The Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2017 is sourced from Poppy’s Highland vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands sub-AVA inside the Monterey AVA, which is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. The Santa Lucia Highlands is exactly what the name suggests; it is located in the foothills of the Santa Lucia coastal mountains. This…
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The Story The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve GSM 2018 is a Trader Joe’s $6.99 exclusive. A GSM is Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend in this case sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside the Monterey AVA which in turn is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. This is a wine made exclusively for Trader…
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The Chiare’ Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine (Chiare’ is Italian for clear) is a $7.99 ALDI’s vintage dated Bubbly sourced from vineyards in Monterey, California. CWF reviewed the 2014 vintage (it was $6.99 then) and thought it was worth twice the price. ALDI must have showcased the 2014 in its advertisements, because we learned that vintage…
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In this episode, we review the Poppy Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands 2014. Listen now to hear what we have to say about it!
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The Noble Vines 446 Chardonnay 2016 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from sustainable farmed Delicato Family Vineyards estate property in the San Bernabe AVA inside the Monterey County AVA below the Monterey Bay in the Central Coast AVA of California. Noble Vines is one of Delicato Family Vineyards (family owned since the 1920s with vineyards in Lodi,…
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The William Wright Artist Series Red Wine Blend 2015 is I believe a $9.99 ALDI exclusive, produced from 65% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Zinfandel, and 2% Syrah grown in vineyards in the Monterey AVA below San Francisco and inside the Central Coast AVA. William Wright wines are produced by Scheid Winery, Monterey, Ca. who produce…
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The Dove Creek Monterey Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 seems to be a $11.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from estate grown grapes from 2 vineyards, one located in the San Lucas sub-AVA and the other in the Hames Valley sub-AVA of the Monterey AVA which is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. I say this seems to be an…
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The Meiomi Pinot Noir 2014 is composed of 100% Pinot Noir grapes from 48% Monterey County, 27% Sonoma County and 25% Santa Barbara County. Meiomi (translates to “coast” in the language of the local native people) is a brand started by Joe Wagner, part of the Wagner Family who are well-known for Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon….
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The Poppy Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from the Poppy estate Highland Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA inside the Monterey AVA, which is part of the larger Central Coast AVA. The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is located in the foothills east of the coastal Santa Lucia Range and on the western side of the Salinas…
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The Granite Coast Vineyards Red Blend 2013 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, estate grown and produced in Monterey, California. Granite Coast Vineyards seems to be a brand name and not an actual vineyard and winery, so if you want to know which estate grew the grapes and made the wine, look up wineries in…
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The Jargon Pinot Noir 2012 is 76% Pinot Noir, 18% Syrah and 6% Petite Sirah, the Syrah is sourced from the Monterey AVA, the Pinot and the Petite Sirah are sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Jargon is one of Trinchero Family Estates (founded in 1974) line of wines, other brands include…
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The Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from grapes farmed in the Clarksburg, Monterey and Lodi AVA’s of northern California. Bogle Vineyards is a 6th generation, family owned vineyard (they have 1500 acres of grape vines) and winery located in the Clarksburg AVA, which is in the Sacramento River Delta. This Chardonnay is fermented “on…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Monterey Merlot 2012 is a $5.99 TJ’s exclusive and believe it or not, it is estate grown, produced and bottled by someone. The back of the bottle says Blue Canyon Wine Company, Greenfield, Ca., they are a front company and not an actual winery. There are 175 vineyards in Monterey,…
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The Layer Cake Central Coast Chardonnay 2012 is sourced from vineyards in Monterey (south of San Francisco) and Santa Barbara (just north of Los Angeles) in California. Even though northern California is cooler than southern California, both regions have similar climates due to the influence of the Pacific Ocean, cool breezes and morning fog. Layer Cake…
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The 2012 Gnarly Head Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in Monterey, the North Coast AVA (includes Mendocino, Napa Valley, Sonoma And Lake County) as well as vines from Lodi. Delicato Family Vineyards, the makers of Gnarly Head as well as BraZin, Bota Box and others is located in Lodi, California. The name Gnarly…
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The 2012 {Noble Vines} 667 Pinot Noir is sourced from DFV Vineyards own San Bernabe vineyard in Monterey along with grapes from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA and the Arroyo Seco AVA, both located inside the larger Monterey AVA in California. {Noble Vines} is one of DFV Vineyards many labels, others include Gnarly Head, Brazin,…
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The 2011 Newman’s Own Chardonnay is sourced from several California Coastal vineyards, but mainly vineyards located in Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties. Newman’s Own wines are one of Rebel Wines labels, they also do The Show, Bandit and 3 Thieves wines. Newman’s Own food and wine products started when Paul Newman decided not to give…
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The 2011 Hess Select Chardonnay is sourced from the Hess family owned, Shirtail Creek (sustainably farmed) vineyard in the Monterey AVA (just north of Paso Robles) inside the larger Central Coast AVA in California. Hess is known for their single vineyard Napa wines and the Select series is their more affordable line, the average on-line price…
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The 2011 Bogle Vineyards California Pinot Noir is sourced from contracted vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA (inside Sonoma County) and the Monterey AVA along with Bogle Estate grown grapes from the Clarksburg AVA (southwest of Sacramento and west of Lodi). Bogle is a 6th generation family owned winery with extensive vineyard holdings in…
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The 2012 Bay Moon Sauvignon Blanc is a Trader Joe’s exclusive, $5.99 in the Midwest, sourced from vineyards located in the Monterey AVA inside the larger Central Coast AVA of California. The Bay Moon brand is part of the Trader Moon line of wines, that are produced for Trader Joe’s by the Delicato Family Vineyards,…
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The 2011 Gnarly Head Authentic White is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Colombard, Muscat and Viognier sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Whenever you see the word, California, on the front label of a wine bottle, that means the grapes were grown in more than one AVA, such as Napa or…
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The 2010 Vinum Cellars Pinot Noir is sourced from sustainably farmed long term contracted vineyards in Monterey, California. The label says this is a California Pinot Noir which means that the grapes came from more than one grape growing AVA, but their website says Monterey. Vinum Cellars is a virtual winery, they lease the facilities…
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The 2010 Red Rock Reserve Merlot is sourced from vineyards in several California grape growing AVA’s, but mainly from Sonoma, with Monterey and Napa providing most of the rest. Red Rock is one of E & J Gallo’s 60 brands of wines and spirits. Gallo has extensive vineyard holdings in Sonoma as well as other…
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The 2010 Chateau Julien Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Chateau Julien’s vineyard and from select long term contracted vineyards in Monterey, California (inside the larger Central Coast AVA). Chateau Julien is a family owned winery founded in 1982 and their winemaker, Bill Anderson, has been making the wine since the…
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