The 2013 Raimat Albariño is sourced from two sustainably farmed Raimat estate vineyards in the Costers del Segre DO, just west of Barcelona in Spain. This is a young wine, with only a small amount of aging, “on lees,” in stainless steel tanks and is intended to be consumed within 2 years of release. “On lees”…
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The Illinois Sparkling Company Brut is a non-vintage Champagne-style (Traditional Method) sourced from the St. Pepin grape grown a vineyard just south of Kankakee, Illinois, not too far south of Chicago and near the Indiana border. The Illinois Sparkling Co is located in Peru, Illinois, which is west and a little south of Chicago, in…
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The 2012 Salomon Undhof Hochterrassen (translates to high terraces) Grüner Veltliner is sourced from estate vineyards in the Wachau region of Austria near the Danube River. The family owned Salomon Undhal winery has been in operation since 1792 and they have some of the best vineyard locations in Austria. Grüner Veltliner is THE grape of Austria and…
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The 2012 Steppingstone North Coast Rocks White is a blend of Chardonnay and Muscat Canelli (the exact percentages for the blend is their little secret). The North Coast AVA incorporates 46 sub AVA’s, which include Napa Valley, Mendocino, Sonoma Coast among others. Muscat Canelli is an ancient grape varietal and is the grape all the…
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The 2013 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône Blanc is 90% Clairette with Grenache Blanc and Marsanne sourced from his organic vineyards in the Rhone Valley of France. Clairette is one of the oldest grape varietals in the south of France. Eric Texier had been trained as a scientist, before he decided to make wine and he produces…
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The 2012 Marques de Castilla Blanco Airén is sourced from vineyards in the Castilla LaMancha DOP of central Spain. The Airén grape is the most widely grown White grape in the world, it had been until recently, the most widely grown grape, both Red and White. Yet, most people have never heard of the Airén grape, much less…
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The 2012 Bonny Doon Albarino is sourced from two vineyards, 73% from the Kristy Vineyard in the Salinas Valley and 27% from the Jespersen Vineyard in the Edna Valley, both located inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Albarino is a grape that is usually found in northwest Spain and Portugal and is becoming increasingly…
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The 2013 SOFOS (translates to The Wise Old Man) Greek White Wine is a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Moschofilero (a local indigenous grape) produced by the Gioulis Estate, a small boutique winery, located in a mountainous area of Corinth on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. This is a certified organic wine along with…
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The 2012 VINTJS Gewurztraminer is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 exclusive wine sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA located inside the larger Central Coast AVA of California. The VINTJS Gewurztraminer was produced and bottled by Castoro Cellars, a family owned winery making Estate grown wines in Paso Robles. Produced and bottled only indicates that…
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This post isn’t necessarily about the 2010 Forlorn Hope Que Saudade Verdelho, it is an extremely small production wine, 527 cases, that was released a couple of years ago (there are newer vintages available). This is a wine a found at a clearance/end of bin sale, when it was first released it sold for $20 to…
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The Once Upon A Vine Enchanted Woods Bubbly (Limited Edition) is an unconventional blend of 45% Riesling, 40% Pinot Grigio, 9% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% other grapes (why they say “other” grapes and not which actual grapes they used, I don’t know) sourced from vineyards in several California grape growing AVA’s. Once Upon A Vine…
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The 2008 Dominio de Tharsys Brut Nature Cava is a blend of Parellada and Macabeo (local grapes, that along with Xarel*lo are the grapes traditionally used to make Cava) sourced from vineyards in the Catalunya (Cava D.O.) region near Barcelona in Northeast Spain. Brut Nature indicates that there was no sugar added during 2nd fermentation…
Read MoreThe HandCraft Inspiration White Wine is a blend of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Moscato and Pinot Grigio sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Hand Craft is one of Delicato Family Vineyards labels (Gnarly Head, Brazin, Twisted and {Noble Vines}, among others). Hand Craft is the brainchild of Cheryl Indelicato, the…
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The Barefoot Bubbly Tropical Fusion is a Sparkling wine sourced from grapes from more than one California grape growing AVA and infused with pineapple, mango and papaya flavors. This is a non-vintage wine and Barefoot does not mention which grapes where used in the production of this Sparkling wine. The Bubbles were added to this…
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The Skinnygirl Prosecco Brut (not sweet) is a non-vintage Bubbly made from the Glera grape in the DOC Prosecco growing area of Veneto, Italy. That basically is the definition of Prosecco, it has to produced from the Glera grape that is grown in the Prosecco region, otherwise it is simply a Spumante, which is Italian…
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The 2011 St Francis White Splash is a blend of Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Roussanne and Pinot Grigio along with lesser amounts of Malvasia and Marsanne sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. St Francis established its vineyard in 1971 and open the winery in 1979, they specialize in Sonoma based wines, White…
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The Trader Joe’s Blanc de Blanc Brut is a non-vintage Sparkling wine produced somewhere in France and TJ’s sells it for $4.49. This is a revisit, we tasted the TJ’s Blanc de Blanc Brut back in July 2011 and we thought it was $4.49 very well spent. Blanc De Blanc in Sparkling wine terms means White…
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The Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Moscato Rose’ is a non vintage Bubbly sourced from grapes grown in South Eastern Australia. Moscato is the popular name for wine produced from the Muscat grape. The Muscat grape may be the oldest domesticated grape and comes in dozens of varieties and not only is it a White wine grape,…
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The 2012 Sofia Chardonnay is 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Blanc (a White wine grape, it is a mutation of Pinot Noir) grown in vineyards in Monterey County (just north of Paso Robles), California. In California, a bottle of wine can be identified as a single varietal as long as at least 75% of the…
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The 2012 Les Hauts De Lagarde Blanc is a certified organic, Vegan friendly, Estate grown blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillon grown in a vineyard near the town of Saint Laurent du Bois in Bordeaux, France. Vegans do not eat or drink food made with animal by-products. While wine is fermented grapes and…
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Charles De Fere Moscato is a non-vintage Sparkling wine sourced from grapes grown in vineyards thru out France and produced in the Methode Ancestrale style. Methode Ancestrale is a technique to produce Sparkling wine that pre dates Champagne wines by 100 years. With Methode Ancestrale the still wine (no bubbles) is bottled before the first…
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The 2012 BioKult Grüner Veltliner, this awesome, certified organic 100% Grüner from Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) is a rather rare example of Austria’s most widely planted grape in that it can be aged for up to three years despite it being 100% organic. It’s a beautiful golden green in your glass and smells like a lime and…
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I often wonder why Viognier isn’t more popular in the US. It stands well on its own and is often co-fermented with Syrah in the Rhone Valley in France, so it has solid credentials. It has the weight of the ever popular, Chardonnay, but with sooo much more going on. So if you’ve never had…
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The 2009 Masi Modello Delle Venezie Bianco (White) is a blend of 85% Pinot Grigio and 15% indigenous grapes sourced from the Masi Estate (owned and operated by the Boscaini family for 6 generations) vineyards in the Stra’ del Milione region of Friuli Grave DOC in Veneto near Venice. 40% of the Pinot Grigio was…
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The 2009 Tienen Duende (loosely translates to “has soul”) Verdejo is a Spanish import wine for the Supervalu store chain, which includes Albertsons, Biggs, Cub Foods, Sav-a-lot, IGA and up to a couple of days ago, Jewel Foods. This is a Verdejo sourced from vineyards in the Segovia region of Castilla y Leon in Northwest…
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