The Wine Pair Podcast

A common question we get is just how good are in-house wine brands like Trader Joe’s or Costco Kirkland Signature wines. This week, we tackle the 3rd highest tier of Trader Joe’s in-house wines, the Grand Reserve level, which is usually priced at $12.99 - which is a killer price IF they are any good. This week we also went out on a limb to try wines that we would not normally choose but that we kn...

Did you know they make award winning wines in Israel? In this special episode, we have the honor to speak with Victor Schoenfeld, Head Winemaker at Golan Heights Winery and one of the pioneers of modern winemaking in Israel. Victor shares with us his journey and how we combined his love of food and interest in agriculture into a career in wine that started down a very traditional path - working fo...

When most people talk about Rosé wine, they are most likely referring to Provence Rosé. Most people also probably think that Provence Rosé is what all Rosé wine tastes like, but that is not true. In this latest getting serious about Rosé episode, we spend some time talking about why that is. Now, it is true that Rosé from Provence is the most popular, and good ones are crisp and refreshing with go...

Don’t sleep on Agiorgitiko! You may not be familiar with Greek wines - or know how to pronounce them (we didn’t!) - but this is a wine that deserves to be on your must-learn list! Agiorgitiko is a hidden gem in the wine world - a versatile red that comes in different styles, goes well with tons of foods, and can be found at very reasonable prices. It is a perfect complement with Greek food, obviou...

Sometimes being old is good. Aged cheddar? Check. Vintage cars? Yep. Antique furniture Fo’ Sho’! Old Vine Zinfandel? You bet your a$$. In this episode, we return to one of our much beloved Kirkland Signature Challenges, and this week we pit the Kirkland Signature Old Vine Zinfandel against similarly priced and easy to find Old Vine Zinfandels to see who wins. And this week, the winner is  . . . we...

What’s more American than sparkling wine?!? Seriously, we make a lot of sparkling wine in the U.S. and we drink a lot of sparkling wine, too! And we think there is hardly anything better on warm summer afternoons and evenings than a nice glass of bubbly! Don’t save sparkling just for serious occasions. And on July 4th?!? Sparkling wine is perfection! This week, we talk about California sparkling w...

We admit it, we have not always been fair to Rosé, but starting today, we are going to set the record straight! If you think you don’t like Rosé, it may be because you have not yet met a Rosé you like. And the key to finding a Rosé you like is to start with a red wine you like and then finding a Rosé made from that wine. Because, afterall, Rosé is a wine made from red wine grapes - and like any wi...

From the great wine region of Piedmont, Italy comes the red wine called Dolcetto, which means “little sweet one” - but don’t be fooled, this is not a sweet wine, although it is a red wine with flavors and aromas of crunchy red fruit. In our latest Italian Wine Adventure, we travel back to one of our favorite wine areas to see if Dolcetto should be on your wine list. Sometimes called the sommelier’...

Summer is here, and that means cookouts with family and friends! If you are wondering what kind of wine would be a crowd-pleaser and pair well with food and fun, we have the perfect answer: Malbec! This juicy, well-balanced wine from Argentina is an inexpensive wine that doesn’t taste or drink like it's inexpensive. You may ask why would a wine from Argentina be a good wine for cookouts? If y...

We introduce you to the B-FAST method in this minisode so you can become a white wine lover. What’s that you say, you’ve never heard of the B-FAST method? Well, that’s because it is a Wine Pair Podcast original! To love a thing, you have to learn about a thing, and you have to spend time with a thing. You can’t just go with your first impression! You have to put in some effort! Many people just do...

When it comes to wine grapes, it’s ok to play the field, but it is a good idea to get to know the Noble Grapes. And the good news is - you may already be really familiar with them. That’s because many of the most popular wines and wine blends, both red and white, are often made of these grapes. But what makes them Noble? We’ll tell you! And does that mean they are better than the other grapes? You...

Jennie Murphy is, like her grandmothers who she named her winery after, a tough, resilient, and determined woman. After losing her home in the 2017 wine country fires, she started to seriously think about starting her own winery. We learned a ton about the winemaking world in our conversation with her - things that the average wine drinker never thinks about - for instance the importance of “movin...

