The Red Cloak Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir 2021 is an $11.99 Aldi exclusive made for them by a winery located in Greenfield, California (Monterey County). Arroyo Seco translates to dry creek, (there is also a Dry Creek AVA in Sonoma). It is part of the Salinas River Valley which runs north/south along the Pacific Coast….
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The Laurent Perrachon Beaujolais Villages 2020 is sourced from vineyards surrounding two small towns, La Chapelle de Guinchay (70%) and Lancié. One village has sandy soils and granite the other has clay and limestone. The villages are not far apart but offer very different soil. The grape is 100% Gamay. Beaujolais is located just south…
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The Gruet Blanc de Blanc Brut is 100% Chardonnay sourced from grapes grown in New Mexico, Washington, and California. Gilbert Gruet founded his first vineyard in the Bethon district of Champagne in 1952. By 1967 he started Gruet et Fils (and sons) a Champagne House specializing in Chardonnay Bubbly. In 1984 the younger Gruet family…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Monterey Pinot Noir 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive wine. The Petit in the name indicates a limited supply of this wine, though all Trader Joe’s Reserve wines are one-off wines. They may return the next vintage but not necessarily by the same producer. The Fearless Flyer does not…
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The Burlwood Cellars Brut Rosé is a $4.99 Sparkling wine from Aldi. It is produced by a wine company from Modesto, California which would seem to strongly suggest that some entity of E & J Gallo was involved. This a five-buck Bubbly that sells for $10 to $12 in states without Aldi stores. I don’t…
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The Los Dos Brut Cava is a traditional blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada sourced from independent family-owned vineyards in the Penedes DO in Northeast Spain. Penedes is located in the Catalonian region of Spain where the central city is Barcelona. Cava is produced in the same way as Champagne though its history in Spain…
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The Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Verdot, and 8% Merlot sourced from vineyards in the 58% Paso Robles AVA and 42% Lodi AVA. This is a Bordeaux blend. Cycles Gladiator is a project from winemaker Adam LaZarre started in 2005. The brand is part of the Wine Hooligans’ stable…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2020 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. To confuse things, there is also a Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2020 that sells for $12.99. Trader Joe’s seldom issued much information concerning their Reserve line of wines, so the differences between and Grand Reserve and a…
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The Zombie Zin is a non-vintage wine that is 95% Zinfandel and 5% Syrah sourced from vineyards in several locations in California. Zombie is a brand from Chateau Diana a family-owned and operated winery started in 1981 and is located in Sonoma. Zombie Zin may be a brand that was produced to take advantage of…
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The William Wright Monterey Pinot Noir 2020 is a $9.99 Aldi wine sourced from estate vineyards in coastal Monterey County, California. The estate in question is the Scheid Family Vineyards a large sustainably farmed family-owned wine company founded in 1972. This wine is available in Demark for the equivalent of $18. Scheid owns 12 vineyards…
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The Graham Beck Brut Rosé is a blend of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay sourced from Estate and contracted vineyards in the Western Cape growing region of South Africa. Graham Beck has been producing Sparkling wine, which they call Cape Classique, since 1983. They produce and cellar this Bubbly at their Estate. This is…
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The La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2021 is one of the brands from the Jackson Family Wines (think Kendall-Jackson) that offer wines from all over California, Oregon, and the world. They have an impressive portfolio of wines there is a link to their website above. The La Crema brand showcases Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines…
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The Dearly Beloved I The Red 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in California’s Central Coast AVA. There are 3 wines in the Dearly Beloved line, another Red with a different blend of grapes from California and a North Coast Chardonnay. These wines are made by Precept Wine, the largest privately…
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The Valdo Numero 10 DOCG Prosecco Metodo Classico 2019 is not your typical Prosecco. The grapes are sourced in the hills surrounding the winery in the Valdobbiadene DOCG section of the Prosecco region. The winery and estate were founded in 1926 and are one of the oldest Prosecco producers and the oldest in the Valdobbiadene…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz 2017 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label indicates that this Shiraz was bottled by Orbach Family Wines ( established in 2001). Bottled by means just that, they only bottled the wine. But, Orbach sells their wines under the Side Gate label and Side Gate…
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The Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2020 is from the entry-level line of wines from the Yalumba Family WInemakers who planted their first vineyard in Australia in 1849. Yalumba is the Hill-Smith family, and Sam Smith was the founder 173 years ago. They are still family owned and operated which is rare for a wine business…
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The Substance CH Chardonnay 2020 is a brand in winemakers Charles Smith’s House of Smith family of Washington State wines. Those wines span from fairly expensive 100-point wines to value-priced wines. The CH Chardonnay lists for $17, but I found it for $12.99. The Substance CH Chardonnay 2020 was sourced from three vineyards, 70% Frenchmen…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2021 is a Trader Joe’s limited release exclusive. It is produced for Trader Joe’s by the Miller Family Wine Company which also makes Trader Joe’s Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc, also from Paso Robles grapes. The Miller Family Wine Company also owns the Central Coast Wine Warehouse…
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The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a $13.99 Aldi wine exclusive. The Exquisite Collection is essentially Aldi’s version of the Trader Joe’s Reserve wines. Wines from the high-end growing regions at a bargain price. Paso Robles is located inside California’s Central Coast AVA and is halfway between Los Angeles and San Fransico….
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The 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Gold is a Sparkling wine made from a blend of 36% mixed White grapes, 28% French Colombard, 26% Reisling, and 10% Muscat Alexandria. This is not your typical Sparkling wine grape blend. Muscat Alexandria is the oldest known grape varietal, Reisling is commonly used in German Sekt Sparkling wine,…
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The Colby Red Blend 2017 is a wine with a unique story. The name in the name is the winemaker, Daryl Groom’s son. Daryl Groom was the winemaker for Penfolds and was responsible for producing their legendary “The Grange” blend as well as being chief winemaker at several other high-end wineries. Colby Groom had two…
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The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine is a $9.99 ALDI exclusive. ALDI owns the brand name and the still wines in this line are made by a family-owned winery in Monterey, California. The Sparkling wine has been made by a family-owned winery, since 1938, located in Lodi, California. They are the largest Sparkling…
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The Sebastopol Oaks California Chardonnay 2019 is sourced from grapes grown on the Clarksburg and Lodi AVAs with some Paso Robles grapes added in. Sebastopol is a town that is situated inside bother the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River AVAs. The Sebastopol Oaks California Chardonnay 2019 is one of the many wine brands from…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2020 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s limited-time exclusive. It is produced for Trader Joe’s by an independent wine company that has produced other wines for TJ’s. They do not have their name associated with this wine, just the winemakers’/owners name. So I won’t name the company,…
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The OKO Organic Pinot Noir 2020 is sourced from certified organic vineyards in the Vin de Pays D’Oc region of the Languedoc in eastern France. OKO is an eco-wine company that specializes in organic wines grown in various wine regions. For example, they offer an organic Pinot Grigio from the Veneto region of Italy. The…
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