The Sobon Estates Old Vine Amador County Zinfandel 2019 is sourced from estate vineyards in the Amador County AVA, east of Napa, north, and east of Lodi, and east of Sacramento, California. Amador County is one of the oldest wine regions in California. The Sobon family started Shenandoah Vineyards in 1977 and 1989 purchased the D'Agostini winery that had been in business … [Read more...]
Ugly Sweater Red Blend 2021 Edition
The Ugly Sweater Red Blend 2021 Edition is $8.49 at Trader Joe's. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. It is a non-vintage wine; Christmas 2022 may have a different grape blend. The information on the bottle is confusing; the back label says it is Red Table Wine, all California wine is … [Read more...]
Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel 2019
The Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel 2019 is a blend of 55% estate fruit, from Sonoma Valley, the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek, along with 45% grapes from long term contracted vineyards. This is Seghesio's "entry-level" Zinfandel bottling, though it is hard to call any wine that has received 90 points plus eleven years in a row "entry-level'. The … [Read more...]
Grifone Primitivo 2020
The Grifone Primitivo 2020 is a $4.99 Trader Joe's import exclusive sourced from vineyards in Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot. The Primitivo grape and the Zinfandel grape are two separate clones of a grape from Croatia named Crljenak Kasteljanski. That grape is extremely obscure, so, amazingly, it found its way to Italy and California, where it thrives. To put different … [Read more...]
Trader Joe’s Reserve Dry Creek Zinfandel 2020
The Trader Joe's Reserve Dry Creek Zinfandel 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. TJ's sells many versions of these Reserve wines every year. They are wines sourced from vineyards in high-end AVAs that sell at a bargain price. You never get much information on the wine, so just how exclusive these vineyards are never known. The 2020 vintage in the Dry Creek AVA of … [Read more...]