Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve: Unveiling a Premium Piedmont Bargain at $20 Off

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Wine lovers, prepare for a revelation that might have you sprinting to Trader Joe's! We've uncovered an astonishing value hidden on their shelves - a $14.99 bottle that rivals wines selling for more than twice that price.

This Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve from Italy's prestigious Nizza DOCG region isn't your typical private label wine. It comes from Bersano Estate, a 123-year-old family-owned winery whose comparable bottles fetch $35 under their own label. What makes this find spectacular is its pedigree - from one of only 18 villages in the elite Nizza designation, produced from their finest Generala vineyard, and aged meticulously following strict DOCG standards (minimum 30 months with at least 12 in barrel).

The Barbera grape has a fascinating history in Italy's Piedmont region. While Nebbiolo (of Barolo fame) gets the glory, Barbera produces wonderful everyday wines that, when grown in premier sites like Nizza and treated with respect, develop remarkable complexity. This 2019 vintage shows beautiful balance with dark, brooding fruit rather than bright juiciness - perfect for pairing with grilled steaks, roasts, or barbecue as summer approaches. The wine's depth comes from proper aging and traditional winemaking methods (80% in large old barrels, 20% in newer oak).

How did such a premium bottle end up at Trader Joe's for $20 less than retail? Likely a combination of challenging wine market conditions and TJ's savvy buying team. Whatever the reason, this represents one of the best wine values we've encountered this year. Have you found similar hidden gems at Trader Joe's? Share your discoveries and let us know what you think of this Italian bargain!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
hey, welcome.
It's a domain dave.
Cheapwinefindercom.
Another wine review today for awine we wrote up on the
cheapwinefindercom website, likewe always do, and this one is a
1499 trader joe's platinumreserve wine.
That needs a little bit ofexplanation because it's not
like their typical platinumreserve or gold reserve or

(00:26):
reserve reserve.
You never know a damn thing.
Oops, I swore you never knowanything about their wines.
It's always hush-hush.
Sometimes you can kind offigure out who made it, maybe
not.
This one is from the Piedmont inItaly.
It is from Bersano Estate, a123-year-old family-owned winery

(00:51):
.
It's changed hands a few timesbut it's still privately owned.
It's from the NISA.
N-i-z-z-a-d-o-c-g DOC is agoverning body for Italian wine.
G is guaranteed.
They guarantee the quality.
They're not going to guaranteeyou like it.
And this is a Barbera.

(01:16):
Nisa was part of Barbera d'Asti,which is part of the region,
and in 2014, it broke off intoits own kind of top-notch area.
There's like 160 differentvillages for the Barbera d'Asti.
There's only 18 villages forthe Niza and there's more

(01:39):
stringent requirements.
You know how many.
What the yield can be.
Um needs.
It has to be 100 percent firebearer.
The rest of it has 90.
They can blend and uh and aging.
Um has to be at least, uh, 30months aging, with at least 12
months in barrel.

(01:59):
And uh, what do we got here?
So we know who made it, we knowwhere it was made.
We know there's a town nearby.
It's the Generalisa, generalosa, one of those names, I don't
have it.
I can look at it up here.
What do we got here?

(02:20):
Generalisa, that's theirvineyards.
You know which vineyard it camefrom, and this is one of the.
This is a Bersano's elitevineyard in Niza.
It's an old vineyard.
It's where the Barbera comesfrom.
So, barbera, what's up withBarbera?

(02:43):
Because you don't really see alot of it in value price wine In
Piedmont.
Nebbiolo is the leading grapethere and Nebbiolo makes Barolo,
and Barolo is the wine of Italy.
It is the equivalent of aBordeaux red blend, a Napa

(03:04):
Cabernet Sauvignon.
It's the top notch of the wineand Barbera is seen as something
a little bit lesser, more likea value price wine which is
right up our alley.
Except, this is the Barberafrom this region.
That's got all the bells andwhistles it's got.
You know what the vineyard is,you know what town it's near um,

(03:27):
you know who made it?
Uh, like, a long time used tobe a og wine estate.
Well, this is the top and plusit's a 2019.
This is 2025.
It's been aged for a while,which might have been one of the
reasons that Trader Joe's hasit, because I went online and I

(03:52):
found Bersano's own wine andthat one sells for $35 under
their own label.
But this is the same thing,same vineyard.
I mean, there's the same typeof thing.
How they make the wine they use.
80% of it is aged in these bigold barrels.
20% of them are newer, modernbarrels.

(04:14):
That's how they make theirother wine.
This is basically Bersano'sNiso Barbera Preserva, just with
Trader Joe's label on it, andTrader Joe's sells for $15.
They've sold theirs for $35.
This is $20 off.
Now they said that wine wasaged for a minimum of 12 months

(04:38):
in barrel and 12 monthsafterwards, so there's a few
months they're missing.
So I think that's probablyabout 18 months in barrel.
And where has it been for thelast couple years?
Because that was, uh, shouldhave been ready a couple years
ago, which is might be itbarbara.
In the united states peopledon't know what it is and one of

(05:00):
the reasons is back in the1980s, some unscrupulous wine
dealers had a Barbera.
That wasn't right.
It didn't have enough sweetnessand they cut it with glycerin I
think that's the story I'veheard which is what the
ingredient is of antifreeze andyou put too much in.
That ain't't good and it killedabout eight people.

(05:22):
So for a long time, barbara, noone would drink it because it
killed people.
I mean, it's one of thosethings the grape itself had
nothing to do with.
It was these nitwits who putpoison in the wine, but it kind
of stunted.
This is.
This was 1984, 1985, andbarbera still hasn't kicked in.
Now in Italy it is a cheap winefinder wine.

(05:46):
If you want a $10, $12 wine,barbera is right where you want
it to be.
I'm going to take a sip.
But this is like I said, this isaged and they went all out
making the wine.
This is a little bit more darkand brooding.

(06:10):
It's got good red fruit.
It's very balanced.
It's not bright and juicy likea California drink-it-now wine
would be.
This has got like I said, it'sgot more age to it.
So if you're interested in likean aged Italian wine, this
might be just the one you'relooking for.

(06:32):
I mean, it's just at 20 bucksoff for a top notch.
If you're looking for ItalianPiedmont Barbera from Nyssa.
You're starting at the top withthis one.
How Trader Joe's got it it, Idon't know.
It could have been sittingaround.
They need to get rid of it.
And they got a deal because,you know, wine wine's been off
like 10, telling you, I mean, uh, european wines off even more.
Just, the wine industry hasn'tbeen having a lot of luck lately

(06:55):
and I think you know, withtariffs, everything else, it
might get even worse.
So there's going to's going tobe some fun wines coming up.
You know we're taking advantageof other people's misfortune,
but when you can drink theirmisfortune, that's a little
better than just you knowgloating.
So there you go.
This was the Trader Joe'sPlatinum Reserve Rosano Nisa

(07:19):
Barbera Reserva 2019.
It is a top-notch Barbera.
This is as good as it gets inthat region and it tastes pretty
good.
It's more dark and broodingthan bright and bubbly, but it's
a good-tasting wine.
It sips well.
I would probably pick it,choose it to have a meal with.

(07:41):
It's getting warmer out there.
You can throw a couple steaksin the grill.
You've got to roast, you getbarbecue.
This stuff would work reallywell with that, just because
it's got a little more depth toit.
I think that's where it goes.
So, adios, keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to you in acouple more days, so stay safe,
cooler, warm, whatever's outthere it's.