My week of detoxing from alcohol — that was supposed to be last week — hasn’t gone so well. Upside — I’ve switched to organic wines. Last night, 15 minutes before Trader Joe’s closed, I stopped in to survey my options. I found four organic wines for under $6 a bottle. Why under $6? I’m poor.
3 of them are Five Hills Blue wines — a chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet. So far, I’ve tried the merlot and cabernet, and though I can’t say my taste buds are all that refined — lately I’ve been more of a quantity, not quality, drinker — I’d say they’re not bad for $5.99 a bottle. Northbay.com rated them a 3 stars (out of 5).
Apparently, Paul Dolan of Fetzer Vineyards (now owned by Brown-Forman) developed the Five Hills Blue label specifically to promote organic wines at Trader Joe’s. According to Fast Company, Fetzer was the first to launch mass-marketed organic wine in the US (Bonterra, in 1991). The vineyard has a goal to go 100% organic by 2010. Very inspiring story. I’m gonna try the Fetzer Organic Garden Tour for my next in-Cali vacation.
The fourth is a Spanish wine — Bodegas Iranzo’s Finca Solano Tempranillo Crianza, 2002 — that I haven’t tried yet. (**Update, 9/11/05: I tried this wine — It’s my fave out of the four. **Update, 9/22/05: For a more expert opinion, check out Martini Republic’s more detailed, poetic review of Finca Solano.)
Update, 9/24/05: I found one more affordable organic wine at Trader Joe’s — another Tempranillo, Señorio de Solano, also by Bodega Iranzo. At $4.99, it’s also the least expensive of all the organic wines. The two Spanish wines are yummier, in my opinion, than the Five Hills Blue wines — Though I have a soft spot for Cali wines –
And I didn’t see any organic beer at Trader Joe’s, though it’s possible that I just missed it. I’ll have to ask about it next time — For now, buy Five Hills Blue, or if there’s no Trader Joe’s near you, ask for Fetzer or Bonterra.
Update, 2/5/06: Found another organic wine at Trader Joe’s — Well Re(a)d by Heartswork Winery. This no-added-sulfites wine runs $5.99 a bottle.
Update, 6/14/06: And now, Fetzer’s part of building “the largest solar energy vineyard project in the U.S.”!
September 8th, 2005 at 10:56 am
if you ever want to splurge on wine, last new year’s eve we had Fleury Brut Rosé champagne and it was wonderful. it’s pricey, though - like $35 a bottle. it’s organic and vegan. i bought it at whole foods. here’s a blurb about it:
The Fleury rosé is made of all pinot noir from Courteron, in the southern part of Champagne. The vineyards, which are all their own, are farmed 100% bio-dynamically, the strictest form of organic viticulture. The base wine is all from the 1999 vintage. In the glass it has a wonderful, fresh pinot noir nose of strawberry fruit and forest air intrigue. On the palate it has a great small bubble texture with magnificent depth and terroir.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:08 pm
Hey CL. Just something I wanted to share: Today at Starbucks I happened upon “ethos” bottled water. The slogan is “helping children get clean water.” On the back label, there’s something about donating a million dollars or more to support “humanitarian water projects” by the end of 2006.
This sounds pretty good to me! I’ll have to see if they sell this water by the case in grocery stores. Seems like a pretty easy way to do a smidge of good.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
Hey there! You convinced me. When you come out to Sac. this month we will pound organic beer together while floating down the river. Cant wait to see you!
September 8th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
She Reads She Writes — I agree about trying to do a smidge of good — But I wonder if you’d do a somewhat bigger smidge if you bought regular bottled water, and saved the extra money for later donation. Apparantly, Starbucks gives the cause only 5 cents a bottle, while charging a lot more per bottle. This from the Chicago Sun-Times:
So if you buy Ethos, you’re paying from 30 to 80 cents more per bottle, and they’re giving 5 cents away to a very worthy cause. Where does the rest go?
I wish companies like Starbucks would be a little more honest about what they’re doing, you know? People shell out extra thinking it’s for charity, but most of it’s really for Starbucks. Trying to do good shouldn’t feel us leaving duped…
September 12th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
My comment is that the Fetzer tasted good. And it was on sale at Ralph’s, so no complaints here.
September 12th, 2005 at 6:11 pm
You’re channeling me — I like it —
For confused comment readers, there are two commenters named Jen. One lives in Glendale, CA, does happy hour with me, and eats pork on a frighteningly regular basis. The other is a vegan knitting blogger of i like to knit, whose icon is a picture of her kitty, by which you can tell the two Jens apart –
October 10th, 2005 at 3:31 am
…a quick Google search led me to your fine analysis of our wine Finca Solano. Thank you for your comments. Together with Bodegas Iranzo we produce Finca Solano and Señorio de Solano for Trader Joe’s. Bodegas Iranzo is an incredible gem for those of you that appreciate great craftmanship and organic sustainability rolled into one. I just love to tell the story:
•Bodegas Iranzo produces Spain’s Oldest Estate Bottled Wines
•This is the only vineyard in Europe located in a National Reserve Park (grandfathered in)
•The wines of Bodegas Iranzo are to be featured this fall in an interview with Wine Spectator’s investigative report on wines made from organically grown grapes
•Most recent Awards: 2004 Vinalies Gold (France) and 2004 Bacchus Silver (Spain). These are the Awards from the Spanish and French Society of Enologists (judged by your peers - the toughest critics). These are the highest awards ever given to an organic wine in the overall Spanish red wine category
•Bodegas Iranzo is one of the first bodegas in Spain to be certified EU organic and first bodega in Spain to receive USDA National Organic Program certification
….and the Wine Maker of Bodegas Iranzo is the Professor of Enology at the Oldest School of Enology in Spain….
I could go on and on…..
The value that you are able to pick up at Trader Joe’s
Finca Solano Tempranillo Crianza (aged) at $6.99 and
Señorio de Solano Tempranillo at $4.99
are two of the best wine values available.
SALUD! and enjoy!
October 10th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Hey Edward — Thanks for stopping by — and for the yummy wines :) Any chance they’ll be becoming more widely avaliable, like at the 7-Eleven around the corner from me that I run to when I’m desparate?
October 11th, 2005 at 10:06 am
Hola Siel, not at the prices TJ’s offers. They clean EVERYBODY out of the middle to get the customer the best price. We do have other brand names (not exclusive to Trader Joe’s) of the same wines at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Henry’s, etc. They are VERTVS (for the Finca Solano) and Bodegas Iranzo Tempranillo Selection (for the Señorio de Solano). Also yummy. Do you think we will ever see Organic wines at 7 Eleven?
October 11th, 2005 at 8:51 pm
I’ve been wondering if the bigger green-minded like Fetzer would maybe start staking out 7-Eleven territory. Not sure if Fetzer would wanna be involved with a chain like 7-Eleven — Then again, Fetzer’s in every Ralphs –
December 2nd, 2005 at 5:02 am
Don’t know if you have come across Frey organic . . . know nothing about, jut saw the add at the Huffington Post . . .
May 21st, 2006 at 10:33 pm
WE ONLY DRINK ORGANIC WINES AND WE FOUND A GREAT WHITE WINE AT TRADER JOE’S. WE SHARE A BOTTLE EACH AND EVERY NIGHT TOGETHER. THE WINE IS CALLED BRIDGE/ECO IT IS A 2004 SAUVIGNON BLANC. IF ANY ONE IS INTERESTED IN STARTING AN ORGANIC WINE CLUB IN THE TEMECULA AREA PLEASE CALL MARIETTE@951
679-7573
June 15th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Where can we find Bridge/Eco Merlot?
Thanks!
Peter