CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Federalist Dry Creek Zinfandel 2016 is 98% Zinfandel and 2% Carignane primarily sourced from Orsi vineyards in the southern end of Dry Creek Valley about a mile from the Russian River. The Zinfandel grapes came from 6 separate blocks of the vineyard and were fermented separately. The 6 lots were then blended and then aged in oak barrels for 16 months, 20% new oak the...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Russian River Chardonnay 2018 is a $6.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. And this is an unexpected Chardonnay, the Fearless Flyer didn't have much of anything interesting to say and the front label is the usual Tj's exclusive label. But the back label tells that these grapes came from a single Family-owned estate vineyard, the St...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Lot 89 is a $14.99 Trader Joe's exclusive sourced from grapes, like the title says, farmed in the Atlas Peak AVA of Napa Valley in Northern California. Atlas Peak is a unique region inside Napa since it is the highest elevation growing region. When it comes to Northern California vineyards you...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Kirkland Napa Valley Red Blend 2016 is a $10.99 Costco exclusive, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. That mix of grapes is a Bordeaux Blend and in California is referred to as a Meritage Blend. There is a Meritage organization that promotes and helps develop these grapes and wineries using the Meritage name on the label pa...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Kirkland Ti Point Sauvignon Blanc 2018 seems to be a $6.99 Costco exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island. Ti Point Vineyards produced and bottled this Sauv Blanc (that technically means they made at least 75% of the wine) and they are a winery that started on Ti Point in the northern part of the North Island of...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Crusher Petite  Sirah is 82% Petite Sirah and then smaller percentages of Syrah, Tempranillo, Malbec, Merlot, and Zinfandel sourced mainly from 2 vineyards, one in the Clarksburg AVA and another in the Lodi AVA, both areas have good growing conditions for Petite Sirah. The Crusher line of wines is one of Don Sebastiani and Sons brand of wines. The Sebastiani family ha...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Domaine de La Noblaie Chinon Goutte de Rose' 2018 is a Rose' of Cabernet Franc sourced from 2 Estate hillside vineyards in the Chinon district of the Loire Valley in west-central France. The vineyards have been certified organic since 2005 and Domaine de La Noblaie has been worked by the family for four generations. Chinon is known for Cabernet Franc for Red...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2017 is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive produced for TJ's by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse. They are a full-service wine company that makes contract wine and brand wine, is a certified sustainable facility and own some of the finest vineyards in the Central Coast AVA. The Santa Maria Valley is the northernmost AVA in...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryDave talks about one of his favorite categories of value-priced wines...Bubbly. When folks want to splurge of expensive Bubbles they buy Champagne, that leaves all the other Sparkling wines competing in a more value-oriented price range. Wines from all other the world, that would be glad to charge you more if they could, but no, you only spend top dollar on Champagne. The...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Cline Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah 2017 is 100% Syrah sourced from two Cline Estate vineyards in the Petaluma Gap AVA inside the Sonoma Coast Ava that is also located inside the Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. Cline Cellars is a family-owned vineyard and winery founded in 1982 and was one of the original members of the Rhone Rangers. Most California wineries ta...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryLet's Talk About Cheap Wine- Rhone Valley PodcastDave talks about the wines of the Southern Rhone Valley in Southeastern France specifically and affordable French wines generally. The Rhone Valley features Red wines that blend Grenache and Syrah together along with a handful of other approved grapes, Mourvedre being the most prominent. While there are expensive wine...

Send us Fan Mail The Story Of The PodcastDave talks about why Chardonnay is different from other White wine grapes in this price range. Mainly, Chardonnay can be simple or it can be complicated. Chardonnay can go thru varing percentages of several winemaking processes that will greatly affect the overall taste and texture. There is the oak program, or maybe no oak or something inbetween. There is...

Send us Fan Mail Let's Talk About Cheap Wine Part #2Dave rambles on in the 2nd edition about what the different categories of wine are. Plus, how to get the most out of Box Wine. We talk about cheap, everyday wine from Spain and making Sangria. How to decipher the Trader Joe's Reserve wines, which are great bargains and which are just interesting (they usually are well worth drinking). A...

Send us Fan Mail Let's Talk About Cheap Wine Part #1 Podcast   - Dave talks about what is cheap wine? It is actually or at least was the #3 Google search term for wine. Internet slang, kind of like searching for cheap 4K TVs, or cheap hotel, or cheap airfare. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Freakshow Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a small amount of Petit Sirah, is sourced from a Michael & David Winery estate vineyard in Lodi AVA of California's Central Valley. Michael and David are the Phillips brothers and their family has farmed in Lodi since the 1850s. Most of the West Coast grape-growing regions are located along the Pacific Coast, from...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe La Ferme Julien Rose' 2018 is a $5.99 Trader Joe's not very exclusive Rose' blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah sourced from vineyards in France. Not very exclusive since the La Ferme (The Farm) is the same wine as Famille Perin's La Vielle Ferme Rose'. Each wine, La Ferme and La Vielle have their own websites that are exactly the same. The...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Purple Moon Chardonnay is a non-vintage $3.99 Trader Joe's exclusive sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. There is not going to be much of a story here, I am pretty sure which winery produced this wine, and they are a quality winery. But other than that there isn't much information to go on. They don't spend a great deal...

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Federalist Bourbon Barrel-Aged Red Blend 2016 is 76% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Carignane sourced from vineyards in the Mendocino County AVA of Northern California. This blend is aged in American oak casks for 6 months (35% new oak) and then transferred to Bourbon barrels (they do not specify the whiskey brand) for another 6 months. American oak has a more...

Send us Fan Mail The Story The Hopes End Red Wine Blend 2016 is a blend of 42% Shiraz/Syrah, 38% Grenache, 13% Malbec, and 7% Petit Verdot sourced from vineyards in South Australia (near Adelaide). Hopes End is one of Trinchero Family Estates line of wines, Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Federalist Mendocino Chardonnay 2017 is like the name says, 100% Chardonnay made from grapes farmed in Mendocino County in Northern California. Mendocino has all of the grape growing advantages of Sonoma, it is directly north of Sonoma, but does not have the name recognition of Sonoma. There are top-notch vineyards and wineries, that fly under the radar of the average...

Send us Fan Mail The Story The Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors 2016 is a blend of Syrah and old-vine Grenache farmed in estate vineyards in the Roussillon growing area of southeast France, just above the border with Spain. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The Story The Plus and Plus Brut (or +&+ on the label) is a non-vintage blend of 3 indigenous Catalonian grapes, 30% Xarello, 50% Macabeo, and 20% Parellada has grown on the Penedes region of eastern Spain, near Barcelona. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The Story The Sphere Central Coast Chardonnay 2017 is a $6.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. The Central Coast AVA runs along California coast just north of Los Angeles to San Francisco. The only information we have on this Chardonnay is what is written on t... Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The Story The Trader Joe's Reserve Amador County Zinfandel Lot 185 2016 is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. Amador County is 100 miles east of San Francisco, as far north as Napa County, but on the other side of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierr... Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail The StoryThe Riondo Prosecco Spago Nero is 100% Glera grape from the DOC portion of the Prosecco region of Veneto in Northern Italy. The Spago Nero differs from the usual Prosecco in that this is Frizzante which refers to the pressure (atmospheres) inside the bottle. A typical Prosecco will have about 3 atmospheres of pressure (Champagne has 6 or 7) and a Frizzante Bubbly will hav...