Category Archives: Under $15

Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage 2013 Reviewed

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Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage 2013 | Costco Wine

Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage

The Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage is one of the most popular offerings in the Kirkland Signature Wine Program, having developed it’s own sort of ‘cult following’. It has almost always over-delivered in a big way complete with Napa flair and real ‘Rutherford dust’ character. It also routinely sells out in a flash. Then you’re waiting another entire year to spot this little gem again, if you’re lucky that is.

The 2011 vintage of the Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage was slightly disappointing to me (it was a pretty challenging vintage) and I never even spotted the 2012, but today Costco had the 2013 in stock! While the price has gone up a few dollars (from $10.99 to $13.89), the 2013 vintage was a knockout for Napa Valley and I can’t wait to see if the 2013 Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage is as well.

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Epicuro Nero D’Avola Review | Sicily’s Answer to Malbec?

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Epicuro Nero D’Avola Review | Sicily’s Answer to Malbec?

Nero D'Avola

When looking for a bottle of wine, do you seek out something that’s rich in dark fruit yet has soft tannins and a smooth mouthfeel? If so then you’re probably a fan of Argentinian Malbec, but have you tried Nero D’Avola?

Otherwise known as “The Black Grape of Avola” (a small town in Southeast Sicily), it’s quite similar in style to an Argentinian Malbec and just so happens to be Sicily’s most popular and widely planted grape.

Plus, many fine examples can be found under $12. But just how good can Nero D’Avola be at half that price? Today I’m investigating a possible find in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section: The $6 Epicuro Nero D’Avola 2013.

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J Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon | Top Cabernet’s Under $15

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J Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon | Top Cabernet’s Under $15

J Lohr Cabernet

Judging by the number of searches I have for the J Lohr Cabernet on my site, the great folks who regularly read TheFermentedFruit would like to know whether it’s a good value. I was once pretty fond of J Lohr’s Cabernet for it’s accessibility and sheer drinkability but thought quality had dropped off until I tasted the 2012 J Lohr Cabernet at a party recently.

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Protocolo Wine Review | Do Affordability & Drinkability Mix?

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Protocolo Wine Review | Do Affordability & Drinkability Mix?

Protocolo Wine

So let’s say you’re heading to the Wal-Mart of wine stores, Total Wine, to search for some reasonably priced wine, say under $8. After splurging at Ovid recently myself, that’s exactly what I found myself doing!

Maybe you’re throwing a party or maybe you’re just looking for something decent to pour at home without having to worry about when to drink it, how long to decant it or how you’re going to pay off your hefty credit card bill after drinking it.

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Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut | Not Cheap, But Inexpensive

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Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava | Trader Joe’s Wine

Jaume Serra Cristalino

The Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava has become a perennial favorite amongst those looking for a nice bargain bubbly. Is it’s success due to the clean and elegant label? Or possibly because the catchy name sounds an awful lot like the awfully expensive Cristal Champagne?

Or is it fittingly because the Jaume Serra Cristalino is simple a great sparkling wine for the money? I spotted the Cristalino Brut while browsing my local Trader Joe’s Wine Section and decided to answer those questions for myself. I mean it can’t be all that bad if Wine & Spirits Magazine has rather impressively named the Jaume Serra Cristalino the ‘Value Brand of the Year’ for three consecutive years!

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Altano Douro Review | Top Costco Wine’s

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Altano Douro Review | Costco Wine Review

Altano Douro

The Douro wine region of Portugal has a history of producing wines for over 2,000 years. On the label of the Altano Douro 2012 I spotted in the Costco Wine Section you’ll see proudly displayed that the Symington family has been producing wine in the Douro for an impressive 125 of those years. That’s a long time and they’ve likely learned a thing or two about winemaking.

While the Douro is most commonly associated with it’s notable Port wine production, roughly half of the wines being produced there are actually not fortified. I’m not a huge fan of Port myself, but I am a fan of excellent table-wine bargains and the Altano Douro 2012 rang in at under $9 while boasting a commendable 91 point Wine Spectator score for the previous 2011 vintage. Needless to say I had to try it!

Have you seen my tips on Where to Buy Wine so that you’re not overpaying?

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Korbel Champagne | A Controversial California Champagne

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Korbel Champagne | A Controversial California Champagne | Trader Joe’s Wine

Korbel Champagne

Made famous by it’s controversial yet wildly successful Korbel Champagne, the Korbel Winery in California’s Russian River Valley was founded in 1882 by the Czechoslovakian Korbel brothers: Francis, Joseph and Anton.

The producers of Korbel Champagne sold their winery in 1954 to Adolph Heck and then in 1974 Adolph’s son Gary took over the winery. While in charge at Korbel, Gary succeeded in increasing production of the now ubiquitous Korbel Champagne from an already healthy 150,000 cases per year to today’s impressive level of 1.3 million cases per year.

Today, by volume, Korbel Champagne is the most popular sparkling wine produced in the United States using the traditional ‘méthode champenoise’ method. The incredible success and popularly of Korbel Champagne surely only adds to the frustration of the French officials and Champagne producers in Champagne, France. What’s the rub? Korbel has insisted on marketing themselves as Champagne when in actuality it is merely a California sparkling wine.

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Contadino Pinot Grigio Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Contadino Pinot Grigio Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

Contadino Pinot Grigio

I rarely drink Pinot Grigio and am somewhat guilty of partaking in the widespread belief that most low-end Pinot Grigio’s are insipid, watery and just plain boring. Having said that, there are certainly times when you want a wine that is crisp, refreshing and light and the popularity of the Contadino Pinot Grigio in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section piqued my interest.

Hailing from Northern Italy and ringing in at under $6, the Contadino Pinot Grigio is certainly priced like a value-oriented offering. But just by virtue of being inexpensive does not necessarily make it a good value, and I’m quite curious to see just how good the Contadino Pinot Grigio really is!

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Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage Napa Valley 2011 | Trader Joe’s Wine

Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Meritage

Recently I took a gamble on the Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Spring Mountain Cabernet and was pretty surprised with the quality-price-ratio. At only $15, it easily drank like a wine costing twice as much if not more. So I went back to the Trader Joe’s Wine Section with the idea that I would stock up on this screaming Spring Mountain Cabernet value only to find that it had already sold out completely!

Apparently the Trader Joe’s wine experience is more similar to that of Shopping for Wine at Costco than I had imagined… So having learned my lesson and not wanting to leave empty handed, I decided to try the Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage Napa Valley 2011.

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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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