Smart Shopper: $13 a Bottle on Bonny Doon's Demeter Certified Muscat (Close Out Sale)

A dry muscat - for $160 a case! And biodynamic to boot. Bonny Doon's got the goods. See here.

McFadden Wine Sale! As Low as $11 a Bottle (25-30% Off)

Guinness McFadden is having a St. Patrick's Day Sale 

Free shipping and discounts of 25-30% off on some of my favorite everyday wines - jump on this one.

One of my pet peeves is people who buy their wine at Trader Joe's. Not only is 99.9% of it not organically grown, it's also mostly imported. It is not locally grown and if it is, it usually represents some poor grower's near bankruptcy.

Support your native ecosystem - buy wine from wineries that don't dump toxic chemicals into local lands and wine that doesn't require massive infusions of carbon to ship halfway around the globe.

The feel good alternative is buying great local organically grown wine - like these - when they're on sale (like now).

McFadden is one of my go-to wineries for fantastic affordable wines. This year they've done extremely well in the Chronicle wine competition for their Chardonnay as well a new wine - a Late Harvest Riesling (dessert wine). And a wine that I've bought at least 6-8 cases of is also on sale - their NV Sparkling Brut.

From Monday March 11 through Sunday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), order a minimum of 6 bottles and receive free shipping and 25% off the normal prices. Order 12 bottles and receive 30% off.

WHITE WINES

• 2011 Chardonnay (Double Gold winner in Chronicle competition)
Regular price: $16
Sale price: $11.20-12

McFadden is one of the few organic sources for these two German varietals:

• 2011 Riesling (dry)
Regular price: $18
Sale price: $12.60-13.50

• 2011 Gewurztraminer
Regular price: $16
Sale price: $11.20-12

Organically grown dessert wines are also hard to find. Here's theirs, a new entry in the field:

• Late Harvest Riesling (Best of Class in Chronicle competition)
Regular price: $24
Sale price: $16.80-18.00

BRUT

My go to Brut (and my friends all love it when I serve it to them) also makes a great birthday gift. (Friend turning 50? 60? At these prices you can afford to gift them their decades in bottles - i.e. 5 or 6 bottles - one for each decade).

• NV Sparkling Brut
Regular price: $25
Sale price: $17.50-18.75

RED WINES

And if you're looking for a red, here's the one:

• 2010 Old Vine Zinfandel
Regular price: $24
Sale price: $16.80-$18

Or get a sampler of all the wines.

Free shipping just makes this an unbeatable deal.

If you are in the area, stop by on St. Patrick's Day to enjoy some good old-fashioned Corned Beef and Cabbage and a free tasting.

Order some cases and tell your friends. And A Happy-A-Saving-of-the-Green to You. Sales like this don't come very often, so don't hold back, don't be shy, and don't wait too long.

You can reach their sales/tasting room maven extraordinaire John 10-5 daily (707.744.8463)
or 24/7 via email to john@mcfaddenfarm.com.

$5 Biodynamic Cab and Syrah! Shopping the Bargain Bins - 2007 Mendocino Farms Cab at Grocery Outlet

A rich friend who's good at stretching his funds told me the secrets of his wine cellar last night - Grocery Outlet's wine department. This super budget grocery chain has stores in both Berkeley and Oakland (and elsewhere), so today I was anxious to check it out, based on my friend's advice, and see if there could possibly be any organically grown wine for sale.

Boy oh boy - what a doozey. Right there - with a giant endcap display - was all the 2007 Mendocino Farms Cabernet you could imagine - for $5 a bottle. $5. This is at least a $25 bottle of wine...and it still sells on the internet for as much as $40 a bottle.

This wine, dear readers, was lovingly grown at several of Mendocino's most beautiful, precious, Biodynamic  vineyards - Heart Arrow Ranch and Fairbairn.

The famous Morry's wine store in Los Angeles, waxed enthusiastically about these wines, just a short while ago.

And they sell online at 1000corks.com for $488 a case.

But you can get it for $60 for 12 bottles at Grocery Outlet. Hurry!

The selection includes the 2005 and 2007 Cabernet and a 2007 Syrah. Unbelievable. I can't wait to open my three bottles to sample and then head back for more.

Grocery Outlet is open throughout California and a few nearby states. See the map here for store locations.

Penny Shipping Sale at Dashe - Through Jan. 31 Midnight!

One of my favorite East Bay wineries is having a sale! Now through midnight on Jan. 31, you can get penny a bottle shipping on all their wines, which include three that are organically grown:

Dashe's unique Les Enfants Terrible Zinfandel ($24)
A light style Zin

This is a great food-friendly wine, created for a local sommelier who wanted to highlight his cuisine.
See my earlier post here for more info. You have never tasted a Zin this light before - you owe it to yourself to try this Zin done in a Beaujolais style.

Get more details from the Men's Journal review of this wine; their writer called it a "Deliciously Wayward Zinfandel."

There are two versions of this: each one is sourced from organically certified vineyards in Mendocino County near Hopland.

• McFadden Vineyards, a major grower (and now vintner as well) in Potter Valley has grown organically for 40 years, where they raise grassfed beef and herbs in addition to its 160+ acres of vineyards.
• Heart Arrow Ranch, a biodynamic farm and vineyard, that grows vegetables, raises sheep, and more.

The 2011 Riesling ($20)

This is a very lovely, very dry Riesling grown on 30 year old vines.

You might try all three or get a mixed case sampler. I can firmly recommend these since I drink them often and have several cases in my cellar.

To get the shipping discount (good until Jan. 31 at midnight), enter PENNY in the discount box.