South Carolina Wine Joe

The latest Platinum Reserve wine from Trader Joe's is Cabernet Sauvignon from the Howell Mountain region of the larger Napa Valley AVA.  As with all Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve wines, this sells for $14.99 and only 1250 cases were produced. Howell Mountain is in the northeast portion of Napa Valley at elevations well above the valley floor.  In this area, the evening temperatures are warmer and the daytime cooler than the valley floor.  Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape. 2017 was a challenging year for growing grapes in the Napa Valley.  There was a drought and then it was very hot in September, followed by wildfires in October.  Smoke taint was a concern but the smoke was not as bad in the Howell Mountains as in some other parts of Napa Valley and many of the grapes were already harvested prior to the fires.  The 2017 vintage is being rated as a good to very good for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon but not as good as the outstanding 2012 thru 2...

I have had two wine refrigerators for several years and the older one was a NewAir 21 bottle cooler.  It served me well and I really liked it, but it was no longer functioning properly.  So, it was great timing when the folks at NewAir asked me if I was interested in reviewing their AWR-190SB  wine cooler. When my new wine cooler was delivered, I was amazed how heavy the package was.  I unpacked it near the front door, put it on a rug and slid it into my dinette area..  I picked up the old wine cooler and carried it to the garage.  The difference in weight was amazing.  Clearly, the new AWR-190SB cooler was made with heavier duty parts. The AWR-190SB cooler has a stainless steel front door which matches my other appliances.   I am using it as a stand alone cooler but it can also be used as a built-in unit. One of the nicest features of the cooler is the pullout wood shelving which makes accessing your wine so easy.  My older co...

Costco now is selling the Kirkland Signature Cotes de Provence Rose' 2018.  Many of us look for this wine every spring and stock up before it is sold out.  I last wrote about the wine two years ago and everything I said then is still applicable.   (Read my review of the 2016 vintage Rose' here )  In addition, some well read blogs also have also posted about this wine in the past two weeks and I concur in their positive reviews.  So, my primary purpose today is to alert the reader that the wine is now available. The blend for this wine is 45% Grenache, 25% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Tibouren and 5% Ugni Blanc.    The wine is salmon colored with floral aromas.  This is a dry wine with crisp flavors of strawberry and citrus.  We have enjoyed the wine with both salmon and baked cod and it was delicious. This sells for only $8.79 and goes fast, so stock up. SC Wine Joe rating = 90 points  

It seemed like Trader Joe's was overdue for a release of a Grand Reserve red wine, so I was really pleased to see the Grand Reserve Meritage Sonoma County in the current Fearless Flyer.  I was even more pleased to pick up a bottle and see that it was from the 2013 vintage. The Fearless Flyer tells us that this Bordeaux style wine is a blend of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon aged 26 months in French Oak.  The bottle says the alcohol content is 14.3%. This wine is definitely a Merlot dominated blend with minimal Cabernet Sauvignon.  There are flavors of blackberry and plum with softer tannins and a little tartness on the finish.   This is not the best Trader Joe's Grand Reserve wine but it is definitely worth the $12.99 price. SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points