I find myself saying this more often than not to my friends who buy two-buck chuck, which is actually three-buck chuck, spend the extra $1.49 and just get a Trader Joe’s Coastal wine instead. The Coastal brand never seems to disappoint for $4.49. The Sauvignon Blanc smells and tastes like a traditional Sauvignon Blanc: You’ve…
Category: Under $10
Under $10, White wine
Review: 2014 Lenz Moser Gruner Vetliner
by wineforthewin •
Light, fresh, limes, easy drinking: Those are the notes I jotted down on my phone before I saw my friends try to cheers and then drop a glass of beer at a bar. It was a birthday after all. Mazel Tov! Lenz Moser is an Austrian winery and I hadn’t heard of it before. But…
Cabernet Sauvignon, Non-California, Under $10
Review: 2012 Presswork Cabernet Sauvignon
by wineforthewin •
A very talented friend of mine invited me to read his latest slasher screenplay. Slasher and good time aren’t what I’d usually pair together in a sentence, but I knew this would be fun because wine would be involved and I can handle gore on the page, even if I can’t on the screen. Before we cracked…
Chardonnay, Non-California, Under $10
Review: 2013 Terrenal Chardonnay
by wineforthewin •
My dad loves when he finds kosher wines, even though he doesn’t keep kosher. He brought this kosher Chardonnay to meet my other half’s parents for a brunch we hosted at our apartment–like three years after we’ve been dating. I know, I know, weprocrastinated. We ended up sticking to mimosas, so this bottle was left…
Non-California, Pinot Grigio, Under $10
Review: 2012 Gaetano d’Aquino Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie
by wineforthewin •
This Italian Pinot Grigio is dry with a tangy aftertaste. An apple flavor dominates here. Did I like it? Well, better said perhaps that I didn’t hate it. It was OK. The 2012 Gaetano D’Aquino Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie is a very cheap Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe’s, so that’s a plus. It’s a fruity, non-demanding…
Cabernet Sauvignon, Non-California, South Africa, Under $10
Review: 2013 Douglas Green Cabernet Sauvignon
by wineforthewin •
It’s warm, it’s fruity, it’s spicy–everything you want in a cheap cab. The 2013 Douglas Green Cabernet Sauvignon has lingering flavors of what is that, raisin? I was pleased with the smoothness of the wine, which I sipped at a pre-concert picnic with some friends. For the price, I’d buy it again. Nuts & Bolts: Winery: Douglas…
Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Under $10
Review: 2012 Pacific Redwood Organic Cabernet Sauvignon
by wineforthewin •
When I left my old job recently to start a new adventure, a wine-loving friend gave me a bottle of the 2012 Pacific Redwood Organic Cabernet Sauvignon with this premise: It was the best organic wine that he’s ever had. I was a little skeptical of organic wine, admittedly, and was also skeptical of wine…
Bordeaux, Non-California, Review, Savignon Blanc, Under $10
Review: 2013 Les Portes de Bordeaux Savignon Blanc
by wineforthewin •
I was tired of not having white wine in the fridge when I was hankering for a refreshing sip on a hot summer night, so I went to Trader Joe’s and stacked up on whites. I picked up this Les Portes de Bordeaux Savignon Blanc that I hadn’t tried before. Savignon Blanc, in my mind,…
Non-California, Review, Rose, Under $10
Review: 2013 J.L. Quinson Cotes de Provence Rose
by wineforthewin •
I experimented a bit with this wine. I had brought a pretty good roe from Trader Joe’s, 2013 La Ferme Julien Rose, to a picnic–mostly because it was hot and I thought a rose would be refreshing and because it has a screwtop, which is perfect for al fresco drinking. My friend brought the 2013…
Shiraz, Under $10
Review: 2012 Benefactor Cellars Shiraz
by wineforthewin •
Summer in LA is my favorite time of the year. Not only for the weather, but also because of the bounty of events going on. You can see free concerts on the pier, take free dance lessons in downtown and even watch a movie in a cemetery. The Hollywood Forever Cemetery–where Dee Dee Ramone, you…