Fast facts: Sho Chiku Bai Sake, Berkeley, Californa ($3.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) How good is the QPR on this (rice) wine? Well, a local high-end supermarket (which shall remain nameless) sells it for twice the price. It’s less than a mile away from our local Trader Joe’s, so yeah, it is worth the … Read moreTrader Joe’s has Good Sake for Goodness’ Sake
Fast facts: 2018 Santa Rita Secret Reserve Red Blend, Maipo Valley, Chile ($10.99 @ Costco, California – Item #623337) While technically a new world blend, I would have pegged this red wine (a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 15% Carignan and 10% Grenache) as an old world wine, possibly French if tasted … Read moreThe Secret’s Out About these Great Chilean Wines from Costco
Fast facts: 2020 Trader Joe’s Reserve Merlot Lot #227, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California ($9.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) We hope our subject line extrapolating the price per gallon (there are five standard 750ml bottles in a gallon FWIW) for this wine makes you feel better about the last time you filled up your … Read moreGreat Mmmerlot for Just $50 per Gallon!
Fast facts: 2020 Le Charmel Cotes de Provence Rosé, France ($6.89* @ Costco, California – Item #1401944) *price after $3 discount NEWS FLASH: This has become our favorite pink wine, so it was a nice surprise to find it at Costco discounted by $3 – making a really good value a super, duper high … Read moreCostco has the Wine to Kick Off Rosé Season – Now 1/3rd Off!
Hey Vino peeps, You’d know how much we liked this wine from our review just two weeks ago when this wine was $11. Well, Costco just cut its price in half – a decrease rendering it a ridiculous $4.99. If your local Costco is stocking it, get busy, fast! That is all, for … Read moreWhoa! Half price alert at Costco…
Fast facts: 2019 Syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington ($5.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) Before we start waxing about the grape, the vinification, the history…let’s say this: this is a great bottle of wine for $5.99! I entered the wine business – at least as a professional, hehe – in the early nineties. It … Read moreA Whole Lot of Red Wine Goodness for $5.99 from Trader Joe’s
Fast facts: 2018 Esteban Martin Garnacha-Syrah Cariñena, Spain ($10.99 @ Costco, California – Item # 512107) Here is an interesting fact about Spain and its wine. The country has the most “land under vine” in the world. Yet it is only the third largest producer, after France and Italy. How is this possible? In … Read moreYou Had Me at Garnacha
Fast facts: 2020 Chardonnay, Esprit des Lieux Mâcon-Verzé, Mâconnais,France ($9.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) Usually when you are buying a bottle of French Chardonnay and it says Vin de Bourgone on the label, you would be paying more than $10. A lot more. After all, white Burgundy is one of the most sought after … Read moreBargain White Burgundy from Trader Joe’s?!
Fast facts: 2019 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, Gigondas, France ($14.99 @ Costco, California – Item # 1134102) I am blaming the warping of time on Covid, but when I recently spied this in my local Costco my first thought was: “didn’t we just review the 2018 vintage?” The answer was no, we reviewed it some … Read moreGee, Gigondas! That’s French for High QPR!
Fast facts: 2019 Ile de Conas Rouge Soupplesse, Pays d’Oc, France ($7.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) You could go down a rabbit hole learning about “dried grape wines” which have literally been around since antiquity, but we hope to spare you from needing to do so. That is, unless you are itching to! … Read moreA Delightful French Wine, Which Borrows from Italian Winemaking Traditions