This is a series of weekly bargain wine picks by the members of the Vintage Wine Tasting Club. We meet every other month for a formal tasting session but in between we communicate with each other whenever we discover a great wine bargain. We love the sport of bargain wine hunting. Here are three terrific bargain wine picks from the past week.
BearBoat 2007 Syrah – Trader Joes $3.99 (Mike and Jim’s Pick)
This wine just came into the Millbrae Trader Joe’s on Friday. It is rich and dark with lots of fruit. This is a well-balanced red for any occasion. Take a look at the Wine.com website and you will find the BearBoat selling for $19.99. For the same amount of money you can buy five bottles at TJ’s. How is that for a deal! The Wine Enthusiast rates this wine at 91 points. We give it a solid 88 points. Needless to say, once the word is out on the BearBoat Syrah, it will be flying off the shelves. You snooze, you lose! Call your local Trader Joe’s to see if they have this wine in stock.
Centine 2008 Toscana – BevMo $8.03 (Joe’s Pick)
Two blog posts ago I mentioned that I’d tasted this wine at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Virginia. I could only find it available online. But last week as I was perusing the BevMo store in Burlingame, I found the wine on the bottom shelf of the Italian section. I was so happy to find this wine to try again, and better yet the sale price is a mere $8.03. I immediately scored a half case. This Tuscan wine is 60% Sangiovese and is a delicious wine that yearns for pasta or pizza with a tomato sauce base. The acidity is balanced and the flavors light, but delicious. This wine sells elsewhere for $13. 88 Points
Renoto Ratti Colombe Dolcetto d’Alba 2009 – Weimax Wines $13.99 (Joe’s Pick)
I’m heading off to Italy in October and will visit the Piedmonte area, and I definitely want to get more familiar with the wines from this area. In Piedmonte, the most widely-known wines are Barolo and Barbaresco, made from the Nebbiolo grape. But they also make Barbera and Dolcetto wines in this region that are very delicious, yet somewhat under the radar because of their two famous big brothers. This Renoto Ratti Dolcetto makes for fresh and easy drinking. It has nice gentle fruit, nice acidity and is delicious to serve with appetizers. Proprietor Gerald at Weimax suggests you drink this delicious wine at cellar temperature. How many of you out there have tried a Dolcetto? Experiment a bit and give your palate a sense of this fun and tasty wine.
Oh boy, I was at Trader Joe’s the other day too! I guess I have to go back this week, but have to make sure they have it in stock before I go.
Karina, find out where Mike lives and see if he will sell you a few bottles. I made it to Millbrae TJ’s by noon Sunday on a hot tip Sunday morning from my “friend” Mike. There staring at me was one lonely bottle of the Bearboat Syrah. I asked the guy at the desk if there was anymore. He said some guy named Mike came in the night before and bought the last case. He said Mike couldn’t fit anymore cases in his car on his first run earlier Saturday. Next time Mike gives a tip it should be BEFORE he cleans out TJ’s. I might add, it was a great bottle of wine. Thanks for the tip Mike.