TN: More Bottom Feeding at TraderJoe's..(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried this latest wine from bottom-feeding at TJ’s:

  1. TraderJoe’s Viog PetitReserve MendoCnty (13.9%) C&B by DNAVnyds/Ukiah 2013: Pale gold color; attractive peach/pear/Viog/spicy/floral rather fragrant nose; bit tart/lean light peach/pear/ripe/Viog/floral bit earthy fairly light flavor; med. tart/tangy light peach/pear/Viog/ripe bit earthy finish; plenty of ripe Viog in the nose but rather weak/watery on the palate; probably has been de-alc’d; tastes like cropped at 6-8 tons/acre; a pleasant enough Viog nose but doesn’t deliver much on the palate; no bargain at this price. $9.00 (TJ)

A wee BP:

  1. DnA Vnyds: An operation of DennisPatton and AndreaSilverstein. He does the winemaking, she does the marketing.
    Tom
2

I find the TJ brand craft beer made by Unibroue a significantly better bargain than any TJ brand wine.

3

TJ’s wine buyers don’t have a bloody clue…

TTT

4

There used to be a TJ Vintage Port for $9 a bottle that made a really good sauce.

5

There used to be some good value wines from the Fair Play AVA and other relatively unknown places out in California. Now TJ’s is getting so big I don’t think they can pull the same quality wines in mass.

6

Yeah, Paul…but sometimes even clueless squirrels find a nut. I’ve had pretty good luck from the wines they buy from
the Miller’s CentralCoastWineCoop in SantaMaria. The current RGMV is rather good for a basic white at $3/btl.
Tom

7

I bought a bottle of 2004 Barolo from Tj. It is not bad for $20.

8

…and Fair Play is less unknown than it used to be. Good stuff up there.

9

When Trader Joe’s was just a few stores in CA, great wine finds were possible. They are way too big now to have any kind of find. With their business model, a few products are still a good value and I will drop in every 2-3 months to buy them.

10

Yup, Mort…way back then there were some real finds to be found. I remember in the early '70’s buying no-mame Port House’s Ports '63 at around $4.99/btl.
Down to my last btl now.
Tom

11

If it’s the same wine I tried, I hated it. IIRC, it was very sour to the point of being undrinkable. Maybe bottle variation?

Trader Joe’s has a Gewürztraminer that is pretty tasty for $6-7. I plan to pick some up to serve to my girlfriend’s family this summer, since I don’t care for them very much.