South Carolina Wine Joe

It has been a few months since I have found a Trader Joe's wine that I really liked.  I can usually count on the Trader Joe's Grand Reserve wines to be top quality for the money, but lately a couple of those did not impress me.  Since Cabernet Sauvignon from one of the sub AVA's of Napa Valley are almost always very good, I purchased this Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville in the Napa Valley.  I am very glad that I did! This is a rich full bodied wine with flavors of blackberry and plum.  The oak is subdued and the tannins are fine and unobtrusive.  The wine is definitely meant to pair with red meat or red pasta but you can certainly drink it ahead of the meal.  We paired it with a red pasta and chicken and it worked really well. The wine has 13.8% alcohol and like all Trader Joe's Grand Reserve wines sells for $12.99. SC Wine Joe rating = 91 points

It has been many months since I posted about a LIDL wine.   I wanted a dry, crisp white wine to pair with my seafood pasta and was tired of the choices in my wine cooler.  Since I was already going to LIDL for a specific item, I decided to look for something new and unexpected in the wine department.  One of my selections was Laurana Verdiccio Dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 2017. "Verdiccio Dei Castelli di Jesi" is a wine region in Central Italy near the Adriatic sea.  The oldest grape growing portion of the region is the "Classico" region.  "Verdiccio" is the only grape grown.  The climate and the soils have a great influence on the flavors of the wine. This is definitely a dry wine with crisp acidity.  I noted flavors of citrus, peach. lemon and a fair amount of minerality making it an enjoyable pairing with my seafood pasta.  The wine has 13.5% alcohol and costs $8.99 at LIDL.  This is an excellent price for one of the better white wine cho

The Finger Lakes region is the most important wine grape region in the State of New York and the most important vinifera grape is Riesling.  Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes and it has the most vineyards and wineries. Forge Cellars is a boutique winery which concentrates on Riesling and Pinot Noir wines from the southeast slopes of Seneca Lake.  85% of the grapes in their Classique Dry Riesling are from an eight mile stretch of Seneca Lake, thus reflecting the terroir of this specific stretch of the Lake.  The Riesling grapes are whole cluster pressed and aged in neutral oak (57%) and stainless steel (43%).  I really enjoy dry Riesling.  It is more versatile as a wine to enjoy with food than sweeter Rieslings. Most Rieslings are aged in 100% stainless steel and I found the very slight oak influence in this wine to really add to my enjoyment.  This is a very fine representative of Finger Lakes Riesling. The full retail price of this wine is $19 and I paid $13.99 at

If you are a white wine drinker, you should become familiar with Vermentino.  It is a light bodied wine made from grapes mostly grown in Italy, especially Sardinia and parts of Tuscany.  It is usually made in a style similar to Sauvignon Blanc, but with more complexity.  Since Vermentino is not well known, it is often value priced. Prelius Vermentino is made from Organic Vermentino grapes from the Maremma region in the westernmost part of Tuscany.  There are high daytime temperatures and cool nights with sea breezes.  This wine is made in a light, floral and zesty style.  The aroma is floral with flavors of tropical fruit and pineapple.  This is a great accompaniment for any kind of seafood as well as some Asian cuisine.  I really like this and plan to purchase more. The online prices for this wine start at $15 and I bought it at Costco for $12.99. SC Wine Joe does not assign numerical ratings for white wine.

Trader Joe's has had their Grand Reserve Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2017 on the shelves for a while.  In fact, it was the subject of a past Fearless Flyer article, but I have been passing it up since I have a wine cooler full of Oregon Pinot.  A recent blog that I read praised this wine and I decided to give it a try. The Santa Lucia Highlands is a portion of Monterey County on the Central Coast of California.  Cool nighttime temperatures and sunny days make it an ideal location for Pinot Noir.  Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands is 100% Pinot Noir fermented and aged 5 months in 50% American oak and 50% French oak.  The alcohol is said to be 14.5%. In September of 2017, I wrote about the 2016 vintage of this wine.  I liked the wine and gave it 90 points but I am less enthusiastic about the current vintage.  I get a good dark cherry aroma and initially detect flavors of red berries and blueberries.  The finish is rather sour with more tannins t

Summer is especially suited to drinking Rose' wine and here in South Carolina, we have a lot of warm summer weather.  I recently noticed Louis Jadot Rose' at Costco for $9.99 and brought home a bottle. The House of Jadot has been producing wine in Burgundy since 1859 and today is one of the largest exporters of wine from Burgandy to the United States.  Many of their wines are highly appreciated by wine enthusiasts. This Jadot Rose' is 100% Gamay grapes from Burgundy.  Gamay is best known in the U.S. as the grape in Beaujolais Nouveau but today we are becoming more familiar with Gamay as a premium grape.  It is now even grown in cooler North American climates such as the Willamette Valley. Louis Jadot Rose' is a pale, see through pink color.  There are aromas of flowers and peaches.  This is a dry, fruity wine with flavors of light berries.  There are a lot of choices for Rose' today, but this is well worth your consideration.  We really like this and will stoc