Category: food and wine
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Another WoW in our BBQ Series
Fast facts: 2021 Pedroncelli Mother Clone Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma California ($16.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) For years we American’s proclaimed Zinfandel to be uniquely ours. Then DNA testing arrived in the wine world and we discovered that the grape’s genetic roots can be traced to modern-day Croatia, where it’s known as Crljenak or…
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Our Voyage of Wine Discovery Docks at a New Port of Call
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in 2022, best wines at Trader Joes, best wines under $20, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, food and wine, French Wines, grenache, GSM, Lot #254, morvedre, Rasteau, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, syrah, Trader Joe’s Reserve, Trader Joe’s wine, Trader Joe’s Wine, Uncategorized, Wine, wine reviews, Wines of France, wines under $10, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast facts: 2022 Trader Joe’s Reserve Lot #254, Rasteau (GSM Red Blend), Rhone Valley, France ($9.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) I live for finding new, undiscovered wine appelations that produce high QPR wines. So I was pleasantly surprised to encounter this wine in my local Trader Joe’s last week. This wine seems mighty scarce on…
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The Perfect Pizza and Pasta Porch Pounder
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in 2017, best trader joes wine deals, best trader joes wines, best wines at Trader Joes, best wines under $20, Casone, Chianti Wine, costco wine blog, food and wine, Italian Wines, Poggio al Casone, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, syrah, Toscana, Toscana, Trader Joe’s wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines of Italy, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast Facts: 2017 Poggio al Casone, Toscana, Italy ($10.99 @Trader Joe’s in California) How is that subject line for a mouthful of alliteration? BTW, “porch pounder” is a technical term used by those of us in the wine trade to describe a wine that goes down easy and doesn’t require too much critical thought.…
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A Harbinger of Spring, and the Perfect Easter Wine from Costco
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in best costco wine deals, best costco wines, best wines at Costco, best wines under $20, Costco, costco wine blog, Costco Wines, food and wine, French Wine, Kirkland Signature, Kirkland Signature Series, reverse wine snob, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, Trader Joe’s & Costco wines, White Wine, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines of France, Wines Under $15Fast Facts: 2022 Kirkland Signature Sancerre, Loire Valley, France ($15.99 @Costco in California – Item #1476058) Ever since word leaked from the east coast that the Kirkland Signature Sancerre had started to arrive, we have been scouring our local Costcos here on the left coast looking for this gem. At last our efforts were…
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A TJ’s Chard to Toast the Arrival of Spring
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in 2022, best trader joes wine deals, best trader joes wines, best wines at Trader Joes, best wines under $20, California Wines, Chardonnay, costco wine blog, food and wine, reverse wine snob, Russian River Valley, russian river valley, Sonoma County, Sonoma County, Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve, Trader Joe’s Wine, Trader Joe’s wine, White Wine, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast facts: 2022 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Chardonnay Lot #128, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California ($12.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) You have heard us say many times that Sonoma’s cool Russian River Valley excels at producing world class Pinot Noir and the same goes for Chardonnay. Chardonnay remains its most planted wine grape, although…
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Changes in Latitude, Changes in Palate, Dude
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Fast facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon $12.99 (@Costco, California, Item# 975274) Why yes, we are riffing on the Jimmy Buffet album title in our subject line. But we are not here to conjure up Margaritaville. Far from it. Champions of wines from the Pacific Northwest (raising my hand…
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When Dusty is a Compliment…
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in 2021, best costco wine deals, best costco wines, best wines at Costco, best wines under $20, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Wines, Costco, costco wine blog, Costco Wines, food and wine, Kirkland Signature, Kirkland Signature Series, Napa Valley, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, rutherford, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California ($18.99@Costco, California, Item# 1265184) The term “Rutherford dust” routinely gets applied to tasting notes of wines from this part of the Napa Valley. But what theories explain why grapes and wines from this AVA tend to share this characteristic? The best – and most…
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RRV PN from TJs
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in 2021, best wines under $20, California Wines, costco wine blog, food and wine, Lot #122, Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, russian river valley, Russian River Valley, russian river valley, Sonoma County, Sonoma County, Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve, Trader Joe’s Wine, Trader Joe’s wine, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast facts: 2021 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Lot #122 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California ($12.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) Let’s start by unpacking the alphabet soup in our subject line, shall we? The Russian River Valley (RRV) is an important part of Sonoma, and Pinot Noir (PN) is an important part of …