The 2009 Ass Kisser Shiraz is 100% Shiraz sourced from vineyards in South Australia (along with Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania make up the Southeastern Australia growing region) and is produced by Rocland Estate Family Winery. There are 16 growing regions in South Australia, including Barossa, Adelaide and McLaren Vale. The Shiraz is aged…
Read MoreThe 2010 Dr Jebediah Drinkwell’s Meritage is a Trader Joe’s ($6.99) exclusive label made for them by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse (a custom wine producer) from grapes grown in Paso Robles, California. They have been making this wine for several years and the blend from 2010 is 44% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec,…
Read More2009 Chateau Moulin de Beausejour Bordeaux Red is 100% Merlot classified Bordeaux Superieur, estate grown and Chateau bottled in the Saint-Emilion AOC (Right Bank) of Bordeaux, France. That is a big introduction for a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive wine. The thing to know about Bordeaux wine is that vintage is everything, with all their rules…
Read MoreThe Foxglove Zinfandel is 94% Zinfandel and 6% Petit Syrah sourced from the Dos Ninos and the Hog Canyon vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA of California. Foxglove is the entry level label for Bob and Jim Varner, who are very well known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wine was fermented in stainless…
Read MoreThe 2010 Brander Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the San Ynez AVA in Santa Barbara County and San Ynez both part of the larger Central Coast AVA. This Sauvignon Blanc uses grapes from Brander’s estate vineyards along with grapes grown from other vineyards in the Los Olivos sub region of San Ynez….
Read MoreThe 2009 Green Barn Red Field Blend is a Trader Joe’s ($7.99) exclusive sourced from certified organic grapes grown in Mendocino County, California. It is made by the Mendocino Wine Company, who produce Parducci Wine Cellars, Paul Dolan Vineyards and other notable wines. They have been producing organic, sustainable and bio-dynamic wines for some time…
Read MoreThe Superstition Riesling/Pinot Blanc is 51% Riesling and 49% Pinot Blanc sourced from the Reinhessen region of Germany. They have been making wine in Reinhessen since Caesar came marching thru, way back when and 70% of the wines produced here come from white wine grapes. Pinot Blanc is an unstable mutation of the Pinot Noir…
Read MoreThe Gruet Brut Rose is a nonvintage Sparkling wine made from 100% Pinot Noir grown at Estate vineyards near the town of Engle, 170 miles south of Albuquerque, in New Mexico. They add 2% still (no bubbles) Pinot Noir to give the wine a pink hue. This Sparkler is made in the Methode Champenoise process,…
Read MoreThe Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Edna Valley Pinot Reserve is 100% Pinot Noir, cellared and bottled by DNA Vineyards. DNA Vineyards is a project by winemaker Dennis Patton and they are responsible for some of Trader Joe’s best exclusive wines. The term “cellared and bottled” legally indicates that the listed winery aged the wine before…
Read MoreThe Jaume Serra Cristalino Extra Dry Cava is sourced from Estate vineyards in the Alt Penedes growing region in Spain. This Sparkling wine uses the traditional Cava grapes, 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel.lo. Cava uses the same second fermentation method (that is where the bubbles are added) as Champagne and this Cava is aged for…
Read MoreThe 2009 Vampire Vineyards Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Vampire Vineyards is an actual Winery the label indicated they produced and bottled this wine, which legally means they crushed, fermented, aged and bottled at least 75% of this Pinot. Their website has tons of information on Vampires,…
Read MoreThe 2009 Stargroves Paso Robles Chardonnay is 93.2% Chardonnay, 6.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 0.2% Pinot Blanc (a mutation of Pinot Noir), I got that information from a wine sellers website from Taiwan. Stargroves seems to be a label produced by Vintage Wine Estates (Cosentino, Grove Street, Girard Wines, among others) made for the Asian market….
Read MoreThe Dearly Beloved Forever Red is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese and Carignane sourced from vineyards in Mendocino County. A Trader Joe’s exclusive ($6.99), made by Mendocino Wine Group, who own a number of properties, most notably Parducci and Paul Dolan. There is not much information available, other than TJ’s little…
Read MoreThe 2010 Comoloco (translates to “like mad”) Monastrell is 100% Monastrell sourced from a single vineyard from Jumilla in Southeastern Spain. Comoloco is made by Bodegas Juan Gil, a noted maker of Monastrell and Monastrell is the main grape of the Jumilla DO. Monastrell is also know as Mourvedre and Mataro and is the M…
Read MoreThe 2009 Estancia Monterrey County Chardonnay is sourced from Estancia’s Estate Pinnacles Ranch Vineyard located in the Salinas Valley of Monterrey County AVA, California. Half of the Chardonnay is aged in oak barrels and the other half aged in stainless steel vats, giving the wine both the buttery, smooth oak influence and the bright, fresh…
Read MoreWe reviewed the 2009 LaGranja 360 Tempranillo and thought that this was the REAL bargain wine at Trader Joe’s, pass up those stacks of cases of Charles Shaw wines and grab the LaGranja 360. When folks talk about 2 Buck Chuck, they say things like, “ It was more drinkable than I thought” or “it was…
Read MoreTrader Joe’s +Cabernet Sauvignon+Napa Valley=$4.99. Spiral Wines is a custom label produced by Fior di Sole, a custom and private label winemaker. The back label says Spiral Wines vinted and bottled this Cabernet and legally that indicates that Spiral Wines fermented a minimum of 10% of the wine. The term “Reserve” on the bottle has…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine d’Andezon is a blend of 90% Syrah (40+ year old vines) and 10% Grenache (60+ year old vines) sourced from a co-op located south of Chateauneuf du Pape in the Cote du Rhone region in France. This is a wine put together and imported by Eric Solomon. The wine is aged in…
Read MoreThe 2010 Dynamic White Table Wine is 51% Sauvignon Blanc and 49% Chardonnay in certified organic and bio-dynamic Estate vineyards in Lake County, California. Dynamic Vineyards are part of the Ceago VineGarden Group, which is in turn owned by Jim Fetzer of Fetzer Vineyard fame. The Lake County AVA is north of Napa Valley, east…
Read MoreThe Shakedown White Blend is 75% Sauvignon Blanc (50% grown in Paso Robles and 25% grown in Santa Ynez Valley), 20% Muscat Blanc (Paso Robles) and 5% Viognier (Paso Robles). The grapes are grown by an association of 300 farmers who grow grapes using sustainable farming practices. This is a non-vintage wine, which means at…
Read MoreThe Shakedown Red Blend is 75% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache and 10% Viognier sourced from the Central Coast Vineyard Team, a group of 300 local farmers growing grapes with sustainable farming practices. The grapes for the Shakedown Red come from the Paso Robles AVA of the Central Coast. Viognier is a White wine grape and is used…
Read MoreThe Barefoot Bubbly Moscato Spumante is a non-vintage Sparkling wine sourced from several California grape growing AVA’s. Spumante is the general Italian term for Sparkling wine. The Barefoot Bubbly is made with the Charmat Method, which is where the second fermentation takes place in large vats (in Champagne the 2nd fermentation take place in each…
Read MoreThe 2009 Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover Red Blend is 50% Petite Sirah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 10% Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA near San Francisco in Northern California. Concannon Vineyards have quite a history, the founder, James Concannon planted the vineyard from Bordeaux grapevine cuttings in 1883, they…
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