CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail  Grifone Primitivo - Trader Joe's 5 Buck Fun Italian $5 wine should not be drinkable. Especially when a part of that five dollars is used to ship the wine to America and then to a Trader Joe's near you. But the Grifone Primitivo 2020 drinks just fine; it is an enjoyable red wine. Primitivo and Zinfandel are both clones of an old grape from Croatia. Close but not the same...

Send us Fan Mail Gruet Sauvage Rosé- Excellent "No Dosage" Bubbly Bubbly Season is between Halloween and New Year's Eve. I think Bubbly is appropriate year-round, but the fact remains most Sparkling wine is purchased in the last 3 months of the year. This is a No Dosage Bubbly, meaning they did not add sweet wine when the 2nd fermentation was complete. The Gruet Sauvage Rosé- Excell...

Send us Fan Mail Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay- Drink Like The French This is a Burgundian Chardonnay from Louis Jadot, a producer in the wine business since the 1850s. The wine sells for around $13, less on sale, and they make enough to find this wine in grocery stores and wine shops. Even California Chardonnay producers look to Burgundy for inspiration, which is a wine that wine drinkers...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Dry Creek Zinfandel 2020-A Tale Of Fire & Smoke? There seem to be fires in California wine country every year. In 2020, Dry Creek AVA had its fire and smoke issues. So is this Trader Joe's Reserve Dry Creek Zinfandel 2020-A Tale Of Fire & Smoke? and smoke casualty? Or is this a typical Trader Joe's Reserve wine? The grapes come from a hi...

Send us Fan Mail TJ's Reserve Central Coast Rosé- A Negociant Rosé Trader Joe's says this is a $14 Rosé selling for $7.99, and I believe them. It is well-balanced, dry, and full of interesting flavors. The podcast talks about just what are Trader Joe's wines and how we can all drink bargain wine! Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com for all the details and like the podcast, and subscri...

Send us Fan Mail Estancia Monterey Pinot Noir 2018- A Special Bargain Wine The Estancia is part of the huge wine brand sale between Constellation Brands and E & J Gallo. The sale was finalized in early 2021, and these 2018 vintage by the brands that were sold are sort of orphan wines. They will not fully be Gallo wine until the 2021 vintage, and they are no longer Constellation wines. A huge C...

Send us Fan Mail Chateau Ste Michelle Chardonnay 2019- A Tasty Chard For Fall Chateau Ste Michelle is by far the largest winery in Washington State. They make half of the wine produced there. But, even though they are best known for value-priced wine, they make top-quality wine. Check out the review on www.cheapwinefinder.com and the podcast and get to know a quality maker of inexpensive, bang-for...

Send us Fan Mail Tailslide Pinot Noir 2019-$7 ALDI Pinot-Any Good? We are jaded. CWF is so used to Bang-For-Buck value-priced wines that a wine that delivers at its price point and no higher seems like a failure. But that is stinking thinking. I forgot where I got that from. A $6.99 Pinot Noir that rocks as a $6.99 Pinot Noir are fine. Not all wines have to eight bucks tastes like $15. Cheap wine...

Send us Fan Mail Franciscan Monterey Cabernet Sauvignon-How To Find Wine Bargains This wine was part of the $800,000,000 deal between Constellation Brands and E & J Gallo. Constellation decided to part with its value-priced wine portfolio. Franciscan is not value-priced; the Monterey County AVA Cabernet Sauvignon lists for $22.99. We have a link on www. Cheapwinefinder.com that sells this wine...

Send us Fan Mail Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020-1st Marlborough Sauv Blanc In 1973, Brancott, then known as Montana Wines, planted the first Marlborough South Island New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc vineyard. It took them a few years to get it right, but in 1979 they bottled the first Marlborough Sauv Blanc! The Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020-1st Marlborough Sauv Blanc is a direct...

Send us Fan Mail Prophecy Pinot Noir 2019 - Everyday Pinot With A Fancy Label Can you choose a book by the cover? No, because all that came before the age of marketing and focus groups and the rise of social media. Can you choose a wine by its label? It seems you can. Check out Domaine Dave's thinking about why he picked the Prophecy Pinot Noir 2019 - Everyday Pinot With A Fancy Label for all...

Send us Fan Mail Pichilemu Sauvignon Blanc 2020 - Bang For The Buck TJ's Chilean White Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Elementalist Pinot Grigio - $7 ALDI Summer Cooler I drink a lot of wine. Ok, don't judge me. Just kidding, I don't care. But the wine reality is that when you drink expensive wine, and it gives you exactly what you expect, it is nice! When you drink an inexpensive wine and it over-delivers, then it is the greatest wine ever. Human Beings like a bargain. Check out www.che...

