CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Kirkland Signature Côtes Du Rhône Villages 2025 This GSM wine is one you wouldn't think twice about paying $17.49 instead of $7.49. A solid, well-made, tasty Southern Rhône Valley Red blend. The winemaker, new this vintage, is from a Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery. He did an excellent job on this Costco value-priced Red. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podc...

Send us Fan Mail Moon X Red Blend 2024 2015 was the first vintage CWF reviewed, and it is still a value option. Back then, it was a dupe of the $40 Prisoner wine. A rich, extracted Red blend. Today, the Prisoner is still around, but not the force it once was. The Moon X Red Blend 2024 is, today, more balanced but still true to its extracted roots. Oh, by the way, this wine sells for $6.99, the sam...

Send us Fan Mail Courtier California St. Helena Sauvignon Blanc 2025 A Negociant buys surplus wine from a winery and sells it under their own label at a discount. The negociant never tells where the original wine came from; secrecy is important. Well, not so much here; listen to the podcast! A St. Helena Estate vineyard wine is amazing at $13; this is a good wine. In the podcast, I mentioned barre...

Send us Fan Mail Aldi Bear Bros Reserve North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 California has no legal definition of Reserve wine, but it typically denotes a wine that is a cut above. The North Coast is Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake County, and Napa Valley. Not bad places to source grapes. This 2023 vintage is a little old by Aldi wine standards; I'm not sure what to make of that. Bear Bros. brand has...

Send us Fan Mail Brisall Albariño 2025 Albariño is the White wine of Spain's and Portugal's Western Atlantic coasts. This $7.99 Albariño is from Spain's east coast. Not being from the prime location gives this wine bargain status. While Albariño is not too pricey, eight bucks from TJ's is a bargain. Albariño is a White wine that Sauvignon Blanc fans will immediately recognize....

Send us Fan Mail Aldi Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 Aldi's 2025 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is a 2024 vintage. The new 2026 wine is a Specially Selected  Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024. Different wine, but same vintage. A year more aging and a dollar less. Why didn't Aldi separate this wine from last year's? Maybe they hoped you wouldn't remember. Jus...

Send us Fan Mail Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2024 Wine has changed; California has changed! Just because last year's wine had perfect conditions does not mean this year's wine has the same. Trader Joe's, in the past,  may have had five to ten new wines a month. Those times are gone. Each vintage needs to be taken on its own merits. This Chardonnay.......pretty good!! Check us o...

Send us Fan Mail Dearly Beloved Lodi Red Blend 2024 This is the now-famous Trader Joe's Day of the Dead Skull wine. It has been available at Trader Joe's for about 15 years or more. This is the wine with the silk-screened, flowered skull! Over the years, the grapes have been sourced from Mendocino, the Central Coast, and now Lodi. This wine has been very consistent, a quality sub-$10 win...

Send us Fan Mail Underwood Oregon Pinot Gris 2023 Ok, Ok, so Oregon Pinot Gris has nothing in common with New Orleans Voodoo culture! Except they are both pretty cool. This is an affordable, tasty Oregon White wine that sips great. Gris is French for grey, and Grigio is Italian for grey, and it refers to the grapevine leaves at harvest. Dr John's 1960s album is a must-play around Halloween, a...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 This is a value-priced Pinot Noir that I have enjoyed for several vintages. I never knew I liked Santa Barbara Pinot Noir and Chardonnay until Trader Joe's started offering these wines at value prices. Buying at full price would never have given me a glimpse into Santa Barbara wine. Value-priced wine often leads you to u...

Send us Fan Mail TraderJoe's Platinum Reserve Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Stags Leap District is a very exclusive AVA. Value-priced wines are definitely not the norm. One of the wineries won the Judgment of Paris award for Cabernet Sauvignon in 1976! These wines are the real deal. And now, in 2026, these wines can be value-priced! Buy them now and figure it out later. Check us out at w...

Send us Fan Mail Kirkland Signature Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 This is a Kirkland wine that has been around since 2014; they have a stable supplier from Stags Leap AVA The reason they say Stags Leap District is because Stags Leap Winery has a worldwide reputation, and they do not want to make you think this is their wine. Stags Leap AVA is a small AVA with 14 wineries and  8 growe...

Send us Fan Mail Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 This is the $7.99 Costco Renwood Zin. The podcast has a story about Renwood. There have been major changes recently. Renwood, in spite of the changes, is still a remarkable wine. Amador County still makes excellent Zinfandel. This is a bargain; find out why! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder...

