Charles de Marques Brut (Trader Joe’s)
Trader Joe’s Brut Champagne..60% Pinot Meunier 40% Pinot Noir… Family Owned Small Production Real-Deal Champagne…. $21.99
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Trader Joe’s
Eris Carneros Chardonnay 2014
The Eris Carneros Chardonnay 2014 is a $7.99 (this time around) Trader Joe’s exclusive that the front label says is Estate grown from a winery located on the Napa side of the Carneros AVA in Northern California. Carneros is half in Sonoma and half in Napa and has a southern border on the San Pablo Bay…
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Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2017 Lot 23
The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2017 Lot 23 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from the Carneros AVA which is located about half in Sonoma and half in Napa. There are 3 top-notch Pinot Noir and Chardonnay growing areas in coastal Sonoma, the Sonoma Coast AVA which is situated between 2 coastal…
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Floriana Grüner Veltliner 2017
In this podcast episode, we enjoy a beautiful Trader Joe’s Grüner Veltliner – from Hungary! A Grüner that’s not from Austria? Waaaaa? Listen in to see what we think of the Floriana Grüner Veltliner 2017 G’day mate! (just kidding that’s Australia)
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Satis Dei Syrah-Garnacha 2016
The Satis Dei Syrah-Garnacha 2016 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, though I think it is available in other parts of the world from different retailers. The Satis Dei is 55% Syrah and 45% Garnacha and is a Tierra de Castilla designated wine (the same as a IGP or Vin de Pays wine) in the Castilla/La…
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Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais 2015
In this podcast episode, we search a bottle of Beaujolais for all the Gamay goodness that the Pope of Beaujolais intended. Did we find it? Listen in as we describe … Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais 2015
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Burning Cavalier Merlot Cabernet 2017
The Burning Cavalier Merlot Cabernet 2017 is a rather morbidly named $5.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in the Languedoc region of France, just north of the border with Spain and along the Mediterranean Sea. The Languedoc is the largest grape growing region in France and while there…
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Trader Joe’s Reserve Meritage Napa Valley Lot #176 2015
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Meritage Napa Valley Lot #176 2015 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, it’s a Red blend with Merlot as the main grape, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec sourced from vineyards in the Napa Valley of Northern California. The word Meritage is a combination of merit and heritage…
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Claire Patelin Cotes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc 2017
The Claire Patelin Cotes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Cotes de Gascogne area of southwest France. The Cotes de Gascogne shares a boundary with the Armagnac AOP which has been a premier Brandy region for 700 years. The Cotes de Gascogne is primarily a White…
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Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio Rosé 2017
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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VINTJS Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016
The VINTJS Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from a vineyard or vineyards in Napa Valley, California. Trader Joe’s says this Sauv Blanc came from a well-known Napa winery/vineyard with whom they have had a 10 year relationship. I think I know who that is, but I can’t be certain,…
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Luzada Albarino 2017
The Luzada Albarino 2017 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive (though it seems to available in other countries), it is estate grown and bottled in the Val do Saines DO (a DO in Spain is the same as an AVA in California, a specific boundary) located in Rias Baixas in the northwest corner of Spain,…
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MoonX Black Pinot Noir 2016
The MoonX Black Pinot Noir 2016 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for TJ’s by a well-respected family owned vineyards and winery located in Lodi, California that has been in business since 1924. As a Trader Joe’s exclusive wine there isn’t a great deal of information available concerning the making of the wine and that…
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Dark Waves Red Blend 2016
The Dark Waves Red Blend 2016 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse from grapes farmed in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Central Coast Wine Warehouse has been making custom wine for Trader Joe’s for years, they are part of a family owned group of wine…
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Trader Joe’s Reserve Monterey Meritage Lot 168 2014
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Monterey Meritage Lot 168 2014 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Monterey County AVA which is located north of Paso Robles and up to the Monterey Bay inside the Central Coast AVA of California. A Meritage wine is a Red blend that uses the grapes approved…
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Tuatea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017
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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VINTJS Organic Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
The VINTJS Organic Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by DnA Vineyards, located in Mendocino County, California. DnA Vineyards is Dennis Patton and Andrea Silverstein, with Dennis having been a fixture in the Mendocino wine industry for over 40 years. DnA makes some of my favorite Trader Joe’s exclusive…
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La Coqueluche Rose’ 2017
The La Coqueluche Rose’ 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive designated an IGP or a Vin de Pays D’Oc wine sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of southeastern France. French wine regions have governing bodies that issue strict rules and regulations concerning the farming of the grapes and the production of the wine, IGP…
Read MoreColumbia River Landing Red 2014
The Columbia River Landing Red 2014 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, produced for them by Bronco Wines (of 2 Buck Chuck fame) from grapes grown in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. The grapes used in this Red blend are not specified, but Columbia Valley is well-known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, but they also…
Read MoreShaw Organic Rose’ 2017
The Shaw Organic Rose’ 2017 is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, the Shaw in the name is Charles Shaw better known as 2 Buck Chuck. The Shaw Rose’ is sourced from certified organic vineyards, they mention Cottonwood Creek vineyards, so this isn’t 2 Buck Chuck, it’s 4 Buck Chuck. If an organic $3.99 wine isn’t…
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St. Somewhere Pinot Noir 2014
The St. Somewhere Pinot Noir 2014 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s wine that is 99.85% California Pinot Noir and 0.15% Oregon Pinot Noir, the Oregon juice is in the blend by accident. There is a story to tell here, Trader Joe’s says a big-time wine producer was creating a Pinot Noir sourced from the best coastal…
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Maison Barboulot Marsanne-Viognier 2017
The Maison Barboulot Marsanne-Viognier 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive sourced from vineyards near the Black Mountains in the Languedoc region of Southeast France (along the Mediterranean Ocean). Maison Barboulot is a brand name, there is no Maison Barboulot estate and the label is faux French. It is actual French writing, but none of…
Read MoreCharles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
The Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is, of course, a Trader Joe’s $2.99 (in Chicago) exclusive, June of 2018 will mark the 16th year of Chuck and Joe’s relationship. I must admit to not being a 2 Buck Chuck fan, there are other very inexpensive wines at TJ’s that I prefer (the LaGranja 360 wines in…
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La Croix de Maunay Vouvray 2016
The La Croix de Maunay Vouvray 2016 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Vouvray (inside the Loire Valley growing area) is located south and west of Paris and the vineyards are situated along the Loire River and boundaries are defined by 8 villages, Vouvray being the most important. The grape they grow in Vouvray is…
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100 Mile Red Blend Lodi 2016
The 100 Mile Red Blend Lodi 2016 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Normally, when TJ’s has a wine made for them they try to hide which winery produced it, in their Fearless Flyer they left clues hiding in plain sight. It’s a Lodi winery, the oldest winery still operating, founded in 1934, which makes…
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