Send us Fan Mail Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon - Pick A Wine By The Label? I like the label for this Cab! Check out ww.cheapwinefinder.com to see it. Most of the world's great wine regions are located in river valleys or the foothills to mountains. Hillsides are important. The label for the Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon makes a bold statement. Does the label give you a clue...

Send us Fan Mail  Mark West Pinot Noir 2018 - In Search Of Cheap Pinot This is a podcast with a story that goes beyond a wine review. Constellation Brands, a huge wine and spirits company, sold its value-priced wine portfolio to E and J Gallo, the largest wine company in America, for over a billion dollars. Regulators held up the deal since the sail gave Gallo too much of the budget wine market. B...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Russian River Chardonnay 2020 - Why Russian River? Trader Joe's often has these fancy AVA wines at a bargain price. Are they really $20 wines selling for $10? Well, sometimes, but not always. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com for the full story! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Flora and Stone Merlot - The Return Of Merlot? This is a $6.99 non-vintage wine from ALDI. From 1990 to 2010, Merlot rivaled Cabernet Sauvignon as the top-selling Red wine in America. But that was then, and this is now. They grow more Pinot Gris/Grigio in California than Merlot (as of 2018) So, Merlot bargains can be had. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com for all the details. Chec...

Send us Fan Mail 223 Grenache 2020 - A Tasty & Cheap French Red Ok, here are the details. $6.99 @Trader Joe's but $13 to $16 in Europe. A Vin de Pays d'Oc wine from vineyards around a single village in the Languedoc. Grenache is a Cheapwinefinder secret to quality value-priced Red wine. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com for all the information! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com...

Send us Fan Mail RSVP Brut Sparkling Wine in 2021-TJ's $7 Champagne-Style Summer Bubbly A California Traditional Method Champagne-Style Bubbly for $6.99? Does it taste good?  Yes! A real Champagne bottle and a real cork? Yes! But, at $6.99, none of the fancy Champagne marketing stuff. Stick it in an ice bucket, pour it into a popsicle mold, make Champagne-style cocktails. Have fun!!! Check ou...

Send us Fan Mail Crossbow Carneros Pinot Noir 2018 - $45 going for $15? Normally we talk about a $10 wine that tastes like $20. But with the Crossbow Pinot is a $45 wine that tastes like a $45 wine but is on sale for $15. Even if you are not a Pinot Noir fan, it is hard to pass up a deal like that. Check out www.cheapwinefinder.com for all the details. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or em...

Send us Fan Mail Lindeman's Bin 65 Chardonnay 2019 - The Best Cheap Chardonnay? Here is one of the weird things about writing about affordable wine. A $100 wine that brings it is like, well, of course, it costs $100. A $3.99 wine that brings it is a revelation! Is that wrong? Rocking it cheap should be shouted from the roof-tops. This is a $3.99 Chardonnay that kicks ass! Check out www.cheapw...

Send us Fan Mail Cocobon Roasted Oak Red Blend - Would Wood Make A Difference? A Red Blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah aged "on" toasted French oak. $6.99 at Trader Joe's, but available elsewhere for around the same price. There are 3 Cocobon Red Blend wines; this is where the winemaker shows off their oak integration skills. It is a recipe wine, but it is a good recipe....

Send us Fan Mail Slim Vine Light Sauvignon Blanc 2020 - TJ's Low Calorie, No Sugar, Low Alcohol Wine A Trader Joe's $6.99 Fitness wine!!! We reviewed the ALDI Don't Mind If I Did Sau Blanc a few weeks ago, and the Trader Joe's wine is very similar and a dollar cheaper. Both wines are close to Scheid Vineyards Sunny With A Chance Of Flower Sauvignon Blanc. There may well be a fa...

Send us Fan Mail Rosé-Vous? 2020 - $6 ALDI Wine...Drink Like The French Do! Would you offer a $5.99 ALDI Rosé to pair for your next meal? The French would in a heartbeat. Rosé-Vous translates to Rosé Y'all. It tastes great, is, well, cheap, and is French. Everyday French wine is supposed to be inexpensive. You can not have wine for every lunch and dinner and expect folks to spend $20 bucks a...

Send us Fan Mail Substance Cs Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 - A 93 pt Value-Priced Cab This is a wine from House of Smith wines, you may know them by Charles Smith wines, you know, Kung Fu Girl Reisling, Boom Boom Syrah, a whole line of value-priced wines that rocked. He sold those wines and started House of Smith and still is bringing outstanding value. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon that I found for $12...