Category Archives: Under $100

Costco Champagne | Kirkland Signature Brut Review

Costco Champagne | Kirkland Signature Brut Review

Costco Champagne

If this is you’re very first visit to The Fermented Fruit then welcome and thanks for visiting! I hope you come back and visit often. If you’re one of my totally incredible regular readers though, then you probably know just how much I love sparkling wine, especially Champagne!

Despite my profound love of Champagne, I can’t bring myself to regularly spend upwards of $40 on a bottle of bubbly; hence why I drink wines like the La Marca Prosecco, Lunetta Prosecco and Roederer Estate Brut more often. But sometimes you just want to drink real Champagne so today we’re tasting an affordable option that blends both my love of Costco and Champagne: The Kirkland Signature Brut, otherwise known as Costco Champagne!

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Grifone Primitivo Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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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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Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Review

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Kirkland Signature 2011 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Review

I’m perennially tempted and intrigued by Costco’s Kirkland Signature wines so I thought I might give the Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2011 a try. Alexander Valley is the northernmost part of Sonoma County and is known for producing Cabernet’s that are slightly softer and more elegant in style.

It’s generally cooler temperatures produce a different Cabernet than you get in Napa, where wines are often riper, fruitier and more tannic. Often I find myself more inclined to drink Cabernet that is less fruity with good balance and acidity and Alexander Valley fits the bill at a better price point. Several notable wineries you might recognize produce sought after Cabernet’s from Alexander Valley including Silver Oak, Jordan and Lancaster Estate.

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Domaine Lafage Cuvee Nicolas Review

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Domaine Lafage Cuvee Nicolas

Domaine Lafage Cuvee Nicolas

The Domaine Lafage Cuvee Nicolas 2012 really caught my attention when I received an e-mail offering from The Wine Library. Not only was it fashioned by the same talented winemaker who produces the Novellum Chardonnay, but at only $13 it had scored a whopping 93 point score by Jeb Dunnuck of the Wine Advocate.

The Novellum Chardonnay is an excellent value, consistently over delivering for it’s modest price point at the hands of winemaker Jean Marc Lafage. He is also responsible for producing the wildly popular Las Rocas Garnacha for power-importer Eric Solomon.

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Dr. Wagner Riesling Review

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I don’t drink many Rieslings, mostly because I’m not a huge fan of sweetness in my wines. Rieslings are however considered to be amongst the greatest age-worthy white wines, and they aren’t always very sweet, if at all. I very much enjoyed a Riesling recently while visiting Long Island Wine Country at Paumanok Vineyards so when I spotted the Dr. Wagner Riesling Kabinett at my local Costco I decided to give it a try.

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Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc | Costco Wine Reviews

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Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc | Costco Wine Reviews

Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc

Chances are that you’ve either seen or know of the Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. It’s usually prominently displayed in every supermarket wine section across across America. So today at The Fermented Fruit my mission of unearthing the wine bargains we’re all searching for continues. I love these missions; and I love Sauvignon Blanc too.

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Roederer Estate Brut Review | Cristal’s American Relative

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Roederer Estate Brut Review | Cristal’s American Relative

Roederer Estate Brut

In 1982, Jean-Claude Rouzaud selected a 580 acre vineyard site in California’s Anderson Valley with the intent to expand and further build upon his long family tradition of producing world-class sparkling wine.

The descendant of the founder of Champagne Louis Roederer, Jean-Claude Rouzaud was running the highly successful family company when he decided to bring his vision of Champagne to the United States in the form of Roederer Estate. Six years after locating this ideal, sizable site near the Mendocino Coast, the Roederer Estate Brut was born!

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J Pinot Gris Review | J Vineyards & Winery

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J Pinot Gris Review | J Vineyards & Winery

J Pinot Gris

This summer in Washington D.C. has been surprisingly mild and beautiful – which for me translates to being unusually conducive to patio wine sipping. Such opportunities call for a wine that is crisp and refreshing, but my favorite sippers are those with a bit of depth and complexity to keep things interesting.

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Lunetta Prosecco | Top Sparkling Wines | Costco Wine Review

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Lunetta Prosecco | Top Sparkling Wines | Costco Wine Review

Lunetta Prosecco

There could never be enough good Champagne alternatives in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong…I’d be happy to drink in its sunshine all the time, but for those of us born without a trust fund we must look to places outside of the Champagne like California, Spain, other wine growing regions of France or in the case of the Lunetta Prosecco: Italy.

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Hess Select Cabernet Review | Your House Cab Has Arrived

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Hess Select Cabernet Review | Your House Cabernet Has Arrived!

Hess Select Cabernet

On a recent trip to Costco in Arlington I was originally on the hunt for one of my new favorite Spanish bargains, the Tarima Hill Old Vine Monastrell, when I spotted the Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.

I had tasted prior vintages by the glass at several restaurants who pour this as their house Cabernet Sauvignon, but I had never actually committed to a full bottle. It’s not often you order house wine that actually tastes somewhat varietally correct and like…real wine. I decided at under $12 it was about time to pull the trigger and give it a shot.

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