Category Archives: Under $20

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

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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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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La Granja 360 Cava Brut Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

La Granja 360 Cava Brut | Trader Joe’s Wine

La Granja 360 Cava Brut | La Granja Wine

I’m always looking for excellent sparkling wines that can be enjoyed without ceremony. Today I wanted to investigate another popular pick in the Trader Joe’s Wine Section: La Granja 360 Cava Brut by La Granja Wines. At under $7 it is a full $2 less expensive than the Rondel Cava Brut that has become so popular both at Total Wine as well as here on The Fermented Fruit.

I have to admit that I am always somewhat skeptical of sparkling wines under $10, and especially so of those with animals on the label. In the case of the La Granja 360 Cava Brut a duck adorns the label. Since La Granja is Spanish for “The Farm”, I guess this is somewhat appropriate. But this particular duck appears to be pretty shaken up so let’s hope my palate isn’t similarly shaken up after tasting the La Granja Cava Brut!

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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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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

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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