CheapWineFinder Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Aldi's Mark Hill Pinot Noir 2023 This is a $7.89 California Pinot Noir. It is a little spicy for me, but a cheese plate or some munchees will balance it out. A very sippable, very inexpensive Pinot Noir if you prepare properly. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Momentum Legacy Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 When the subprime meltdown of 2008 occurred, there were wine bargains galore. In 2025, the wine downturn is slow to produce crazy bargains. This may well be a Cabernet Sauvignon from a ridiculously famous winery that never hits Trader Joe's wine level. Not sure, because everything is hidden, but maybe. Check out www.cheapwinefinder...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's French Blanc de Blanc Brut This Sparkling wine has been showing up at the Holidays at Trader Joe's for years. It now sells for $7.99 after years of being priced a $6.99. It is very sippable. This is a wine probably produced in the Charmat method, or the same as Prosecco. French Bubbly made the Italian way. No problems, it tastes good. This is the wine that c...

Send us Fan Mail Mumm Sparkling Brut Prestige (2025) GH Mumm has been in Champagne for almost 200 years, and Mumm has been in California for over 50 years. That kind of Sparkling wine know-how is hard to find. Mumm's style is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with the Pinot slightly in the lead. It is a style created over the decades and replicated in California. I found this wine at Binn...

Send us Fan Mail Stringtown Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023 100% Pinot Noir, no oak, from multiple Willamette Valley AVAs. I found it for $13.99, which is crazy good. Conditions are right for bargains (listen to the Podcast). Quality Pinot Noir at a bargain price! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé (2025) $9.99. This Bubbly was available at Trader Joe's last year, too. TJs recently dropped the Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Brut Rosé, selling for $14.99. How does this Bubbly at 33 and 1/3 less stack up? The answer is the Platinum is better, but this Bubbly is a real Bargain! Check us out at www.cheapwinefin...

Send us Fan Mail Cecilia Beretta Treviso DOC Extra Dry Prosecco A Champagne Cocktail Special! Drinks fine on its own, but add some orange juice, or peach or blueberry, and you've got something going on. Tastes great, a quality sipping Bubbly. But something festive will bring this to life. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Peaks & Tides Sonoma County Chardonnay 2023 This Chardonnay has an array of fruit and citrus flavors. The French oak adds vanilla creme, but not butter. Well-balanced and flavorful, this Chardonnay punches above its price point! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Aldi's Landkastel Mosel Riesling 2024 1) This wine sells for $6.99 2) The grapes are sourced from the Mosel region of Germany, the Premier Riesling growing region. 3) It is designated as a quality wine, Germany's middle classification. 4) It is well-made and tastes great! 5) It will pair with both the Thanksgiving meal and Netflix. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 2023 A Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, and Malbec. All sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA. It has some oak conditioning with flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and spice on display. A wine with dark fruit, but balanced. A sipping wine that can be used with a meal! Check u...

Send us Fan Mail This is a good quality, tasty, $7.99 Sonoma County Zinfandel. It has a dark berry flavor, spice, mocha, and chocolate. It is an easy-to-drink wine, but not boring. Rich and dark, with a little spice for interest. I think this is a sipping wine, but it will pair with comfort food! Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Aldi Specially Selected Douro Doc Reserva Red 2022 Douro is the region in Northern Portugal that is famous for making Port. This Aldi wine is made for them by Van Zellar, who are the oldest family Port Producer in Portugal (1620). This is a Field blend, which means multiple grapes are planted in each vineyard and they are harvested together. Mother Nature determines the grape blen...

Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2023 Carneros is the Pinot Noir growing region of Napa. Carneros is also famous for Chardonnay; multiple AVAs in Napa grow killer Chardonnay. It is not typical for quality Carneros Pinot Noir to sell for $14.99. But then again, Trader Joe's is not your typical wine merchant. This Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir just might be...

