Have you ever wondered if Trader Joe’s has any good Italian red wine? I did too, so I did the only thing that made sense. I bought every single one of them.
I ended up with 23 bottles ranging from $5 to $36, but I gotta say, I don’t feel too confident about this tasting. Why? Because Italian wine is just weird.
In this video, I’m going to blind taste and score every Italian red from TJ’s to see if they’ve got any gems. I’ll be real with you though; I’m a little skeptical. Italian wine isn’t really my thing, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll become a convert.
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🍷 I Took On 21 Bottles of Trader Joe’s Pinot Noir in One Sitting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKhsSc4lx4s
🍷 How I wish ORDERING WINE was explained to me as a beginner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxtx0vux4I&t=21s
🍷 Sommelier Ranked $400 of Trader Joe’s Bordeaux Wine
🍷 I Tested Costco vs. Trader Joe’s Cabernet Sauvignon: Which One Is Best? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qvuj5zlhWE&t=1s
TIMESTAMP
00:00 Intro
03:08 Grifone Sangiovese 2021 Puglia $4.99
04:16 7 Sicilians Rosso Terre Red Blend NV Italy $5.99
05:23 Grifone Primitivo 2021 Puglia $5.99
06:14 Villa Cerrina Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo 2023 Tuscany $5.99
07:18 Epicuro Aglianico 2022 Puglia $5.99
08:22 Rosa dell Olmo Barbera D’ Asti 2022 Piedmont $5.99
09:19 Epicuro Nero d’Avola 2022 Siciliy $5.99
10:37 Gaetano D’Aquino Chianti Riserva 2019 Tuscany $6.99
12:01 Grifone 1967 Red Blend 2019 Tuscany $6.99
12:52 Campi Rudi Red Blend (Appassimento) 2021 Puglia $6.99
13:19 Susumaniello Ruggero di Bardo 2022 Puglia $9.99
14:15 Casone Red Blend 2017 Tuscany $10.99
15:39 Cecilia Beretta Amarone 2020 Valpolicella $11.99
16:18 D’Aquino Chianti 2023 Tuscany $11.99
18:06 Patroferno Primitivo (Appassimento) 2022 Puglia $12.99
19:07 Rosa dell Olmo Barolo 2020 Piedmont $14.99
19:49 Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo 2021 Tuscany $14.99
21:07 Ca’Storica Amarone 2021 Valpolicella $15.99
24:03 Barreri & Rovati Barbaresco Riserva 2018 Piedmont $20.99
24:50 Poggio Lontano Brunello di Montalcino 2018 Tuscany $21.99
25:43 Barreri & Rovati Barolo Riserva 2017 Piedmont $23.99
28:44 Cecilia Beretta Valpolicella Ripasso 2021 Valpolicella $23.99
29:49 Damilano Lecinquevigne Barolo 2019 Piedmont $35.99
26 Comments
Awesome tasting. Why don't you blend all 23 wine into a glass and have a taste?
Do more native grape loving countries! (Portugal comes to mind)
I've heard good things about the Espiral Vinho Verde and Tuella Douro both at the sub $6 mark
I’m constantly disappointed by Italian wine. Nice to see I’m not the only one. The king of bland wines it is. I’ve have some good ones but they are rare and far in between. People totally romanticize Italian, wine, food, landscapes everything yes…😅
I hate this video so much, I cant even put it into words!!
If you want to evaluate (say bad things about) any country and their wines, at least do a decent selection, not a bunch of crap from the bottom shelf of a supermaket.
Nice edit, cinemathography and channel concept though 😂
as an italian wine drinker you are doing god's work suppressing italian wine prices with your shit palate, grazie mille
Italian wines are definitely not overrated, but you need to start at the $30 range.
Why didn't I think of doing this. LOL Great video, thanks!
Thanks for tasting and giving your honest opinion. I've had several of those and find them simple but in a good way, very little oak, honest representation, not overly extracted and lower alcohol, lots of things I like and opposite of a lot of goosed up recipe wines. But I'd say a lot of wine drinkers agree with you too.
