CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The Mantenere Russian River Chardonnay 2019 is a $6.99 Trader Joe's wine sourced from vineyards inside the Russian River Valley AVA which is in turn inside the Sonoma County AVA of Northern California. The trademark for Mantenere is own by Francis Coppola Wines and Mantenere Cellars is located in Geyserville, California. Which also happens to be the home of Coppola Winery. I...

Send us Fan Mail The Farmhouse California Red 2019 is a blend of Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache sourced from vineyards in California. Farmhouse California is one of Cline Family Cellars' line of wine. Cline is a family-owned winery founded in 1981 that specializes in sustainably farmed vineyards and wine. One of the things I admire about Cline Family Cellar...

Send us Fan Mail The Gerard Bertrand Crémant de Limoux Thomas Jefferson Rosé 2017 is a blend of 65% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc, and 15% Pinot Noir sourced from the Cremant de Limoux AOC section of the Languedoc in southeast France. Limoux is the birthplace of Bubbly/Sparkling wine the monks from the local Abby started making wine with bubbles in the early 1500s. They were making Bubbly a hundred...

Send us Fan Mail The Dueling Pistols Dry Creek Red 2016 is not your usual CheapWineFinder wine. It is not cheap, this is a splurge, special occasion wine for most folks who follow CWF. It is a Red Blend, 50% Zinfandel, and 50% Syrah and the list price is $49.99.A quick check of the web showed online prices between $30 and $60 which is a wide range, so look for sales. The Dueling Pistols Dry Creek...

Send us Fan Mail The Burlwood Cellars Brut Rose is a $4.99 ALDI exclusive, a Sparkling wine made with the Charmat Method. The Charmat Method is the same process used in the making of Prosecco and is often referred to as the Italian Method though it is used all over the wine world. The back label says this Bubbly was produced and bottled by Burlwood Cellars, Modesto, California. The Burlwood portio...

Send us Fan Mail The Macon Verze Chardonnay 2019 is actually named Esprit des Lieux Macon Verze Chardonnay 2019, but the label shows the grape origin in bold letters on top of the label and the name in small print on the bottom. The Macon Verze Chardonnay 2019 is a $10.99 Trader Joe's import wine. I found this wine online selling at a couple of online wine shops from New York State for betwee...

Send us Fan Mail The Legende Saint-Emilion Bordeaux 2016 is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from contract vineyards in the Saint-Emilion region of the Right Bank of Bordeaux in western France. The Legende brand is Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) line of Bordeaux regional wines. The wines (except for one) are not sourcing grapes from Rothschild estate vineyards, but from growing i...

Send us Fan Mail The Liberte Pinot Noir 2017 is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive sourced from vineyards in San Luis Obispo County inside the Paso Robles AVA which is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Liberte has been a Trader Joe's brand for some time, I think we first reviewed these wines with the 2009 vintage. The vineyards in San Luis Obispo are located close to the Pacific Oc...

Send us Fan Mail The Giusti Asolo Extra Brut Prosecco is made from the Glera grape from Giusti estate vineyards in the Asolo DOCG region of Veneto about one hour north of Venice. Ermenegildo Giusti was born into a family from the region who had a history of making wine. As a young man, he left Italy and moved to Canada, and established a hugely successful construction business. In 20014 he moved b...

Send us Fan Mail The Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 is a $12.99 ALDI exclusive. The Sonoma Coast AVA is located between Coastal Mountain ranges on the Pacific Coast of Sonoma County. ALDI typically owns the trademark for the brands of wine they sell, so it is difficult to find out who exactly is responsible for the production of the wine. But, Geyserville, California is the location...

Send us Fan Mail The El Castilla Syrah 2019 is a $6.99 Trader Joe's wine sourced from grapes from Spain. The front label has almost no pertinent information on the origin of this Syrah. The label says Vino de Espana or Wine of Spain for the origin and the back label only mentions the bottler and not the producer. The bottler is a number and not a name so that does not help much. European wine...

Send us Fan Mail The Pontificis VRM White 2018 is a $7.99 Trader Joe's exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Languedoc region of southeastern France. The VRM stands for the grape blend, 45% Viognier, 40% Roussanne, and 15% Marsanne. The name of this wine and the blend are basically a shout-out to the White wines of the Southern Rhone Valley. The Rhone Valley is famous for its blends, the...