Send us Fan Mail This is a Pinot Noir Bubbly from Napa, probably Carneros grapes. At $14.99, it is a reasonably priced Sparkling wine that can hold its own against Bubbly selling for much more. It is well-made, tastes great, and is affordable. What more do you want from an excellent Sparkling wine? Champagne prices are so out of reach that more affordable Bubbly can compete at a lesser price tag....

Send us Fan Mail This Chardonnay started as a restaurant-only wine, but its popularity caused the winery to offer it to retail wine shops. It quickly became the #1 wine in its price point. The reason is that it is an excellent half-California, half-Burgundian Chardonnay. Balance with flavor. Not that French Chardonnay does not taste good or California Chardonnay has good balance, but this is kind...

Send us Fan Mail This is a $9.99 Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard in the Yakima Valley of the Columbia Valley. The vineyard is under the control of the wine company that is responsible for this wine. Not exactly an estate wine, but close. It tastes like a legit West Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, not just a ten-buck Cab Sauv. This is a wine well worth giving a try! Check us out at www.cheapwin...

Send us Fan Mail I don't need to beat around the bush; this Bubbly hits well above its price range. Trader Joe's also has a Napa Valley Rosé, which is mostly Pinot Noir instead of Chardonnay, and I do like Pinot Noir Bubbly. Until I try that Bubbly, this is the reigning KING of 2025 value Sparkling wine. If the occasion demands a Champagne wine or if you are looking to impress, then by a...

Send us Fan Mail Elliot Cooper sounds like the guy who was in your gym class. It is a non-vintage wine that does not sound too promising. But it is actually a very good California Chardonnay. It drinks well, is versatile, and did I say it drinks well? Non-vintage wine from Aldi, and you expect something less, but instead  You get something more. A $10 Chardonnay that hits above its price tag! Chec...

Send us Fan Mail Bought a bottle of Chardonnay from a local grocer. It was 5 years old and not stored properly. It should never have been on a store shelf. This does not happen often, but it has occurred often enough that you must always check, never assume it is a current vintage. Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Send us Fan Mail Doamine Dave was first drawn to ths wine by the label. It's a copper engraving from 1624 that has been colorized,  Lapis Luna translates in Latin to the Stone and Moon. The label is an angel tether to a rock reaching for the moon. Not you typical wine label. As for the wine it is not as bold as New Zealand, but every bit as tasty. This is an easy to sip wine. For more info ch...

Send us Fan Mail A $12.99 Chardonnay from Willamette Valley that actually overdelivers? We pop the cork on Willa Creek 2023 and trace the bigger story behind Oregon’s quiet Chardonnay comeback. For years the region leaned on California clones that struggled to ripen in cooler sites, yielding lean, austere wines. The switch to Dijon clones—and a clearer read on site and style—has unlocked balance,...

Send us Fan Mail A $7.99 French Pinot Noir that’s organic, carbon neutral, and made by a B-Corp shouldn’t be this easy to drink—and yet here we are. We pull the cork on Florility French Organic Pinot Noir 2024 from Aldi and get honest about what’s in the glass, what’s on the label, and what really matters for a weeknight pour. The twist? It’s labeled “Product of France,” not from a famous region,...

Send us Fan Mail Expecting a brooding beast from a “dark red blend”? We pop Intermingle California Dark Red 2023 from Aldi and find something better: a calm, balanced, mid-weight red that drinks clean, pairs easily, and costs just $6.99. We walk through the blend—Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah—exploring how inky color can still lead to a smooth, food-friendly sip, and why the moderat...

Send us Fan Mail A skull on the label and real structure in the glass—this $7.99 Trader Joe’s classic surprised us in the best way. We uncork Dearly Beloved I The Red 2023 and follow the clues: who makes it now, why the blend works, and how Lodi’s delta breezes turn a hot inland zone into a value powerhouse. If you’ve ever wondered how Petite Sirah, Tannat, Tempranillo, and a touch of Zinfandel ca...

Send us Fan Mail Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com