Fast Facts: 2022 Cabernet Franc, Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve, Paso Robles, California ($7.99 @Trader Joe’s in California) …and let’s be frank: you just don’t see many bottlings of straight up Cabernet Franc – unless you are standing in a Winery Tasting Room. Cab Sauv? Sure. Cab Franc. Not so much… So that is what … Read moreTrader Joe’s Sez: “Let’s Be Franc”
Fast Facts: 2021 Pinot Noir, Trader Joe’s Reserve Lot #241, Santa Barbara County, California ($9.99 @Trader Joe’s in California) Pinot Noir has a problem. It’s being loved to death. Its precise rank varies by which list you consult, but it remains securely in the top 5 of all wine grapes, and second only to … Read moreThink You Can’t Find High QPR Pinot Noir Under $10? Think again…
Fast Facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Prosecco Rosé, Veneto, Italy ($7.99 @Costco in California – Item #1521870) We spill no small amount of “ink” talking about the “old world” rules and regs when it comes to wine and how they are generally more restrictive than in the US and the new world. Think of it as … Read moreRosé + Prosecco = Summer Genius!
Fast facts: 2016 Gaudio Reserva Red Blend, Alentejo, Portugal ($8.79 @Costco; California – Product #1756471) I have to admit that a big reason I reached for this wine is that my wife and I visited this region (south of Lisbon, north of the stunning Algarve) this past Spring. Oh, then there is the matter … Read more93 Points for Under $10? Thanks, Costco!
Fast Facts: 2020 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Lot #95, Sonoma County, California ($12.99 @Trader Joe’s in California) I am a self-professed insufferable wine snob, but I just have to say that it really bugs me when my California (!) friends say they are going to visit Napa and I discover … Read moreA Great TJ’s Cab Sauv, Just Don’t Call it Napa
Fast Facts: 2019 Vallobera Crianza, Rioja, Spain ($9.99 @Trader Joe’s in California) Rioja is one Spain’s most famous wine regions and is one of only two regions classified under the Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) system. Its two most important red grapes are Tempranillo and Garnacha. This particular wine is 100% Tempranillo, one of … Read moreA Delicious Summer Weight Spanish Red Wine – Just $9.99 at TJs
Fast Facts: 2022 Lucien Raimbault Pineau Exception, Sancerre, France ($16.99 @Costco in California – Item #1749206) I’m feeling a bit like the forlorn Jack in a Box on the Island of Misfit Toys as it wails: “we might as well go to bed” when it believes that Santa isn’t coming for them. But then … Read moreCostco’s Substitute Sancerre is a Nice Surprise
Fast facts: 2022 Amuse Bouche, Pétillant Naturel, Sparkling White Wine, France ($11.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) Sometimes it seems like there is very little new in the wine market. Then something like this comes along. But it’s actually not very new, after all. Read on… Let’s assume you have never even heard of a Pét-nat … Read morePet Nat Wines are Having a Moment – Wait, What?
Fast Facts: 2020 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, France ($13.99 @Costco in California – Item #11341020) One of the nice things about Costco’s line of Kirkland Signature wines is not just their incredible QPR, but also their relative price stability in this era where most prices keep ratcheting higher. We have been mining a French wine … Read moreA Perennial Favorite from Costco – More French Lessons
Fast facts: 2021 Vignobles Lacheteau Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Loire Valley, France ($7.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) European wine producers have a long standing tradition of using labels that are, in a word, confusing. At least to the average wine consumer. This is such a label. But we are here with some “French Lessons” to help … Read moreFrench Lessons from Trader Joe’s