Category: California Wines
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Old School Pinot Noir at a New School Price
Fast facts: 2023 Valle de Inez Pinot Noir, San Luis Obispo, CA ($9.99* @ Costco, California – Item #1374624) *Net price after $8 in store discount Long time readers may recognize this wine as we have featured it previously and suggested pairing it with your Thanksgiving feasts. The search for “legit” Pinot Noir for…
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Chardonnay Lovers Take Note!
Fast facts: 2023 Lustrous Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California ($8.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) I spent enough years – heck, decades – in the wine trade to say with some certainty that you shouldn’t go looking for the Lustrous Winery should you be so lucky to find yourself in the Sonoma Valley. That…
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Putting the M in Mmmm
Fast Facts: 2022 M Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, California ($14.99* @Costco in California, Item #1748329) *net price after $5 in store discount This is a fantastic Paso Robles Cab from one of our favorite Central Coast wineries, McPrice Myers. Long time reader/friend Moshe C turned us on to this winery and their bottlings…
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From a Familar WoW Winery, a Pinot with Off the Charts QPR
Fast facts: 2023 Motif Pinot Noir, Monterey County, California ($4.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) Finding a decent Pinot Noir under $10 is challenging enough, so when we saw this $4.99 Motif Monterey Pinot Noir 2023 at Trader Joe’s, we weren’t sure what to expect. But there were some factors that suggested that this wine might…
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A Cal-Ital Wine Gem from Costco for Under $20 – Get on It
Fast facts: 2022 Ferrari Carano Siena (Red Blend) Sonoma County, California $16.99 (@Costco, California, Item# 135936) Ferrari-Carano has been a leading producer of world-class, nationally acclaimed wines since 1985. From a small, 30-acre plot of grapes to the present 20 estate vineyards, their success is based on their commitment to quality as well as…
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Is this $11 bottle the highest QPR wine in the Kirkland Signature Napa portfolio?
Fast facts: 2022 Kirkland Signature Red Blend, Napa Valley, California $11.99 (@Costco, California, Item# 333110) This wine is an extraordinary value. The Beverage Tasting Institute had this to say about it: “If you need an everyday house red Bordeaux blend this should be at the top of the list.” That’s mighty praise for an…
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A Costco Wine that Puts the Wow in our W.O.W!
Fast facts: 2019 Borreo Ranch Sangiovese, Napa Valley, CA ($16.99* @Costco, California, Item# 259607) *net price after a generous $13 discount I’ve been tempted by this bottle for months at my local Costco. The label suggested this wine had lots of potential. First off, a single vineyard wine from Napa? You know how we…
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TJ’s Has a Napa Cab for People that Don’t Like Napa Cab – for Under $20!
Fast facts: 2022 Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley, California ($19.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) Oakville is what you could think of as the heart of Napa Valley. It is arguably the most prestigiou$ wine region in America. It includes famous vineyards like ToKalon and Martha’s as well as “cult” and…
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Old School Pinot from Costco – Is this a Good Thing?
Fast facts: 2020 Acacia Pinot Noir, Carneros, California ($14.99 @ Costco, California – Item #58889) In their review of this wine, the critics at Wine Enthusiast called this a “1980’s style Pinot”. One could take this as a compliment, or a dismissal of the juice. But since they also gave it 93 points, it…
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One of Our Perennial Favorite Red Wines is Back at Costco
Fast Facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Suscol Vineyard, Napa Valley, California ($17.99 @Costco in California – Item #1491800) In our home, we have two Kirkland Signature wines which are personal favorites. The first is the Sancerre which arrives in the Spring. And amongst a fairly sizeable portfolio of red wines, this one that…