On the topic of inexpensive wines...now is the time to look out for wines that are being closed out to make way for newer vintages. Sadly, these are tough times for the wine industry right now, so there are lots of close-outs. Many of these wines are sold at deep discounts, but are perfectly fine wines. I find them through a wine shop, but you can look online for them as well. Also, TJ's is wine close-out heaven.

Have you ever come across a "corked" wine? We had one at thanksgiving. It had an odd smell and flavor. My dau said that is smelled old, dirty socks and it did. We had to throw it out. Too bad...it was a nice wine otherwise.

I'd like to bring Spanish Rioja wines to the forefront. They are wonderful wines, full of character and usually very reasonably priced. $15 can get you a decent bottle...good for gift giving, host gift, or just to drink while decorating cookies this holiday season. I haven't checked lately, but I'm sure that TJ's sells Spanish wines. You can read about Rioja wines at the Wine Folly's website: https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/rioj...-gran-reserva/

We always get so hung up on French, or Californian wines, but most countries throughout the world have some sort of wine production. It's fun to try different wines from different places. Why not Spain?

tropit, I'm not a wine drinker but lately we've been buying wines at Trader Joe's. They are really good for me but maybe not for a true wine lover.
One is Villa Alena Moscato & Peach in a gorgeous bottle lol and I love it!

Oooh...the name sounds interesting. I love TJ's. It's 2 hour drive from my house, so whenever I go to the City, I stop and stock up on wine and cheese. They have some great bargains. (Although, not 2 Buck Chuck. It's terrible.) There are some websites out there that keep abreast of all of the new arriving wines at TJ's and rate them. I'll have to look that site up and post it soon.

~ C

Other than Rioja, I've been drinking wines from Josh Cellars, from N. California, lately. They've been on sale and are pretty good. $14 buys a nice bottle of Cabernet. It's not that I drink wine every day, mind you. But, I have been drinking more lately, being the holidays and also because it really helps relieve my arthritis and vein pains. Two glasses and I can walk again...three glasses and I can't...LOL.