This Chardonnay is part of a new line of 13 world wines that explore the essential grape varieties of each country of origin, delivering top quality wines at a great price ($9.99). The Malbec is from Argentina, the Merlot is from California, the Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from New Zealand and this Chardonnay is produced in…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sugar Pie Red Wine is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 exclusive, sourced from grapes grown in the North Coast of California, which encompasses 48 wine growing AVA’s, including Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino. The label says this wine was produced by Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch Cellars. Trader Joe’s does not give out much information on…
Read MoreThe Tussock Jumper Malbec is sourced from grapes grown in the Mendoza growing region of Argentina. The Mendoza region is in the foothills of the Andes and is the highest (in altitude) wine growing area in the world. The high altitude gives the grapevines intense exposure to sunlight. The Tussock Jumper Malbec is the Argentinian…
Read MoreTussock Jumper is a new line of 13 world wines, the usual, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and a Malbec from Argentina, along with the eclectic, a Touriga Nacional from Portugal, a Carmenere from Chile and a Chenin Blanc from South Africa. These are wines produced by well known wineries in each country and…
Read MoreThe 2007 Saint-Hilaire Grand Cuvee is a Sparkling wine estate grown and bottled in the Blanquette de Limoux AOC located in the Languedoc in southwest France. In 1531, Sparkling wine/Champagne was first produced by the monks at the Abbey Saint-Hilaire, Dom Perignon wasn’t born until 1638, so Champagne was not invented in Champagne. The Sparkling…
Read MoreThe Senda 66 Tempranillo is 100% Tempranillo sourced from a single vineyard near the town of Casas de Los Pinos in the La Mancha growing region of Spain. The wine is aged in new French oak barrels for 8 months then stored in the bottle for another 5 months before being released. Robert Parker gave…
Read MoreThe Markham Napa Merlot is sourced from multiple estate Napa Valley vineyards. Markham has been one of the leaders in California Merlot for years. Merlot fell on hard times after the movie “Sideways” came out (that was a really dopey reason to stop drinking Merlot), but Merlot has been coming back strong in recent years…
Read MoreThe 2008 Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from multiple vineyards located in Willamette, Rouge, Umpqua and Walla Walla Valleys, a decent cross section of Oregon Pinot Noir growing regions. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and 20% of the Pinot Noir was aged in oak barrels, the rest aged…
Read MoreThe Pierre Sparr Cremant Brut Rose’ is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards near the villages of Molsheim, Kintzheim and Sigolsheim in the Alsace Region of France. First fermentation takes place in steel tanks for 6 months, then second fermentation (adding bubbles) takes place inside each individual bottle, Methode Champagne, for 18 months. Wine and…
Read MoreThe Chateau Labrande Cahors is 75% Malbec, 20% Merlot and 5% Tannat sourced from the Lot region of the Cahors AOC in Southwest France. In Cahors, the Malbec grape is known as Auxerrois and the Malbec grapes grown in Argentina, while taken from France, are smaller in overall size and grow in smaller clusters. The…
Read MoreThe 2010 Dry Creek Chenin Blanc is 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from the Clarksburg AVA located near the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River Delta, in California. The majority of the grapes grown in Clarksburg are sold to wineries outside of Clarksburg, there are a handful of wineries working in the Clarksburg AVA, with…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sebastopol Hills Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s ($9.99) exclusive, is a label produced by Owl Ridge Wine Services, a custom wine making facility, who are also related to Owl Ridge Winery, a top notch Russian River Pinot Noir producer. The label indicates only that the grapes are sourced from the Sonoma Coast…
Read MoreThe Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Sparkling Wine ($9.99) is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir (a Blanc de Noir) sourced from grapes grown in California’s North Coast. The North Coast encompasses 50 different AVA’s, with the main growing areas being Sonoma, Napa Valley and Mendocino. Made by Rack and Riddle, the only custom…
Read MoreThe Blackburn & James Paso Robles Red Blend, a Trader Joe’s $6.99 exclusive, is a blend of 45% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Sangiovese sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles, California. The blend is mostly aged in used oak barrels, with 5% of the wine aged…
Read MoreThe 2010 Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay is sourced from various vineyards in Southeastern Australia. This wine has been solid and consistant, but an under the radar wine for several years. A small percentage of the wine is aged in French and American oak barrels for 6 months, the majority of the Chardonnay is aged in…
Read MoreThe 2010 The County Fair “I have Seen The Elephant” Mendocino County Chardonnay is a Trader Joe’s ($6.99) exclusive. The wine is produced by the HHD, LLC, which has been buying up vineyards and wineries in California and they control or have ties with some first class vineyards and wineries. Like most Trader Joe’s wines…
Read MoreThe 2010 Pacific Rim Organic Riesling is 99.7% organic sourced from several of Pacific Rims’ sustainable and organic vineyards in Columbia Valley, Washington. In keeping with the all organic nature of this wine, they use natural yeast to start fermentation. When a winemaker uses natural yeast, that means they use the yeast floating in the…
Read MoreThe 2008 Manuel Olivier Bourgogne Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in the Cotes de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy, France. This is the entry level Pinot Noir for Manuel Olivier, an up and coming Burgundy winemaker. The label says, “Mis en Bouteille par Manuel Olivier”,(meaning bottled by Manuel Olivier, not grown by) which indicates…
Read MoreThe 2009 Liberte‘ Cabernet Sauvignon is a Trader Joe’s ($9.99) exclusive made by Familia Nueva from grapes grown in Paso Robles, California. Familia Nueva is a label owned by Ancient Peaks Winery and the packaging here is a step or two up from the usual ten dollars wines. The bottle is a heavy Cabernet bottle…
Read MoreThe 2010 Panilonco Chardonnay Viognier (80% Chardonnay, 20% Viognier) is a Trader Joe’s ($4.99) exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Colchagua Valley by Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle, the largest family owned winery in Chile. The wine is aged in stainless steel vats and the alcohol content is 13.5%. The color is a pale butter yellow….
Read MoreThe 2010 Goats in Villages Chenin Blanc/Viognier is sourced from vineyards in the Paarl wine district northwest of Cape Town in South Africa. This seems to be a special bottling made for Trader Joe’s ($7.99) by the Goats do Roam Wine Company. There is no mention of this wine on their website or the importers…
Read MoreThe 2010 Primal Roots Red Blend is 43% Merlot, 37% Syrah and 20% Zinfandel sourced from multiple California grape growing AVA’s, though they say that 90% of the grapes came from the North Valley, which is a combination of several AVA’s from Lodi on up. The wine was aged in French oak barrels and the…
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