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Trader Joe’s Wine: Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel 2009

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Trader Joe's Zinfandel

Trader Joe's Zinfandel

A wine moment with Delaina…the sipping continues….

I believe I have mentioned that I for the most part love Zinfandels. I am seduced by their smooth flavor and enchanted by their complexity. Don’t get me wrong you will often read me saying the same thing about other red wines but I have never met a Zinfandel I did not love.

Here is a wonderful example of a great zin: Trader Joe’s  Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel 2009. I was very impressed by this $5.99 Zin. I shared this bottle with a friend, as we worked on a project and we were both impressed. The wine came from ASV Wines in San Martin, California. I have never heard of that vineyard, but will tell you I won’t soon forget it.

Funny….I have not even told you the best part.

Beyond this wine being one of the most enjoyable with all of the right things- smoothness, complexity, and under $6 – it is also organic. Yep! you read that right- organic. I could not believe it. Another value bonus from Trader Joe’s

So the label talks about the wine’s flavor as a mixture of berry and plum with a hint of pepper.  I always look for reds that are described with berry, plum and sometime cherry tones, but as I rule I stay away from peppery. I just find that my taste buds will latch on to the peppery and taste nothing else. This usually puts me at odds with many Chilian wines. Never mind,  the point that I am trying to get across,  is that I could not taste the pepper, or maybe more to the point if there was a hint of pepper it only enhanced the berry and plum flavors.

Trader Joe's Delish Zinfandel, 2009

Trader Joe's Delish Zinfandel, 2009

So just in case you were not sure…I highly recommend the Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel. I would serve it with anything or just sip it by itself because it is a very drinkable wine. I hope you enjoy this wine at least as much as I have enjoyed talking about it.

Cheers!

Delaina

Trader Joe’s Wine: Penfolds Rawson’s Retreat, 2008

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Penfold's Rawson's Retreat, 2008

Penfold's Rawson's Retreat, 2008

A Wine Moment with Delaina, the sipping continues….

There are a number of reasons that I choose to purchase a wine. Sometimes it is a recommendation, sometimes because of a tasting (ohhh thanks Trader Joe’s), but there is one more, slightly odd reason…

Sometimes wines call to me and make me purchase because of their labels. If they have a cool label that I like, then somehow I feel that the wine inside will also be to my liking. Another, less glamorous reason that pushes me to buy a particular bottle is based on if the bottle has a cork or screw top. Yes, this makes me really sound like a boozer, but I had a good reason, really!

Here is the full story: We were visiting some friends who are not wine drinkers and I forgot my wine opener.  I remembered this as we were heading off to Trader Joe’s to pick up some appetizers (and wine) to nibble on before dinner. Ugh!

So as you can imagine I bought this wine because it had a screw top. I must admit that I stood and contemplated this purchase for a minute. See, once upon a time I thought wines with screw tops wines were crap!  But now I admit that this is no longer the case. The second reason that made me stop and think about my purchase was that this wine was Australian, and again, once upon a time, Australian wines were too sweet for my tastes.  But that personal myth has recently been overturned, and so I took the plunge and purchased wine that had both a screw top and a “cool” lable.

The wine I purchased was:  Penfolds’s 2008 Rawson’s Retreat, which was a blend of a Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon. WOW, this wine was a pleasant surprise. It is no back alley twist-top yucky sweet wine. This red has a great blend of boldness and only cost 5.99 at Trader Joes.  Such a deal!

Now to be truthful, this is not a wine that I would drink alone, but it pairs nicely with roasted chicken and potatoes. Or if you are having a “tapas night”  it pairs nicely with a sharp cheese such as  Kerrygold Dubliner cheese imported from Ireland sold at Trader Joes and Trader Joe’s Pitted Kalamata Olives- yes we tried it:)   In fact I think this wine would pair nicely with almost anything.

However, having said that, I would not recommend having it with Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken – and yes, I tried it 🙁   The sweet Oriental flavors were not the best match for this bold and dare I say dryish wine, by Australian standards.

Nonetheless, is a great wine that will complement most foods,  but might be a bit too complex for beginning wine drinkers.

If you enjoyed this Wine Moment with Delaina, please take a minute to leave us a comment below. Even if you just want to say hello we just love to hear from all of you!

Trader Joe’s Wine “Big Day” from Pancake Cellars

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Pancake Cellars Big Day Wine

Pancake Cellars Big Day Wine

This wine moment is special because it is one of the few that that will feature a white wine. Yeah I still will post about white wines but they most likely will be overshadowed by the red wine posts.
This white wine came from Trader Joe’s of course and I believe it was $5.99. Big Day is a 2009 white from Pancake Cellars. Big Day is a blend of 5 different grapes: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc; Viognier, Muscat Canelli, and Pinot Blanc.

The first time I had this wine was for a graduation party, Kris’s folks were in town and I knew the liked white wine. As it was a “big day” I thought the name was fitting. Well, it is May again and I found that I was actually craving this wine. I am so glad that Trader Joe’s offers it because now that I have found it, I have new respect and curiosity to try more white wines.

In my assessment this wine is a “big” wine. This is the most complex white wine I have ever tasted. The label says you can serve it with “Thai green curry, turkey sandwiches, chicken apple sausages, or pesto anything.”

I would agree with the label and say it does goe with everything. In fact one night hot night we had a simple late night dinner with just apples and a smoked Gouda cheese (yes we got all of those for Trader Joe’s) and this wine was a very nice complement. Even though it is only May, this would be the perfect summer wine. It is light and fruity and refreshing on a hot summer night. Or even a warm May evening in Tucson, when it is already 90 during the day.

The label further describes this wine as featuring flavors “white peach, apple and cantaloupe, along with orange blossom, honeysuckle and lemongrass.” My pallet is not sophisticated enough to pick up all of those flavors but I would agree with the cantaloupe and honeysuckle as these are favorite flavors of mine.

So give this wine a try the next time you are looking for a great wine for a hot evening.

I hope you all enjoy this wine as much as I have…oops…did!

For more information about this wine, checkout my short video on the front of this blog, or click to view our wine videos and more on You Tube  HERE.