Ok, the 2009 Black Stallion Estate Winery Napa Valley Chardonnay does not usually sell for the $9.99, more along the lines of $18 to $20, but that is the beauty of wine shops in January, its close out time. I don’t know if this wine changed distributors or if the store had a case or…
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The 2009 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Napa Valley Meritage is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The term “Meritage” (pronounced like heritage) indicates this a Red blend using the grapes approved in Bordeaux wines. Either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot as the lead grape with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot used as blending grapes (Malbec and Carmenere are…
Read MoreThe Steltzner Vineyards Napa Valley Claret 2009 (English term meaning Bordeaux grapes varieties were used, usually referred to as Meritage in California) sourced from Steltzner Estate vineyards in the Stag’s Leap AVA along with grapes from other vineyards in Southern Napa Valley. The blend is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 13% Merlot. Steltzner Vineyards…
Read MoreThe 2008 Castle Rock Napa Valley Merlot is sourced from several Napa Valley vineyards. Castle Rock has an interesting approach to producing wine, they do not own their own vineyards, but have long term contracts with vineyards all over California, Oregon and Washington. The don’t produce just one Merlot, but 3 Merlot’s from Napa, Mendocino…
Read MoreOk, the 2008 Franciscan Estate Magnificat Meritage is not anywhere near cheap, it lists for $50, but sometimes, a big Napa wine is called for and the Magnificat Meritage is actually well priced for a Oakville AVA, Napa wine. The Franciscan Estate winery is just down the road from Silver Oak, Opus One and Groth….
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The 2010 Garnet Carneros Pinot Noir is sourced from Estate vineyards, (the Stanly Ranch, the Diamond Vineyards and the Rodgers Creek Vineyard) in the Carneros AVA, Northern California. The Carneros AVA sits inside both the Sonoma AVA and the Napa AVA. For serious Pinot drinkers, Pinot Noir is all about the “clone” (a clone is a…
Read MoreThe Chandon Limited Edition Brut Classic, subtitled American Summer, is the usual Chandon Brut Classic, but in a bottle covered in very eye catching red, white and blue foil (there are stripes of American flag blue, French flag blue and summertime sky blue). The Chandon Brut Classic is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot…
Read MoreThe 2007 Ravenswood Napa Valley Old Vines Zinfandel is 76% Zinfandel and 24% Petite Sirah sourced from several contract vineyards in Napa Valley, California. This is the middle of Ravenswood’s line of Zinfandel, with the Vintners’ Blend as the entry level and the Single Vineyard wines on top. I found this wine selling for $9.99…
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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 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 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 MoreTrader Joe’s +Cabernet Sauvignon+Napa Valley=$4.99. Spiral Wines is a custom label produced by Fior di Sole, a custom and private label winemaker. The back label says Spiral Wines vinted and bottled this Cabernet and legally that indicates that Spiral Wines fermented a minimum of 10% of the wine. The term “Reserve” on the bottle has…
Read MoreThe 2009 Trader Joe’s Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir sells for $9.99, at least 85% of the grapes are grown in the Carneros AVA of California and the alcohol content is 13.9%, is about all I know for sure about this wine. This is a Trader Joe’s negociant wine, so who grew the grapes and who…
Read MoreThe 2010 Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Napa Valley Rose’ is a complete mystery wine, the label does not tell which grape was used to produce this Rose’. They did think it was important to tell you that the grapes were grown in Napa Valley. The only reason I can think of for withholding the type…
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