Author Archives: The Fermented Fruit

Moone Tsai Wine Review | 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella 2011 | Trader Joe’s Wine

Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella 2011 | Trader Joe’s Wine Review

Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella 2011

There are so many wines available well under $10 in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section that when you come across a $17 bottle of wine, it actually seems relatively expensive! Typically you might be happy to find a respectable bottle of wine for $17 in a wine shop, as prices of the more desirable selections quickly head north from there.

The Trader Joe’s wine specialist was quick to not only recommend the Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella 2011 but also to reassure me that it wasn’t expensive at all – but rather a steal for what you’re getting beneath the cork – one of Italy’s top red wines at a fraction of the usual cost. Music to my ears! So let’s pop the cork on the Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella 2011 and see just how good this Amarone is!

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Strawberries and Champagne | Not Always The Perfect Pair?

Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet | Costco Wine Review

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Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet | Costco Wine Review

Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet

After having such great success with the Northstar Merlot from Columbia Valley Washington, I decided it was about time that I try another Washington State wine – except this time I wanted to try a Cabernet and wanted the price to be around the $10 range rather than the $20 price range that the Northstar Merlot falls in at Costco.

It’s tough enough to find good Cabernet around $20 so as you can probably imagine it can be quite a bit more challenging to find a well-made, quality Cabernet Sauvignon around $10.

To keep the playing field level and to get a great price, I went back to the Costco Wine Section and chose the Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 for $10.99. I’m pretty intrigued to see how this popular Columbia Valley Cabernet offering stacks up against others in this highly-competitive price category.

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Trentatre Rosso 33 Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Trentatre Rosso 33 Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

Trentatre Rosso

Apparently I’m the last one to arrive at the Trentatre Rosso party… But I do rather enjoy a good party so better late than never, right? Previous vintages of the Trentatre Rosso by Santini Wines have been praised by quite a few fellow wine bloggers and frankly all of the publicity has me just that much more curious as to how good it could be. It was also highly recommended by the in-store Trader Joe’s wine representative who has assisted me in cherry-picking the best Trader Joe’s wines.

The name Trentatre is of particular significance because it translates to ‘thirty-three’ in Italian. The reason for the namesake being that Trentatre Rosso is a blend of three different varietals, each representing 33% of the total composition. It also hails from Southern Italy, like the Grifone Primitvo, which was a solid value in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section. At under $7 let’s see if we have another winner on our hands with the 2012 vintage of the Trentatre Rosso 33!

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Northstar Merlot Review | A Merlot for Cab Lovers?

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2010 Northstar Merlot Review | Northstar Winery

Northstar Merlot

Two of my best friends are decamping the Washington D.C. area and are relocating to Seattle sometime this year. While I’m not exactly thrilled that they are moving to the other side of the country, it will give me a great excuse to visit beautiful Washington State from time to time and perhaps even explore it’s burgeoning wine country – where Northstar Merlot is produced.

Already big wine-lovers, their impending move has them drinking almost exclusively Washington State wines these days. It has been great fun to pop the cork on several different examples and most of them have been great if not excellent. One of their favorite go-to bottles has been the Northstar Merlot, which they regularly find for under $30.

But then they told me that the highly-acclaimed 2010 Northstar Merlot was being sold in the Costco Wine Section for under $20! So naturally I jumped at the opportunity to grab a case before it sold out – as the best deals always seem to do.

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A Taste of Stinson Vineyards | Rose & Meritage Review

Louise d’ Estree Brut Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Louise d’ Estree Brut Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

Louise d' Estree Brut

So I’m back in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section looking for another solid sparkling wine bargain after having some success with the La Granja 360 Cava I discovered a few weeks ago. For only $1 more I spotted the rather regal-looking Louise d’ Estree Brut and wondered if it might be another great Trader Joe’s Wine discovery.

The Louise d’ Estree is not Champagne but rather a French sparkling wine. I’ve has some pretty tasty French sparklers from outside of the far pricier Champagne region before so I thought I’d investigate whether the Louise d’ Estree is as royally good as it’s label seems to suggest!

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Whitehall Lane Cabernet Review | Whitehall Lane Winery

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– Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Review | Whitehall Lane Winery –

Whitehall Lane Winery

On my most recent trip to Napa Valley I had driven past Whitehall Lane Winery in Rutherford several times. The thought occurred to me that I had surprisingly never tasted any of their wines so I decided to stop in one night around 5:40 p.m. while on our way back to The Carneros Inn after seeing that they were open until 6 p.m. This is pretty late for wine tastings as most wineries close their doors between 4 and 5.

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Spiral Cellars Cabernet Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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– Spiral Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley | Trader Joe’s Wine –

Trader Joe's Wine

After really enjoying the Spiral Cellars Chardonnay a few weeks ago I was pretty intrigued to try the Spiral Cellars Cabernet offering. It just happens to be from an incredibly good vintage at an incredibly low price, from one of the historically most expensive places to both grow and buy Cabernet Sauvignon.

It’s pretty rare to see Napa Cabernet under $10, but Spiral Cellars and Trader Joe’s have succeeded in making this bottle of Spiral Cellars Cabernet available to us for $9.99. Let’s see if it’s worth your hard earned Alexander Hamilton!

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