The 2008 Vicious Red is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Zinfandel, 19% Petite Sirah and 5% Malbec sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Made by Sobon Family Estates, a top notch, mainly Zinfandel producer out of Amador County in the Sierra Foothills around two hours away from the San Francisco…
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The Hacienda Brut Sparkling Wine is a non vintage Bubbly sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA, and consists of 86% Chardonnay, 8% Colombard and 6% Mixed Whites (I don’t know why they say Mixed Whites rather than just listing the grapes). This Sparkling wine is made in the Methode Champenoise, which is…
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The 2007 Walker Napa Valley Red Blend is a $7.99 Aldi’s exclusive (don’t be scared, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s). If you see Napa Valley on the label, then at least 75% of the grapes were grown in Napa Valley. This wine was cellared and bottled (that means they didn’t grow the…
Read MoreThe 2010 Colby Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA (available at Walgreens Drug for around $10). Normally, this is where I tell the details about how the wine was made, but there is more to the…
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The 2010 Bogle Petite Sirah is sourced from vineyards in the Clarksburg and Lodi AVA’s in Northern California. Bogle has been making wine from Petite Sirah grapes for 33 years and Bogle is the largest winery in the Clarksburg AVA. There are only a handful of wineries in Clarksburg, with the majority the grapes shipped to…
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The 2010 Comique Révolution Blanc is a Trader Joe’s ($4.99) exclusive sourced from grapes grown in California’s Central Coast. Produced by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse, they produce several dozen wine labels, along with custom wines (and a steady stream of Trader Joe’s wines) and they own some of the best vineyards in the Central…
Read MoreThe Long Arm Lot 81 Paso Robles Red Blend is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The wine is made by Familia Nueva, which is a label owned by Ancient Peaks Winery and used for their Trader Joe’s wines, which tend to be some of the better TJ’s California wines. This is a non vintage wine…
Read MoreSo I find this wine called Educated Guess, and I gotta tell you – it’s a freakin awesome cab! The name comes from the winemakers having a discussion of why wine prices were going up and quality wasn’t and how you pick the best wine for your money. If you visit us regularly that should…
Read MoreThe Oak Creek Vineyards Chardonnay is a non vintage wine sourced from vineyards from all over California. A $2.99 wine found in drug stores, CVS Pharmacy and Harris Teeter and produced by Golden State Vintners. Golden State Vintners is a suppler of bulk wine to some of the bigger California wine producers. They specialize in…
Read MoreThe Rosenblum Vintner’s Cuvee Zinfandel is a non-vintage blend of 88% Zinfandel and 12% Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in multiple California Zinfandel growing areas (though the bulk of the grapes came from Lodi). Rosenblum has been producing Zinfandel wines for 33 years, hence the roman numerals. This bottle is composed of Zinfandel grapes from more than…
Read MoreThe 2010 Green Barn Mendocino County Organic Chardonnay is produced by Mendocino Wine Company for Trader Joe’s ($7.99). Mendocino Wine Company also produce Parducci Wine Cellars (the oldest winery in Mendocino) and Paul Dolan Vineyards (a leader in sustainable and organic wines since 1987). The Chardonnay grapes are grown to certified organic standards. The wine…
Read MoreThe 2010 Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay is sourced from Estate vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA (near the Monterey Bay) which is located inside the Monterey County AVA. The poppy is the state flower of California. The Poppy Chard is a combination of Chardonnay aged in oak barrels and undergoing malolactic fermentation and unoaked…
Read MoreThe 2010 Cocobon Red is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. We reviewed the 2009 Cocobon Red and we thought it was a good bargain. All wines vary from vintage to vintage, even wines sourced from the same vineyards and made by the same winemaker, with Trader Joe’s under $10 wines, since they are buying grapes on the…
Read MoreThe 2009 Dreaming Tree Crush Red Blend is a part of a project between Dave Matthews (of the Dave Matthews Band) and Simi Winery Winemaker Steve Reeder. Dave Matthews is not new to wine, he founded Blenheim Vineyards, located near Charlottesville, Va., in 2000. The Crush Red Blend is 67% Merlot and 33% Zinfandel sourced…
Read MoreThe 2009 Entwine Cabernet Sauvignon is a joint project by Wente Family Vineyards (a family owned and operated winery in business since 1883) and the Food Channel. The Entwine website describes their line of wines as varietal blends, which indicates that other grapes are added to the mix (in California for a wine to say,…
Read MoreThe Barefoot Bubbly Extra Dry is a non-vintage Sparkling wine sourced from Chardonnay grapes grown in several California grape growing AVA’s. Extra Dry is not actually dry, Brut means dry and Sec indicates sweet, Extra Dry is in the middle. The word “Champagne” is on the label (only Sparkling wine grown and produced in Champagne,…
Read MoreThe 2009 Field Recordings Chardonnay is sourced from a single, family owned, sustainably farmed vineyard located in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA of Monterey County, California. This Chardonnay underwent full malolactic fermentation (a process where the naturally occurring tart malic acid is converted to softer, more rounded tasting lactic acid, it also helps the wine…
Read MoreThe Stonehedge Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon seems to be a Trader Joe’s ($7.99) exclusive bottling produced by Stonehedge Winery of Napa Valley. Stonehedge is a family owned winery that has been making wine for 30 years, this Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is not listed on their website. Paso Robles is located roughy half way between…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sugar Pie Red Wine is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 exclusive, sourced from grapes grown in the North Coast of California, which encompasses 48 wine growing AVA’s, including Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino. The label says this wine was produced by Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch Cellars. Trader Joe’s does not give out much information on…
Read MoreThe Markham Napa Merlot is sourced from multiple estate Napa Valley vineyards. Markham has been one of the leaders in California Merlot for years. Merlot fell on hard times after the movie “Sideways” came out (that was a really dopey reason to stop drinking Merlot), but Merlot has been coming back strong in recent years…
Read MoreThe 2010 Dry Creek Chenin Blanc is 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from the Clarksburg AVA located near the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River Delta, in California. The majority of the grapes grown in Clarksburg are sold to wineries outside of Clarksburg, there are a handful of wineries working in the Clarksburg AVA, with…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sebastopol Hills Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s ($9.99) exclusive, is a label produced by Owl Ridge Wine Services, a custom wine making facility, who are also related to Owl Ridge Winery, a top notch Russian River Pinot Noir producer. The label indicates only that the grapes are sourced from the Sonoma Coast…
Read MoreThe Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Sparkling Wine ($9.99) is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir (a Blanc de Noir) sourced from grapes grown in California’s North Coast. The North Coast encompasses 50 different AVA’s, with the main growing areas being Sonoma, Napa Valley and Mendocino. Made by Rack and Riddle, the only custom…
Read MoreThe Blackburn & James Paso Robles Red Blend, a Trader Joe’s $6.99 exclusive, is a blend of 45% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Sangiovese sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles, California. The blend is mostly aged in used oak barrels, with 5% of the wine aged…
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