Pal, this is the D I want! You’re doing the hard work for us, the analogies are on point lol I’m watching this with a glass of Bogle
Based on the Quality of the Video you would have 100 times more subs
How’s italian wine overrated? I would argue the opposite, there are almost double the grape varieties compared to France, so it’s way more diverse and full of hidden treasures. When it comes to peak quality yes, french wine tends to take the cake but as far as value for money it’s literally crazy how good you have it compared to almost every country. That said tho, im not really surprised with all the bad wines here, italy its the largest wine producer in therms of quantity and unfortunately many many many of them are not very good, especially in a supermarket, without mantioning in America, for sure most wineries here ship their worst old unsold wines to the states, cause most people don’t know better. For example the Amarone you tasted was only 16 usd, like how? Im from Verona, the land of Amarone and a cheap decent one HERE costs at least 25 Euros with good one exceeding 50 plus, imagine what they are shipping to make it 17 dollars, crazy
why even do this? You just told all your followers that Italian wine isn’t good…And you are completely wrong. Great Italian wines are made by great producers, not mass manufactured trash that would end up in Trader Joe’s. If you buy your wine in Trader Joe’s you get what you deserve.
So basically they are all crap
Hey Dustin, new subscriber here.
The quality of the recording and editing are stellar! How do you do that without paying a pro team and having sponsors? Very impressive.
I like the "joshua weissman "-like grade matrix with colors, a great addition.
If I may suggest a topic of interest.
Choose a red wine for a group of ppl or as a present.
Where I'm from (central Europe), we tend to be super conservative and cautious, which ends up in folks bringing 60% Primitivo di Manduria, 20% Ripasso Valpolicella and 20% Amarone della Valpolicella.
Why do we choose like that? Is the untrained palate only reacting positively to higher residual sugar wines (my guess)?
And of course keep doing blind tasting, try to invite a star like Peter Koff (or maybe just a friend / wife etc) and then serve 4 bottles, 2 super expensive and 2 rather cheap ones and have a fun blind tasting 😅
Echoing others… I did a doubletake when I saw the subscriber count. My friend, you will be at 100X this very very soon. And, sadly, I was sipping one of the D+ TJ's Italian reds at the time I discovered this channel…. so, there's that. I liked. I subscribed. I subscribed to your newsletter. Cannot wait to see what you do here.
There are no very good wines under $50 domestically
TJ imports the weakest Italian wine lineup from the bottom tier producers
Great stuff man – keep these types of videos coming!
Maybe add Aldi, Costco, and Sam’s Club too?
TBH I think you could skip anything over $20 at these places – if we’re buying wine from any of these low-cost retailers, we’re not splurging for much over the $20 mark. We’re just looking for something decent (or god-forbid “good”) at a low-ish cost point.
Imo Italians wines are really hit or miss. Sometimes great, sometimes very meeeh at best.
You’re one of the only wine sommeliers online who I have seen do a good job of explaining the characteristics of what makes good wine. A majority of the YouTubers taste the wine just start shouting random tasting notes. “Cassis! Vanilla! Cat Pee!”
What are some wines that you think are underrated…or maybe best value? Spanish reds?
I wonder how much of these mediocre reviews are because of the wine selection and how much is because you don't care for Italian wine. I personally love Italian wine, especially Brunello and Barolo. But this successfully scared me away from buying Italian wines at TJ's.
One day, would love to see you review some actual fine wine with your very approachable tastings!
I’ve been preaching that for years! 🙏🏼
to the bottom shelf with you all you italo bottles !
23:45 I secured myself that badge of honor 🏅!
lots of love from germany !
Great job my man! JOSEPHINEN HUTTE!!!! 😂 I have 2 Hutte’s myself, they are amazing. Nothing like drinking $10 wine in a $100+ glass. Great times to be alive!
You just lost my respect. I love Italian wine. Won’t be watching you again