Category: Chief Winehound
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Begging for a Brawl – A Costco Pinot Noir Face-Off
Fast facts: 2016 Goyette Sonoma County Pinot Noir ($9.99 @Costco; California) 2016 Kirkland Signature Carneros Napa Valley Pinot Noir ($9.99@Costco; California) Finding Pinot Noir under $10 from a desirable appellation is no small feat these days. So when I came upon one from Napa and one from Sonoma at my friendly neighborhood Costco – both…
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Two Insanely Good Spanish Wine Deals at Trader Joes
Fast facts: 2016 La Granja 360 Verdejo Viura $3.49 (@Trader Joe’s; California) 2017 La Granja 360 Tempranillo $3.99 (@Trader Joe’s; California) I am not going to wax all poetic about these two Spanish bottlings from TJs. These are simple, but solid, wines. Both are fresh, bright, tasty and incredible values for your wine dollar. They…
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A Food-Friendly Summer Weight Red Wine from TJs
Fast facts: 2016 Trader Joe’s Reserve GSM Lot 171 $9.99 (@Trader Joe’s; California) As a general rule, American wine consumers are very focused on wines crafted from single varieties. Hence, most of the wines sold in the USA are labeled as varietal wines. Although, a wine labelled as Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon may only be…
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Giving Merlot a GOOD name
Fast facts: 2014 Franciscan Napa Valley Merlot $8.99 (@Costco; California) So often, plumbing the shelves, bins and pallets of mega wine retailers for extreme value wines yields brands/labels we’ve never heard of. This recent wine find from Costco is an exception… Speaking of exceptions, there were several clues that suggested that this bottle could be,…
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A Pair of Organic Wines from Bonterra, and Trader Joes
Fast facts: 2016 Bonterra Mendocino County Chardonnay $9.99 (@Trader Joe’s; California) 2016 Bonterra Tri County Sauvignon Blanc $9.99 (@Trader Joe’s; California) It’s not news that it’s hot just about everywhere in North America now. So heavy wines, as a general rule, are out. Lighter, brighter wines (especially white wines served well chilled) are in…at least…
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A Costco Sauvignon Blanc Smackdown!
Fast facts: 2017 Kirkland Marlborough (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc $6.99 (@Costco; California) 2016 Matua Marlborough (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc $7.99 (@Costco; California) You may have deduced from my posts that I am a bigger fan of red wines. That said, when we are drinking white wines at our house, it is more often than not…
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A Cal-Ital beauty – at a beautiful price!
Fast facts: 2012 Buono Anni Santa Ynez Valley Sangiovese ($13.99 @Costco, California) Let me start by alerting you to the fact that the $13.99 price tag above is not a typo. While this blog is devoted – almost exclusively – to wine finds under $10, this wine was still screaming KILLER DEAL at its slightly…
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Steal this Chard
Fast facts: 2016 Kirkland Sonoma County Chardonnay ($6.99 @Costco, California) Let me address something right out of the gate… I recognize that we review no small number of Kirkland branded wines here. And I know that some of us, myself included, are reluctant to bring them out at social occasions for fear of appearing unsophisticated,…
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A Summer Sangria Hack
In my prior post A BBQ Wine Battle Royale – Costco vs. Trader Joe’s Zinfandels I promised that I would share my secret recipe for making quick, easy and refreshing Sangria. The secrets shall be revealed here… When you research what it takes to witch up a batch of sangria from scratch, you are basically looking at…
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A BBQ Wine Battle Royale – Costco vs. Trader Joe’s Zinfandels
Fast facts: 2015 Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Zinfandel $9.99 (@Costco; California) 2016 OZV Lodi Zinfandel $9.99 (@Trader Joe’s; California) With summer just a few short weeks away (per the calendar anyway) we thought it was a good time to feature a grape variety that pairs especially well with all things barbecue. Old vine Zinfandel is…