Category Archives: Red Wines

Trentatre Rosso 33 Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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?

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

A Taste of Stinson Vineyards | Rose & Meritage Review

Stinson Vineyards

The Historic Piedmont House originally built in 1796. Photo credit: StinsonVineyards.com

Stinson Vineyards is a small, family-run winery located in Crozet, Va. The father/daughter winemaking team of Scott and Rachel Stinson sought to produce fine wines in Virginia with a winemaking philosophy that is strongly influenced by those of the French, and especially the controversial ‘garagiste’ winemakers of France.

Rather appropriate then is the fun fact that the winery at Stinson Vineyards is actually built into an old 3 car garage on the 12 acre property. That may be all they have in common with the garagiste winemakers however as Stinson Vineyards focuses on “…European-style wines that emphasize subtlety and complexity rather than power and super-ripeness…” The latter attributes essentially being the goals of the French garagiste winemakers who defy mainstream, more traditional French winemaking practices.

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Whitehall Lane Cabernet Review | Whitehall Lane Winery

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

– 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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Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay | Trader Joe’s Wine

Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay Review

Despite all of the international and intriguing worldly white wine options available to us as consumers, good old Chardonnay is still easily number one. Much like popular but often looked down upon Merlot, arguably some of the greatest wines in the world are made from Chardonnay. Yet it often gets a bad rap as being too oaky, too, buttery, or just plain boring.

Despite this negativity it seems that it’s still Chardonnay, usually Napa Chardonnay, that consumers want. And if the level of searches I receive to from just the Spiral Cellars wines are any indication, this is a very popular choice that I needed to try. So if it’s Napa Chardonnay you want, it’s the Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012 I’ll give you!

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Chateau Hanteillan 2010 | Costco Wine Reviews

Chateau Hanteillan Haut-Medoc 2010 | Costco Wine Reviews

Chateau Hanteillan

I’m surprised I’m just now trying the Chateau Hanteillan 2010. Considering it received a solid 92 point score from Wine Enthusiast and is frequently touted by one of my favorite wine wholesalers: Wines Til Sold Out. They offer it for half of it’s $30 retail and have marketed it as a ‘very impressive “stock your cellar” wine.’ But when I happened upon the Chateau Hanteillan 2010 in the Costco Wine section at under $12, I couldn’t resist any further!

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La Finca Malbec Review | Trader Joe’s

La Finca Malbec | Trader Joe’s Wine

La Finca Malbec

If you recall from my recent review of the Grifone Primitivo I am on the hunt for the best wine values in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section. According to their in-store wine specialist the Grifone Primitivo topped the list and the second best value available is today’s feature: the La Finca Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina.

The La Finca Malbec is produced from the vineyards of Finca La Cecilia which lie in the foothills of the Argentine Andes. While the increasingly popular Malbec varietal might trace it’s roots to the Cahors region of Southern France, it is Argentina that has succeeded in resurrecting Malbec.

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Conn Valley Right Bank Review | Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank

Conn Valley Vineyards

On my most recent trip to Napa and Sonoma in October I had the good pleasure of meeting up with fellow wine blogger Beth Smith, a.k.a Traveling Wine Chick. Beth and I had connected when she came across my previous review of the 2011 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank. It was an excellent wine and one of my favorites from the Conn Valley Vineyards portfolio from when I tasted there. It also happens to be one of the best values in the portfolio.

With the 2012 vintage being heralded as a hallmark vintage, Beth was excited and gracious enough to share this new release with me. As a big fan of the wines being produced at Conn Valley Vineyards, I couldn’t wait to try the 2012 Right Bank.

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Grifone Primitivo Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

Grifone Primitivo 2012 | Trader Joe’s Wine

Grifone Primitivo

While checking out the incredible wine selections at Trader Joe’s I asked the knowledgeable wine specialist on staff what he thought were the absolute top values and the Grifone Primitivo was at the very top of the list. Out of hundreds of wines, the Grifone Primitivo topped the list you say? And so I had to try it myself…

Despite being called “A California Original, grown nowhere else” by wine writers in the late 1970’s , Primitivo, also known as Zinfandel, existed long before Zinfandel ever did in California. In fact, its origins can be traced to a single vine in the garden of an elderly lady’s Croatian Garden as early as the 15th century.

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