CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020- A Long-Time Trader Joe's Favorite Brand We first reviewed a Caretaker branded wine for the 2009 vintage, it was a Pinot Noir. This is my first time trying the Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon and what took us so long! This is one of those bargain wines Trader Joe's is so well-known for. Check our www.cheapwinefinder.com and li...

Send us Fan Mail Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2020- My Favorite Chardonnay Let Me Tell U Why I could tell you why, again. But you should check out the review on www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the awesome podcast!!!  Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Cupcake Prosecco DOC- Shouldn't It Be Tiramisu Prosecco? Cupcake Vineyards is a curated wine brand, Cava from Spain, Sauv Blanc from New Zealand, etc. They use the same head winemaker on all the wines so there is a certain sensibility behind the whole line of wines.  If you enjoy one wine you should enjoy others. I enjoyed the Cupcake Prosecco DOC! Check out www.cheapwinefind...

Send us Fan Mail Emma Reichart Gewürztraminer 2020-Hard To Spell, Easy To Drink A $6.99 Trader Joe's wine, but $11.99 in retail wine shops. Just pointed that out for all of those folks who think $6.99 wine is beneath them. Never had a Gewürztraminer wine you say? Well, there is no time like today to remedy that. Get out of your White wine rut and into some cool German wine. Check out www.chea...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Paso Robles Syrah 2019-It Sure Don't Taste Like A $10 Wine I like a wine bargain. You like a wine bargain. We like a wine bargain. I think this is a wine bargain! Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the PODCAST for all the details. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail J Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay 2019-A Wine Well Worth Drinking!! We at CheapWineFinder.com sometimes focus too much on store brands. Yes, they do provide excellent value, but they can not be counted on vintage after vintage. There are family-owned wineries that make excellent value=priced wine and they should be applauded. The J Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay is an iconic Chardonnay at...

Send us Fan Mail CheapWineFinder Makes a Hurricane Cocktail For Mardi Gras Chateau Quake and Domaine Dave make Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Cocktail using the official bottle of mix and some rum we hand on hand. We came pretty close to the real Bourbon Street cocktail but found something was missing. What was missing? New Orleans and the French Quarter, these drinks simply taste better down s...

Send us Fan Mail William Wright Monterey Chardonnay 2019-Aldi's $6.99 Total Bargain Chardonnay!!! If you don't know, now you know. Store brands are fair less expensive than retail wine shop brands. Are retail wine shop brands better than store brands ? Not when you factor in competing costs, Store brands usually wine. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all th...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Grower's Reserve Paso Robles Organic Zinfandel 2020-TJ's $5.99 Organic Zin At 12.5% alcohol, it is too light-bodied to be my kind of Zinfandel, I like them bold, but balanced. But an organic Paso Robles Zinfandel for $5.99 is crazy. If you love wine you need to give t a try. I do not care if you only drink Turley Zinfandel from Paso Robles. Anybody who...

Send us Fan Mail Fancy Flock Sauvignon Blanc 2020-Aldi $4 Sauv Blanc From Spain-Any Good? Contrary to popular belief, people in places in Europe who traditionally drink wine with every meal drink cheap local wine. Wine marketing wants you to think that no wine under $20 could belong on the dinner table. In practice that is far from the truth. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the pod...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Chalone Pinot Noir 2020- The Best Ten Dollar Pinot Noir #2 Chalone is a 300-acre AVA 1,300 to 2,300 feet up in the Monterey coastal mountains. The soil is closer to Burgundy, France than California and the climate is all it's own. Pinot Noir from the Chalone AVA sells from $25 to $75. This is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. There is no reason no...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Sonoma Valley Merlot 2020-Don't Look Sideways At This $9.99 Merlot Ok, Merlot is awesome. Just because some guy in a movie about screwed up drunk people said otherwise is no excuse for you not drinking merlot. (see the movie Sideways)  Merlot is one of the Great grapes of Bordeaux. It should be a part of your Red wine rotation. Do not let peer pressu...

Send us Fan Mail Don Rodolfo Mendoza Pinot Noir 2019-The Best $10 Pinot Noir? A value-priced Pinot Noir from the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza in Argentina. The leading wine reviewer gave this ten buck Pinot 90 points. There isn't anything about this wine that would suggest it is an excellent wine, but it is. Sometimes winemakers just know how to make wine. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com...

