Category: wine blog
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Love Seafood? Here is a wine you need to know.
Fast Facts: 2023 Bodegas Viña Cartín Ruta 49, Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain ($9.99 @ Trader Joe’s in California) I’ll be honest. The first thing that drew me to this wine was its uber cool label design. But once it “had me at hello” I noticed that the juice behind this label was Albariño…
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It’s Sangria Season, Baby!
Fast Facts: NV Maria Jola Sangria, Petersbach, France ($6.99 @ Trader Joe’s in California) It’s deep summer. And it seems to be hades hot in every corner of the contiguous United States. So this caught my eye while prowling the Trader Joe’s in the beach town of Ventura, California. The first thing that attracted…
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We’re Taking you On a Washington State Road Trip
Fast Facts: 2021 DeLille Cellars Métier Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington ($19.99 @Costco in California – Item #1699463) When you think of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) do you think of cool, moist, and overcast? Well, much of it is. But not all of it… Fact is, the Columbia Valley is a sun-soaked part of…
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Putting the Wow! in our W.o.W. An Incredible $4.99 Wine at Trader Joe’s
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in 2022, best trader joes wines, best wines at Trader Joes, best wines under $20, Cabernet Sauvignon, food and wine, Lake County, Motif, Red Hills, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, Trader Joe’s Wine, Trader Joe’s wine, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, wines under $10, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25, wines under $5Fast facts: 2022 Motif Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills, Lake County California ($4.99 @Trader Joe’s, California) Our wine of the week (WoW!) is a wow indeed. Crazy good QPR. Great look. And an interesting/less common appellation. Long time readers will know that this is like catnip for the Vinopointer. This wine stopped me in my…
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Hiding in Plain Sight – this California Wine Region Rivals Sonoma for Diversity, and QPR
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in 2021, andrew murray, best costco wine deals, best wines at Costco, best wines under $20, California Wines, Costco, costco wine blog, Costco Wines, food and wine, Red Wine, reverse wine snob, Santa Barbara County, syrah, tous les jours, Wine, wine blog, wine reviews, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, wines under $25Fast facts: 2021 Andrew Murray Vineyards Tous les Jours Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, California ($13.89 @ Costco, California – Item # 636736) Here we are nearly a month into Spring so it’s time to start leaning into wines that would be perfectly at home with BBQ. Syrah is high on that list. Tous les…
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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
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…