What Wine Are You Drinking Today?

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

 

over on the Tj's thread .

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155097-trader-joes-products-2017–/page/69/#comment-2462102

 

 

@rotuts, what do you think of it? I have been unimpressed with the bourbon barrel aged wines. I like many wines; I generally like bourbon; however, the combination has left me cold.

[rotuts]

Im deeply impressed :

 

this is a table wine , red , w the flavors os Zin , and some aging that you can taste.

 

Im going back and buy several cases , and this , over time , is going to be a very very nice table wine

 

$ 5.99   

 

and better than wines  < 15 -- 20 dollars 

 

as its a bit aged

[TdeV]

I didn't like it, but I don't like bourbon.

[rotuts]

well , nor do I .

 

i didnt taste bourbon .

[weinoo]

 

Went to the Basque Country...

[gulfporter]

[gulfporter]

I'm a sucker for funny names.

 

 

 

 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, gulfporter said:

I'm a sucker for funny names.

 

 

 

 

 

Me too, and I think I bought a bottle of that once for that reason. I don't remember what I thought of it, which probably means it was okay be not stellar. How do you like it?

[gulfporter]

I like it.  But when it's 90 degrees, any chilled Pinot Grigio hits the spot!

[Smithy]

This is my current fave among Sauvignon Blancs.

 

 

It's light and crisp, and although it has enough minerality to be noticeable I don't think it's as pronounced as many of the Marlboroughs. Goes well with chicken and probably fish although I haven't tried it. Sips very nicely on its own, too.

[gulfporter]

Pinot Noir. Strong, tasty.   

 

[Alex]

On 11/12/2025 at 1:22 PM, gulfporter said:

I'm a sucker for funny names.

 

 

 

 

 

I sent this to friends in Massachusetts who have six sheep.

[Alex]

At that price, I decided to take one for the team. It was, shall we say, interesting -- although I picked up more funky herbal notes than the WE reviewer noted. It paired surprisingly well with a Niman Ranch apple-gouda sausage. Also, I felt buzzed after only about 5 ounces, which led me to accurately predict that it was 15% alcohol. I'll stay out of that issue for now.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Rusack 2017 Ballard Canyon Estate Reserve Syrah

I thought this might be over the hill but it still has a delicious balance of fruit and earthiness.

Rusack has been one of my favorite wineries for years and it’s the last wine club I belonged to. I even liked their Chards which weren’t overly oaky. They closed up the club and their lovely Santa Ynez Valley tasting room last year and went to an allocation system. I missed the ordering deadline for their first allocation last month but understand the prices were quite high. Not sure what they’re up to but I’ve still got a few bottles of Syrah, Pinot Noir and Cab to enjoy. 
 

 

Edited November 17 by blue_dolphin
To add missing word (log)

[gulfporter]

Chilean.  I drink their standard white wine. This is good for the price. 

 

[Dave the Cook]

We've had a few interesting wines lately:

 

A rosé from Trader Joes. Surprisingly staunch for a rosé, although curiously named after a (in my experience) rather meek mammal:

 

 

The closure, however, was almost impregnable. At first, it's reminiscent of the Maker's Mark wax capsule. But as far as we can tell, this one was made from some sort of very tough plastic:

\

 

We also grabbed an excellent Rhone-style California, for about $16:

 

[weinoo]

34 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

The closure, however, was almost impregnable.

 

I like to go right through those types of closures with the worm; don't even bother trying to cut through that stuff.