Send us Fan Mail The Etienne Doue Brut Champagne is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from a Grower/Producer (look for an RM somewhere on the label) sourced from estate vineyards near the town of Montgueux in the Aube section of Champagne in France. Étienne Doué is the father-daughter team of Étienne and Virginie. A Grower/Producer in Champagne is someone outside of the large establishe...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Not 2019 Lot #96The Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir 2019 is a $14.99 Trader Joe's exclusive from vineyard(s) in the Santa Rita Hills AVA. Which is found inside the Santa Barbara County AVA in the southern section of California's Central Coast AVA.Santa Barbara County is situated one hundred miles nort...

Send us Fan Mail The Amancaya Reserve Red Blend 2017 is a mix of 72% Malbec and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from estate and contracted vineyards in the foothills of the Andes in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The grapevines are all 30 plus years old are situated between 2,600 and 4,600 feet in altitude. Amancaya is a joint project between Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite) of Bordeaux fame...

Send us Fan Mail Death Metal Red Vol. 6 2015 seems to be a $9.99 Whole Foods exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain. This Red is designated a Vino de la Tierra wine which is Spain's version of Vin de Pays from France or IGT from Italy. Cheapwinefinder reviewed the 2016 Death Metal Red Vol 1 back in February of 2018, it sold for $8.99 then. Which is somewhat...

Send us Fan Mail The Chronic Cellars Pink Pedals 2018 is the last of our Halloween wines 2020 series. we feature a red blend, a Chardonnay, and now a Rosé. The Pink Pedals is sourced from contracted vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA and is a blend of 88% Grenache and 12% Syrah. The Chronic Cellars Pink Pedals 2018 label features a female skeleton bike rider on a pink bike with a skeleton dog in the...

Send us Fan Mail The Crestwood Barrel Riesling 2019 is a $5.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. And that is about as much as I know about the production details for this wine. For these store brands, I usually can go to the national trademark registry website to find out which wine company owns the brand name. But found that ALDI often owns the...

Send us Fan Mail denny-muller-BdsYLQKk71w-unsplash.jpgThe More Halloween Wines 2020 Part 2 for today is the Freakshow Lodi Chardonnay 2018. Freakshow is one of the brands from Michael and David Winery (Lodi, California), there is this Chardonnay, a Red blend, a Cab, and a Zin. Michael and David Phillips are 5th generation grape growers and their family has farmed in Lodi for one hundred and fifty...

Send us Fan Mail The Poppy Monterey Pinot Noir 2017 is sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside of Monterey County in California's Central Coast AVA. Arroyo Seco translates to a dry riverbed and is located southeast of the Monterey Bay. This area is a deep valley close to the Pacific Ocean and has warm days cooled by afternoon winds off the ocean. It has a large differential betwe...

Send us Fan Mail For Halloween Wines 2020 Part 1 we are starting out with a budget-friendly Red blend, $7.99 at Trader Joe's. The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2018 sourced from vineyards in California's Central Coast AVA.Its claim to Halloween wine fame is an elaborate Day of the Dead skull on the front label. The bottle is tinted black glass the skull is painted on in red ink. I do not lik...

Send us Fan Mail The Columbia Crest H3 Les Chevaux Red 2016 is a blend of Merlot, Syrah, and Malbec, (along with other Red varietals) sourced from vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (also known as H3) inside the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is located east of Vancouver and west of the Walla Walla AVA and situated along the northern banks of the Columbia...

Send us Fan Mail The Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay 2019 is sourced from vineyards in Monterey County south of the San Fransico Bay inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Cupcake Vineyards is one of The Wine Groups' sixty-plus labels of wine. Check out the link above, their wines are available everywhere and I figure your local supermarket sells at least 10 of their brands. They say that o...

Send us Fan Mail The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is a non-vintage blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. Those are the 4 main grapes approved for use in Champagne, France. There are actually a couple of other approved grapes but they are seldom used. Mumm has been in Napa since the 1970s and in Champagne, France since 1827. Since it is produced in Napa Valley it...

Send us Fan Mail The LÉGENDE Bordeaux Blanc 2019 is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Sémillon sourced from a vineyard in the Entre-deux-Mers region of Bordeaux in southewest France. 90% of the wines produced in Bordeaux are Red but Entre-duex-Mers accounts for 90% of the White wine. The LÉGENDE is a brand owned by Domaines Barons De Rothschild (LAFITE) which is part of Taub Family Selections. Ninety-Fi...