The Story The Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc 2019 is a young wine sourced from vineyards in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa. Ken Forrester is one of the leading wineries in South Africa, their farm dates back to 1689 with grapevines first planted in 1694. Ken Forrester bought the rundown derelict estate in 1993 and…
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The Story The Delicious Monster White Blend 2019 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a blend of 60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Muscat, and 20% Chardonnay from McGregor Winery vineyards in South Africa. McGregor Winery is a co-op of 33 farmers who have banded together to produce wines in the foothills of the mountains in…
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The Curator Red 2012 is an unique blend, 61% Shiraz/Syrah, 20% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Tinto Barroca (when grown in Portugal this is one of the grapes used for Port) and 1% Carignan sourced from multiple vineyards owned by 4 contract growers in the Swartland growing region on the west coast…
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The Indaba Chenin Blanc 2015 is sourced from several vineyards in the Swartland, Paarl and Stellenbosch growing regions in the Western Cape area of South Africa. Chenin Blanc is the most planted grape in South Africa and has become “the wine of South Africa.” Originally, Chenin Blanc was a well known grape from the Loire Valley in…
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The Marvelous Red 2013 (yes, this is a Red wine, but Marvelous Wines are named by color, the White Blend is Marvelous Yellow and the Bordeaux Blend is Marvelous Blue) is a blend of 42% Syrah, 41% Cinsault, 7% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache and 4% Viognier sourced from carefully chosen vineyards in the Western Cape Region…
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I had a meeting at one of my favorite Chicago wine bars recently – BIN36 – and I wanted something “outside the box” – not my usual reds or whites or sparklings or rosés. I said “bring me something weird”! Enoch Shully, BIN36’s beverage guru, did not disappoint. He brought me something from his native…
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The Stellenryck Sauvignon Blanc 2013 is sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the Stellenbosch region of the Western Cape of South Africa. Stellenryck is one of Die Bergkelder (The Mountain cellar), a winery/co-op founded in 1968, other labels include Two Oceans and Fleur du Cap. At one time, the Stellenryck wines were only produced…
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The 2012 Goats do Roam Red is a blend of 46% Syrah/Shiraz, 23% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre, 11% Cinsault and 3% Durif/Petite Sirah sourced from multiple vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape wine region. The name, Goats do Roam, is a play on the Cotes du Rhone AOC grape growing area in the Rhone Valley in…
Read MoreThe Chaza Moscato is a $4.99 Aldi’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in South Africa. Moscato is made from the Muscat grape or Muscadel in South Africa. This wine was produced by Iona Wines from the Stellenbosch region east of Cape Town near the coast. The grapes were grown and the wine was produced with certified sustainable…
Read MoreThe Tussock Jumper Chenin Blanc is sustainably farmed in vineyards in the Western Cape growing region in South Africa. They have been producing wine in the Western Cape since 1659. This is Tussock Jumper’s South Africa entry to their line of 13 wines from around the world. Chenin Blanc is a grape originally grown in…
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 2007 Route 45 Shiraz is an “end of the bin” find, all bottles $4.99 and when they are gone, they are gone for good. There is not much information available, Wine Spectator and Enthusiast both reviewed the wine in the past year, the Winery seems to have gone under and the Importer does not…
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