Tom's Foodie Blog Bringing Together Foodies & Good Food
Several times a year BevMo will launch the 5 Cent Wine Sale, although picking from a store full of unknown wines is daunting. Trust me, do not go looking for your favorite grocery store wines, let go of your wine inhibitions and try something new. The 5 cent wine sale is a great time to try and stock up on some amazing wines at a great price. With this sale, you buy one bottle at full price and then you purchase a matching pair of the same wine for 5 cents. I have been stocking up on wine from this sale for years and it is a great way of collecting great wines at the price of “Weekday” wine. Medical studies has proven the health benefits of wine 
Below are my favorite wines from the 5 cent wine sale. These are of course my personal favorites and everyone has their own preferences; if you didn’t like one of my selections, its you 😉 . I split up my picks to get a blend of cheaper “Weekday Wines” and some nicer bottles perfect for Valentines Day.
Note: The descriptions of the wine are directly from their website, so I can’t claim credit. The rating scale of the wines are from 1-100, with a score of “100” being a perfect wine. BevMo uses their own rating scale based on Wilfred Wong’s rating scale. Wilfred Wong is a veteran wine competition judge who was hired by BevMo to make sense of their wines.
Challis lane – This is a good weekday wine for under $10 ..Doctor’s orders.
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Challis lane
Challis Lane Shiraz ’09 – 90 PTS WILFRED WONG. Showing quite well, the strongly fruity ’09 Challis Lane Shiraz delivers plenty on the palate; some black fruit and leather, with a fine chewiness in the end; delicious finish. 9.99
- Challis Lane Old Vine Zinfandel ’11 – 90 PTS WILFRED WONG. Displays some elegance, the red-fruited ’11 Challis Lane Old Vine Zin plays delicately on the palate; pleasing and persistent ripe berry flavors. 9.99
Gen 5 – Delicious wine for under $15
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Gen 5
Gen 5 Chardonnay ’11 – 92 PTS WILFRED WONG. Simply delicious, the ripe and very well crafted ’11 Gen 5 Chardonnay dances well on the palate; incredibly supple, yet dry and crisp in the finish; exceptional, core fruit notes.Michael Pozzan (one of my favorites) 14.99
- Gen 5 Zinfandel ’10 – 93 PTS WILFRED WONG. Youthful and wild, the blackberry, almost jammy, ’10 Gen 5 Zinfandel plays rich and fine on
he palate; bright and sassy in the finish. 14.99 - Gen 5 Merlot ’10 – 92 PTS WILFRED WONG. Ripe and round, the smooth and really nicely layered ’10 Gen 5 Merlot shows excellent style and personality; almost silky in the finish. 14.99
Paso Creek – this is one of my favorite wines at BevMo and under $20.
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Paso Creek
Paso Creek Merlot ’07 – A well-balanced Merlot; showing off sophisticated aromas of ripe black plum and dark cherries;
ripe flavors on the palate with firm tannins, yet firm and well balanced. 17.99
- Paso Creek Cabernet ’07 – The Paso Creek Cabernet shows ripe fruit flavors of dark plums, wild berry and cassis; nicely balanced and well structured with a long fruity finish; great to serve with bbq ribs. 17.99
Zaca Mesa –I Wish their syrah was on sale, but their Chardonnay is also nice.
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Zaca Mesa
Zaca Mesa Chardonnay ’09 – The Zaca Mesa Chardonnay offers ripe citrus flavors with an accent of oak; finishes with fine richness and balance. 17.99
Shellback – This is a great new Zealand wine that can hand with Kim Crawford wines.
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Shellback
Shellback Sauvignon Blanc ’10 – 90 PTS WILFRED WONG. This has a real yum thing going on! The ripe and up-front, fruity ’10 Shellback Sauvignon Blanc delivers excellent ripe citrus flavors; smooth and bright. 19.99
Powder Keg – This is a great price for a high quality and juicy wine
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PowderKeg
Powder Keg Demolition Red ’09 – 93 PTS WILFRED WONG. The belle of the ball, he super-rich ’09 Powder Keg Demolition Red serves up incredible fruit; brims with exceptional brightness; waltzes to the finish. 24.99
- Powder Keg Petite Sirah ’09 – 92 PTS WILFRED WONG. Shows superb berries of all kinds, the fully-flavored ’09 Powder Keg Petite Sirah; smooth and layered on the palate; pretty red fruit ending. 19.99
- Powder Keg Zinfandel ’09 – 91 PTS WILFRED WONG. Juicy and enticing, the ’09 Powder Keg Zinfandel delivers a whole lot of delicious fruit; pretty cranberry and raspberry, with a note of wood in the finish. 19.99
Valley of the Moon (Favorite) – One of the best wines produced in California (According to www.TomsFoodieBlog.com)
Pinot Noir ‘10- GOLD MEDAL, 2012 CALIFORNIA TATE FAIR WINE COMP. Rich and expansive, the dark, deeply brooded ’10 Valley of the Moon Pinot Noir exhibits layers of flavors and textures. 24.99- Cabernet ’09 -The Valley of the Moon shows dark fruit, but mild tannins; medium bodied, with a nice range of ripe fruit flavors; some oak in the finish. 24.99
Michael Pouzan – Several years ago this brand was cheap, under $15 dollars for a wine that tasted like a $50 bottle of wine. They have grown, but still have some reasonably priced wines.
Michael Pozzan Cabernet Alexander Vly’09 – Michael Pozzan Winery Alexander Valley Cabernet is packed, with ripe fruit flavors that last nicely on the palate; firm in the finish. 24.99- Michael Pozzan Cabernet Sonoma ’10 – 91 PTS WILFRED WONG. An amazing transformation, the ’10 Michael Pozzan Sonoma County Cabernet is incredibly aromatic and juicy; loaded with bright cassis flavors, with just a touch of oak; a winner! 24.99
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Great ideas!! Good choices!!
I don’t trust anything Wong says; about 30% of Bevmo’s wines are rated 90% or above by him – so his ratings are way inflated. You can no longer find wines listed by ratings of real reviewers on the website. His tasting notes are often off. I assume he hypes the wines that they get a good deal on, to push them. Perhaps you would like to act as an independent Bevmo taster, as there is an independent Costco wine taster who has a blog.
I have my skepticism as well, although the good thing is that I personally have tasted each of these wines and can recommend them to my readers. I really like your idea of doing wine reviews on my blog! I might do BevMo, Costco and TotalWine.
One of the BEST red wines I have ever had from BevMo was Unruly Red. It was $7 with the second bottle at 5 cents. Best deal around. Crisp and bright flavors of blackberries and plum jump out at you but with a very clean and smooth finish. Your mouth will feel like there was a party in it after a glass of this great-priced wine. DON’T let the rice scare you-yes $7.00 I have had so many compliments at my parties with this wine and you will 2.