Uncorking Trader Joe's: A $10 Paso Robles Grenache Worth Your Attention

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Ever wondered if you could find a genuinely good bottle of wine for just $10? In this episode, we uncork a surprising discovery from Trader Joe's - their Reserve Paso Robles Grenache 2023, produced by one of the most respected winemaking families in California's Central Coast.

The Beckett family, founders of Peachy Canyon Winery back in 1988, has crafted this budget-friendly Grenache that punches well above its weight class. While they're primarily celebrated for their exceptional Zinfandels, their involvement with the "Rhone Rangers" collective gives them serious credentials with Rhone varieties like Grenache. Their sons once founded Chronic Cellars (remember that cheeky "Sofa King Bueno" wine?) before selling it for a tidy profit - so these folks know their wine business.

What makes this Grenache special? It delivers genuine character rather than the flat, one-dimensional profile you might expect at this price point. There's a beautiful balance of juicy fruit without veering into "fruit bomb" territory, plus that spicy complexity that makes Grenache so appealing. Most impressively, it features real, integrated tannins - something often stripped away from budget wines. For wine lovers who've grown accustomed to the disappointment of cheap bottles, this one brings back memories of when Southern Rhone wines under $15 were reliable go-tos for quality drinking.

Whether you're a curious wine novice or a seasoned enthusiast looking for an everyday sipper, this bottle represents a rare opportunity to experience a Central Coast red from established producers without the premium price tag. Have you found any hidden gems at your local grocery store lately? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more affordable wine discoveries that keep your palate happy and your wallet full!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
hey, welcome, it's a domain dave.
Cheap wine findercom.
Again, like always, got anothercheap one under 10 bucks.
Um, it's a trader.
Joe's reserve, pass a.
Robles grenache 2023.
This is just a reserve.
No diamond, no, you know.
No silver, no, uh.
No tin, I don't know.
They have all these differentthings, uh, different reserves

(00:23):
which might mean something.
No silver, no, tin, I don'tknow.
They have all these differentthings, different reserves which
might mean something.
Usually they mean they costmore money, but this is $9.99.
The one thing about thisGrenache that is produced and
bottled by the backs of theBeckett family out of Paso
Robles, the Beckett family outof Paso Robles, the Beckett

(00:47):
family is Peachy Canyon.
I mean, it's some you know.
Imagine it's an entity ofPeachy Canyon.
They've been around since 1988.
The father and mother startedit back then.
The two sons broke off and didChronic Cellars wines.
You might be familiar with themSold it for a profit.
Their famous wine was Sofa KingBueno, that's S-O-F-A, next

(01:11):
word K-I-N-G.
I didn't swear, but they hadthat kind of sense of humor in
their wine Really good wines.
So they are kind of a fixturein Paso Robles.
They're mainly known for theirZinfandel's.
They have some really goodZinfandel vineyards and they're

(01:32):
really into different clones ofZinfandel and all that kind of
stuff kind of thing.
But one thing they also are isa member of the Roan Rangers.
The Roan Rangers are a group ofmostly Central Coast wineries
that are dedicated to producingRoan Valley grapes in that kind

(01:58):
of style.
That's the Central Coast.
The North Coast is more likelyto be Bordeaux style and maybe
some places Burgundy, but theCentral Coast is going after
Rhone.
It's mainly because it's alittle warmer and all that type
of thing, but not always.
But Grenache is a Rhone grape.

(02:18):
The famous grapes of thesouthern Rhone Valley is the GSM
, grenache, syrah, movedre.
You know that's maybe thesecond most popular blend behind
the Cabernet Sauvignon, merlot,cabernet Franc blends of
Bordeaux.
So this is a Grenache wine.

(02:40):
I checked the peachy Canyonwebsite and they don't actually
make a single varietal Grenachewine at the moment.
Maybe they had in the past, butthey do make blends with
Grenache in it, so they do knowtheir way around Grenache.
I going to take a sip of this.
It's pretty good.

(03:09):
Part of the thing of the GSM isthe Grenache and the Syrah.
Syrah can be a little plump andjuicy and the Grenache can be
more likely to be tight andfocused.
So this one's kind of a littlebit juicy and spicy.
So they go well together.
But there's no Syrah on thisone.
It's just straight up Grenacheand actually as it opens up it's

(03:32):
getting to be a little morejuicy, a little more spicy.
It's kind of fun to drink.
There's a lot going on either,glass for for $10.
It's kind of bright and good.
I actually I never do this, butI read a review of this wine.
There weren't that many outthere before.
I did this because I never wantto know what anybody else

(03:53):
thinks, it's not my business.
But I did and I was like, oh,this is not going to be very
good.
And it turned out that maybethey got a bad bottle.
I like this wine.
It's a nice red wine.
It's a change of pace If you'vebeen doing the same old, same
old.
Even though Grenache is not anodd bar or weird wine, it's
pretty much one of the big boys.

(04:15):
I don't drink all that much ofit and I don't see it around all
that much.
Take another sip.
Yeah, that's good.
It's got spice, it's got goodgrapes, it's juicy but it's not
jammy.
So it's not a fruit bomb.
There is good flavor to it.

(04:36):
It has a nice balance to it.
It has tannins.
A lot of times $10 wine it'skind of hide their tannins, but
this one's kind of got thetannins there.
They don't bite, they don'tpull, but it's something that if
you should like.
It's like the first time he hadcoffee or cheese.
It's bitter and after a whileyou know I don't know if I like

(04:58):
this and after a while you, youlike it.
Tannins are the same way.
After a while you kind know Idon't know if I like this and
after a while you like it.
Tannins are the same way.
After a while you kind of lookforward to them.
So there we go.
This is a decent better thandecent $10 wine.
$10 for a wine out of Paso Robo, by one of the leaders of Paso
Robo's wines.

(05:19):
The Beckett family and Peachycanyon are kind of legends out
that way and this is their winefor just a 10 wine.
You can't really find theirwines for 10 bucks anymore.
So grab it, you're gonna likeit.
If you haven't had a grenache ina while, you probably haven't.
You know when I, when I firststarted doing the website uh,

(05:42):
you know, 15 years or more ago,if you wanted a good red wine.
You got a?
Uh, you got a?
Um, a southern rome uh,southern rome valley, just
regular wine of villages orwhatever.
You know that you would havethe syrah, grenache or whatever
in there and there are alwaysreally good wines and they're
under 15 bucks.
I don't see them around thatmuch and they're around, but you

(06:02):
not the same way.
But here you can kind of get ahandle on a good grenache wine
for a really good producer at areally low rate at a place at a
grocery store, or you can alsopick up some pretty cool items
at trader joe's.
So, adios, keep it cheap.
This is domain dave.
You know, if you can, if youcan can, like us where you like

(06:24):
your podcast, please do it.
For some reason, after allthese years it still makes a
difference.
You got to do it by hand.
So, adios, keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to you later.
We got more wine for the summer.
Adios, bye-bye, keep it cheap.