The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Aix Provence Rosé 2022 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. The Coteaux d’ Aix-en-Provence is the second-largest AOC in Provence, the largest is Côtes de Provence, producing 75% of the wine in the region. Aix is located to the far west in Provence and if you have ever seen…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2021 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Dry Creek Valley first planted Zinfandel vines in the 1870s, phylloxera hit the California vineyards in the 1890s and destroyed most of the vines. The vineyards were replanted and several of those ancient (by grapevine standards) are still…
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Champion Nick and Domaine Dave taste tested two very inexpensive Chardonnay for the How Low Can You Go #2 Two Buck Chuck Vs Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay challenge. Both wines were purchased for $3.99, the Charles Shaw is from California and the Lindeman’s is from Southeastern Australia. The Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay (actually $4) bested…
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The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is a blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and the other 10% is a mix of Pinot Gris (White) and Pinot Meunier (Red). This Bubbly is produced in the Traditional Method or Champagne style. The second fermentation or triage lasted for a minimum of 18 months. GH Mumm started…
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How Low Can You Go… Two Buck Chuck ($3.99) Vs Aldi Hwy 5 Chardonnay with a name like Cheap Wine Finder people expect us to write about cheap wine, but we don’t. We write about good affordable wine…. bargains. Value-priced wines have never been available with the quality and drinkability of modern wines. We have…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2021 is a $9.99 TJ’s exclusive. This wine was “produced and bottled by” Bozzano and Company. That indicates that they actually made the wine and used grapes from their vineyards or contracted grapes they control. They produce several brands seen on Trader Joe’s shelves. It is rare…
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The 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Red 2021 is a wine I found at a local big box wine shop selling for $11.99. Most 19 Crimes wines feature wine from Australia, but the Snoop Dogg line and the Martha Stewart Chardonnay are sourced from California and this Red is from the Lodi AVA. The blend…
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The Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found for $7.99 at a local wine shop. Columbia Crest is the second label from Chateau Ste. Michelle is by far the largest wine produced in the Columbia Valley of Washington State. Though Columbia Crest is a 2nd label it has an excellent history….
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The Amuse Bouche Pet-Nat 2022 is a $11.99 Trader Joe’s wine made for them by Pierre and Antonin who produce natural wines in the Languedoc region of France. Pet-Nat is short for Pétillant Naturel which is a very old method of producing Sparkling wine. It is also called the Ancestral Method. A simple explanation of…
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The Revelation Pays D’Oc Chardonnay 2021 is $7.99 at Trader Joe’s in the US and is widely available in other countries. Badet Clement is the producing winery. That is a project by two winemakers who make affordable wines with grapes from the Rhone Valley, Burgundy, and the Languedoc, and about 2/3rds of their wines are…
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The Noble Vines 181 Merlot 2020 is $7.99 at Costco, anywhere from $8 to $14 online. Nobles Vines is a Delicato Family Vineyards brand that started in Lodi and expanded to Napa Valley and recently purchased Coppola wines in Sonoma. The 181 in the title refers to the number of the Merlot Clone they planted…
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The Kirkland Signature Series Columbia Valley Red Wine 2021 is a $16.99 Costco exclusive. The grapes are sourced from high-end vineyards in the Walla Walla AVA, the Waluke Slope AVA, and the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. The Kirkland Signature Series wines are unique. The concept is simple,…
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The McClean Vineyards Love Red Blend is a non-vintage Red Blend that sells for $13.89 at Costco. The price on the internet varies from $15 to $27. McClean Vineyards no longer has a webpage and they have not updated their social media in 6 months to over a year. This wine seems like a close-out…
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The Paso Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $7.99 exclusive produced by a family-owned winery in Paso Robles that has been in business since 1983 and has 1,400 acres of vines. Paso Robles is situated about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The region specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon. The Paso Dragon’s name comes from…
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The Intermingle California Chardonnay 2020-Aldi is a $6.99 wine made by Sutter Home Winery. Sutter Home is a brand owned by Trinchero Family Estates and produces over 40 wine brands including Menage a Trois, Joel Gott, and Charles and Charles. The front label indicates that this is a California Buttery Chardonnay. There are three main…
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The Trader Joe’s Roseta Rosé 2022 is a $5.99 Rosé wine from Portugal. The back label lists a bottler, Goavni Bottling, a Portuguese custom wine producer. The flask-style bottle is very reminiscent of the bottle used for Matuse Rosé, a brand of Rosé wine that has been around for 70 years. Matuse Rosé was probably…
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The Picton Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is $7.99 at Trader Joe’s and sells for about $12.99 in places that Trader Joe’s does not serve. There is an actual Picton Bay winery. Usually, these wines are a brand made especially for TJ’s by a custom wine producer. The Picton Bay is a brand by Mount…
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The Federalist Ben Franklin Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a wine I found for $10.99 and the prices on the internet range from $10 to $20. This wine is over 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Sirah, and Sangiovese added. This is a brand from Terlato WInes which is the company…
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The Oyster Bay Rosé 2022 is made from Pinot Noir grapes from grapes farmed in the Wairau Valley of the Marlborough region on the South Island of New Zealand. This is a wine found on sale in Chicago for $10.99 while the average price on the internet is $14. When New Zealand wine first broke…
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The Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva 2018 is a $7.89 Costco exclusive. This Tempranillo is produced for Costco by Vina Egula a Rioja winery with over forty years of experience. The Vina Egula Reserva sells under its own label for $13 to $19. The Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva 2018 is 100% Tempranillo and was aged for…
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The JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay 2021 is 100% Chardonnay and is a wine I found at Costco selling for $9.99 and is found on the web for 13 to $17. The JaM in the name stands for John and Michele Truchard. John is a second-generation California winemaker his father owns Truchard Vineyards in Napa. In…
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The Les Allies Blanc de Blanc Brut is a French Sparkling wine I found at a local Chicago wine shop selling for $9.99. This is a Cote d’Or wine from Burgundy, France, and is a Vin Mousseux wine meaning it was produced in a method different than the Traditional or Champagne Method. That usually means…
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The Sand Point Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is a wine I found selling for $9.99. The Sand Point brand of wine is part of the Lange Twins Family Winery and Vineyards located in Acampo, California inside the Lodi AVA. The Lange Twins are 5th generation farmers whose families started working the land in the 1870s. The…
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The Cecilia Beretta Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco 2021 is an $11.99 Trader Joe’s wine though it is available at a higher price elsewhere. Cecilia Beretta is a brand and winery owned by the Pasqua family since the early 1980s and they have a history in wine starting in the 1940s. Millesimato means that this is a…
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The Exquisite Collection Cotes de Provence Rosé 2021-Aldi is a $9.99 Aldi exclusive. This is a wine that in Aldi Europe and for a couple of years in the US sold out in a matter of hours. The 2016 vintage of this wine won an award for one of the best Provence Rosé wines in…
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