Send us Fan Mail Loveblock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020-Love NZ Sauvignon Blanc? Kim Crawford is synonymous with  New Zealand wine. The only problem is he sold the company in 2004. Loveblock is his new (newish) project with his wife Erica. This Sauvignon Blanc is delicious! For all the details check out www.cheapwinefinder.com or listen to the absolutely brilliant podcast for all the details!!...

Send us Fan Mail The Chocolate Cellar Red-Aldi $8 Valentine's Day Chocolate Red Wine Eight bucks at Aldi's. Smells like an ice cream sundae. Tastes like a chocolate bar. What else could you ask for?  Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all the details. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Curious Beasts Chardonnay 2019-Never had a Skeleton Label Wine I Didn't Like I went to the local Supermarket looking for a wine with hearts on the label and love in the name and could not find a single wine. So, I bought the wine with Day of The Dead Skeletons on the label. I never had a skull wine I did not like. So, if this is not a Valentine's Day Wine, it is a winter...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2020-$12.99...Worth Buying? Most 2020 vintage Carneros Pinots sell in the $20 to $40 range. This TJ's Pinot Noir has been sourced from a steady Carneros supplier for 12 years. There are no bad vineyards in Carneros and therefore there are no bad wines Trader Joe's simply sells good wines for less. The problem is that yo...

Send us Fan Mail Mon Frére Chardonnay 2018-Au Contraire Mon Frère Peppy LaPew, Bart Simpson, Bill Murray in Caddyshack? The name comes from somewhere, but I think it actually comes from how the Chardonnay is a blend of California and Burgundian winemaking techniques. Talk about the best of both worlds. If you like your Chardonnay with a bit of complication, with a bit of style, but still affordabl...

Send us Fan Mail Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019- Aldi's Excellent $8 Columbia Valley Red Blend Trader Joe's wines get all the press, but Aldi's main portfolio of wines is hard to beat. The Stormchaser Red blend has been around since the 2018 vintage, but I somehow missed it. This is an excellent Red wine blend. It drinks well above its eight-buck price tag. Check out www.cheapwinefi...

Send us Fan Mail Marengo Mauro Nas-Cetta 2020-Explore the White Wines of Italy There are hundreds of different White wine grapes in Italy. Every Village has its grape that they drink with pride. All the grapes are different, they have a wine history that goes back thousands of years. They must be doing something right. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all the details...

Send us Fan Mail Union and Branch Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2019-Aldi's $14.99 Cabernet Sauvignon Why is this wine more expensive than the typical Aldi wine? I am not sure. Is it worth $14.99? Yes, it rocks for 15 bucks. So, what is the deal here? Read www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all the details!!!  Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@...

Send us Fan Mail Paso Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020-TJ's Tasty $8 Paso Robles Cab According to the leading wine experts Paso Robles produces some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines in America. It stands to reason that if Paso makes great expensive Cabs, it easily can produce killer inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon. That is Logic 101, right? It is, some things are simple. Check out www.cheapw...

Send us Fan Mail Vinas Chilenas Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2021- Trader Joe's $4.49 Wine From Chile This is a Trader Joe's wine that has been a favorite for over a decade. The price is the same after more than ten years. The best Sauvignon Blanc you ever had? No. The best $4.49 Sauv Blanc? Oh, Yeah! Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all the details!!! Check us...

Send us Fan Mail 14 Hands Hot To Trot Red Blend 2018-Saddle Up To Good Flavor A solid Red Blend from Columbia Valley. Columbia Valley is the home of excellent Red Blends. This is an excellent value-priced wine, well-made and good tasting. What more do you want for under ten bucks? Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all the details!! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder....

Send us Fan Mail 19 Crimes Martha's Chard 2020-Martha Stewart Approved Ok, I am not surprised that Martha Stewart knew how to rock Chardonnay. And I am not surprised that a 19 Crimes wine brings a great deal of value. But I am surprised by just how much I like this $11.99 Chard! Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the best wine podcast in the whole world for more info. Check us ou...