Happy New Year!

🌟I hope you rang in 2021 safely, warmly and with a glass of something good in hand (even if it wasn’t until your favorite coffee at 8am!)

TJ’s Wine Finds – Good Wines Priced at a Steal!  

Trade Joe’s has a wine aisle teeming with (often) unfamiliar wines at thrillingly low prices. But afraid of the unknown, you play it safe and toss the same ol’ favorite in your cart. Sound familiar? Let me help!

I accepted a wine challenge from a group of insider wine pros – Find wines $12.99 or UNDER, from just one wine re-seller. Are there are any I’d recommend?

The answer is YES.  And I’m ready to share 5 of my best finds!

Scroll down for my review of Wine Pick #1.   

The next four wines?  Watch your inbox! I’ll be sending them out over the next few days.

When it was my turn to name my preferred wine shop I was thrilled no one had called TRADER JOE’S yet!  With a wide selection at such extraordinarily low prices I felt I was almost cheating (my hunt to find quality under $12.99 was that much easier!)

So, I did the “hard work” for you – selecting and tasting several wines available at Trader Joe’s. I put a mix of 9 quite different wines in my cart, hoping I’d ultimately be able to recommend three. One of the nine was corked (infected with TCA cork taint- identifiable by a musty smell of wet newspaper or dog) so I couldn’t judge it.  One was a disappointment, lacking enough pleasure in terms of liveliness or delicious fruit, and two were fine – very drinkable, nice enough, but just didn’t stand out.

Which wines DID stand out?  Over the next few Crush Notes posts, I offer you FIVE wines I can immediately recommend from TJ’s wine aisle, not only for their quality-to-price ratio, but for their deliciousness or unique qualities – wines I will definitely buy again.  And check out those prices!

Here’s my first TJ “Grab it Now” Bargain wine pick:

WINE PICK #1: Emma Reichert Gewürztraminer, Pfalz, (Qba) 2018

My Price:  $6.99 – Trader Joe’s

The Wine  📌

This Emma Reichart was on a large display in the middle of wine aisle. Who wouldn’t want to pick up a Gewürztraminer from Germany? (Careful, their Riesling label looks almost the same. It may be delicious, but I haven’t tasted it… yet)

Emma Reichert is a cooperative sourcing grapes from smaller farmers in the cool Pfalz region of Germany. With Gerwurtztraminer I was readying for a big aroma punch and a heavy mouthfeel, or a soapy-phenolic (think green bitter) wine as some dry versions can be. This was neither of those, nor was it a sweet rich wine. This “Gerwurtz” is made in a “Med-Dry” style at 12.5% alcohol.

It started off extremely delicate, almost gossamer in weight and mouthfeel.

NOSE: The nose was pink grapefruit peel, rose petals, white peaches near the skin, and was that ginger?

PALATE: Flavors of lychee and white peaches tingled and enlivened the fore-palate, disappeared a bit in the mid-palate, and brought in a hint of green on the finish. The more I drank it though, as it warmed, the juicier it became. Always delicately dancing on my palate, so light and airy, but the core fruit blossomed and the flavors on the finish turned grapefruit pith and perfume.

Is it worthy? YES! I’d buy it again, in fact I will go back for more. The delicate flavors did satisfy and the light acid tickle kept inviting more sips.

PAIRING: Pair with your lightest of snacks, a pureed curried carrot soup, bruschetta with fresh ricotta and honey drizzle, light yet aromatic starters or enjoy on its own.

FINAL ANALYSIS: More complex than I expected, and tasty. At a mere $6.99, get it before it’s gone!

I’d love your feedback —  Did you try this wine?  A pairing with it?
Which are YOUR favorite TJ wine finds?