Send us Fan Mail Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Brut Cuvée This is a Bubbly that sells in the $20 range that I found at a sale price of $7.99. I was very happy. This is a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and French Colombard blend made with the Charmat Method. This is not a cookie-cutter Bubbly; it has a very definable flavor. A tasty and enticing flavor. Find it on sale and enjoy. Check us out at...

Send us Fan Mail Revelation Pays D'Oc Chardonnay 2024 A French IPG wine from a family-owned winery (since 1995). It has a little oak seasoning and maybe some malolactic fermentation. All good things for a $7.99 French Chardonnay. IGP wines are made to be affordable; they are the wines that the average French wine drinker uses. Trader Joe's has a winner here! Check us out at www.cheapwine...

Send us Fan Mail Bread & Butter California Pinot Noir 2024 I found this wine at Trader Joe's for $11.99; it sells elsewhere for $12 to $16. Bread and Butter is a brand from WX Wines. Bread and Butter has a full portfolio of wines. This Pinot Noir is an excellent value-priced Pinot. It is a classic California Pinot Noir, not one of those heavy, mixed-grape Pinots. This wine is 13.5% alcoho...

Send us Fan Mail Aldi Specially Selected Uco Valley Malbec 2025 This is a single vineyard from the Belhara Estate Winery. Trader Joe's has had a couple of Malbec wines from this Estate. The Uco Valley is a high-altitude vineyard region in the Mendoza Valley in Argentina. It is an outstanding region to grow the Malbec grape, after all the problems Bordeaux had in the 1800s. This is a solid val...

Send us Fan Mail Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay 2024 This is Costco's $7.39 Chardonnay, down from $7.99 in past vintages. It is good to you and good for you, if I may quote Andy of Mayberry. A sub-$10 Sonoma Chardonnay that has no issues and has plenty of flavor. This is no bare-bones Chardonnay; it has oak influence and flavors. It drinks far beyond its price. Check us out at ww...

Send us Fan Mail Method California Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 The podcast goes into detail, but this California Cabernet Sauvignon is a 93-point wine and Wine Enthusiast's Value Wine of the Year 2025. Multiple wine reviewers give the 2023 vintage 93 points. A ten-buck, 93-point wine is a joy. A 2025 Value Wine of the Year is awesome at $10. This is a wine that you should buy! Check us out at www...

Send us Fan Mail Juvé & Camps Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava 2022 A vintage-dated Cava is typically only produced in the best vintages. A Gran Reserva Cava undergoes a 2nd fermentation that lasts at least 30 months; here, it lasted 36 months. The grapes are organic. Brut Nature means that no sugar is added; listen to the podcast to hear what that means. These are Bubbly details that often cause...

Send us Fan Mail Nikau Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 A tasty Sauv Blanc from a family-owned, independent producer. Nikau Point is a beach on the North Island, and Marlborough produces 2/3 of New Zealand's wine from the NorthEast corner of the South Island. This is a tasty, balanced, inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc that drinks beyond its price tag. Not spiky or grassy, but bright and juic...

Send us Fan Mail VulTour Napa Valley Red Blend 2023 VolTour is a boutique winery based in Napa. They make wines from small plots of prime Napa vineyards. The wines routinely get 94 points on up and sell for $125+. The Voltour Proprietary Napa Red 2023 is a blend of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Zinfandel. The exact percentages are a secret. This wine sells on the VolTour website for $...

Send us Fan Mail M. Chevallier Carte Noire Brut Cava This Bubbly is produced by Spain's oldest winery and Cava producer! Carte Noire indicates that the Champagne was produced with only Red grapes. A quick check of the internet didn't confirm this and only showed the 3 traditional white grapes. I am confused. I think this is a Red grape Cava, but I am not sure. It is only $7.99, check it...

Send us Fan Mail Corvelia Paso Robles Sauvignon Blanc 2025 This is a $9.99 Trader Joe's wine sourced from the Paso Robles AVA. It has more body and is smoother than the average value-priced Sauvignon Blanc. It still has good, solid flavor; there aren't the flavor spikes and acidity often associated with Sauvignon Blanc. Paso Robles is a warmer growing region, while the coastal vineyards...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Eola Springs Vineyards Pinot Noir 2024 A single-vineyard estate vineyard $15 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. This does not happen often. Economic conditions have to apply. Let Trader Joe's take you to the promised land! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com