Yes, it’s true, they make Grenache is white as well as red! And it’s a great summer wine! Popular in the Catalonia area of Spain where it is known as Garnatxa Blanca, and in the Rhône area of France where it is often used as a blending grape and known as Grenache Blanc, White Grenache is a tasty, complex, and food friendly white wine that deserves more attention! After tasting and reviewing it in...

A 10 point wine in this episode! If you want a higher-class alternative to Prosecco at the same price point, then Cava is your wine. Cava is an underrated sparkling wine from Spain that is made in the same way as Champagne, but at a fraction of the cost. Cava is unique among sparkling wines - it is made with native Spanish grapes like Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada which give it a very specific...

It may be hard to pronounce and spell, but is it ever easy to drink! In this episode, we introduce you to a fun, quaffable, and not so serious wine called Txakoli which hails from the Basque region of Spain. Sometimes also called Txakolina, this slightly fizzy white wine is a perfect summer sipper. While tasting it, we had visions of sitting by the pool or at a cookout with friends on a warm summe...

Rioja is the big dog of Spanish wines, but the question on everyone’s lips is - how does the Costco Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva stack up to other Riojas? Amiright?!? Well, without giving it away, we’re here to tell you that the Kirkland Signature Rioja is a worthy contender! But did it win in a knockout, or was it a draw? You’ll have to listen to find out. Rioja is a big, bold, punch-you-in-t...

When we say hidden gem, we are not kidding! When people think of Spanish red wines, they immediately think of Rioja, but don’t sleep on Priorat. Hailing from the Catalonia area of Spain, Priorat is a Grenache-based red wine blend that completely blew away our expectations! Rich, complex, and oh so drinkable, this is a wine that deserves a lot more attention and accolades. And we are guessing you m...

Pinot Noir can be a polarizing wine - some people love it, and some people just don’t get it. We think that happens for a few reasons. First, most wine drinkers have been trained to think that wines are supposed to taste like Cabernet Sauvignon - big, fruit forward, high in alcohol, and very tannic. Which is just not what a great Pinot tastes like. Second, good Pinot Noirs that have a more classic...

Believe it or not, 73% of the wine purchased in the United States is sold for less than $8. So, there are a LOT of people drinking those wines! But they don’t often get reviews, and so we thought we would take some time to taste and review some value wines to see just how different they are from slightly more expensive wines. The results: one of the wines was a pleasant surprise and a wine we enjo...

Bordeaux is home to some of the most famous - and most expensive - wines in the world. But can you find a great wine at a great price?!? You can!!! There is no reason to spend more than $20 a bottle to find highly rated and very enjoyable wines from this classic region. In this episode, we focus on Left Bank wines, and we bring that up because Bordeaux may be the most confusing and complicated win...

If you’re like us, French wines can feel so confusing - and that’s exactly why we do these WTF episodes! This week, we dive into a great French white wine called Muscadet, which is not to be confused with Muscat or Moscato (which are, by the way, the same thing). Muscadet is a wine made in the Loire Valley from the grape Melon de Bourgogne - and that’s already more than you likely knew about this...

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is an easy wine to overlook. It is inexpensive, easy to find, and does not have the cachet that a Chianti or Barolo or Amarone has. But we are here to tell you that you should take a second look at this underappreciated and underrated Italian wine! In this episode, we tasted and reviewed three easy to find and reasonably priced Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines, and there wasn’...

Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve wines are meant to compare with wines twice their price, and are said to be top wines from top winemakers in some of the most prestigious wine-growing regions, but just how good are they really? We seek to answer that question to save you time and money. In this episode, we try three different Platinum Reserve wines from TJ’s, give our honest opinion on their taste an...

Ok, let’s be honest. Pinotage is a TRIP. It is like no other wine we have ever had before, and is flat out an experience that you have to try. You may not love it, or even like it, but you have to try it. Especially the Coffee Pinotage which in and of itself is an adventure (and is really a thing)! Pinotage is a wine that was invented in South Africa about 100 years ago, and is considered its sign...

Costco sells a TON of wine, but finding expert reviews of their Kirkland Signature wines can be very tricky. We are happy to help fill that void! Find out why few wine reviewers bother to review Costco Kirkland Signature wines, and where you can find some pretty reliable reviews for those wines. But, most importantly, find out what we think of the Costco Kirkland Signature Russian River Pinot Noir...