January 31, 2006

New Favorite Wines From TJs

There are some fine wines at Trader Joe’s if you stay clear of that two buck Chuck crap. Even better, their wines are largely cheap! As a journalist, I've always wanted to interview the Trader Joe's wine buyers. They have such a cool job, traipsing around the world sipping new vintages. Lucky dogs! Here's a blog that tracks many Trader Joe's wines. The blogger, JohnG, is a web designer who lives in Sonoma. Like Robert Parker, he scores the wines he reviews on this irreverent site.

My neighbor Velma swears by this Trader Joe's wine from Italy she discovered last year. She turned me on to a 2001Sabbie Di Nuvola Vecchia Toscana and it costs just $6.99 a bottle. It's a Sangiovese variety (90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and 12.5% alcohol) from Tuscany and it's pretty darn good. Smooth and fruity and more expensive tasting than its price tag. Occassionally I've had a spoiled bottle (so has my neighbor) but overall its a very drinkable wine. It's nice with pasta and anything you'd normally pair with a good red.

Another red wine I recently tried is the 2003 La Loggia Barbera D’Alba. It's $5.99, too, and I liked it even more than the Toscana. Unfortunately, when I bought a second bottle I couldn't tell if it was spoiled or just inconsistently made. We tossed the bottle. It was AWFUL.

Find the Latest Wines at Wine.com



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