewed the 2021 Platinum Caneros Pinot Noir. This is the 9th year for this offering. The…
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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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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 Wittenberg Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine. It was produced and bottled by Northwest Collective, which is an entity of Precept Wine and Spirits. The Story Precept Wine and Spirits is the largest wine company in the Northwest with 4,000 acres of vines, multiple wineries, and 25+ brands. They routinely…
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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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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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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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The Intermingle California Dark Red Blend 2023 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive. The Story The Intermingle brand is produced for Aldi by a division of Sutter Home Family Vineyards. Sutter Home was founded in 1890, and the original owners operated the winery until the onset of Prohibition. In 1948, the winery and vineyards were acquired…
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The 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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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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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2023 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a repeat wine for Trader Joe’s. We reviewed the 2021 vintage here. The Story This wine is produced and bottled by Bozzano & Company, who also made the 2021 vintage. They are a bulk and custom wine…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Oak Knoll Chardonnay 2024 is available for $12.99. The back label tells that it was “Cellared and Bottled by” DNA Vineyards. The Story DNA stands for Dennis Patton and Andrea Silverstein, who together have more than 40 years of experience in the wine industry. They have made multiple wines for…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 is an exclusive Aldi offering at $12.99. The Willamette Valley is one of the premier Pinot Noir regions in the world. The Story Aldi’s Specially Selected series of wines is a collection of affordable wines from some of the best wine-growing regions—quality at a value price….
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The Twin Suns Lodi Mevushal Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a wine I discovered at Trader Joe’s, although it is not an exclusive wine to Trader Joe’s. I paid around $10 for it, but prices on the web are all over the place. The Story This is a Kosher wine from Gabriel and Shimon Weiss, who…
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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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The Aldi Castellore Gavi DOCG 2024 is an Aldi wine, priced at $9.99. We previously reviewed the 2022 vintage and were impressed, so we sampled a newer vintage to see if the quality is maintained. The Story Castellore is the brand name Aldi uses for value Italian wines. The brand is used for Chianti, Pinot…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Brut is $17.99 in-store, but the Aldi website lists it at $19.99. The Story The back label shows that this Bubbly was produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle. Rack and Riddle is a custom Sparkling wine producer. They have many Sparkling wines in the value-price category, including Peaks…
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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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