CheapWineFinder Podcast
Talking about remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet! Because we like to keep it cheap but excellent.
CheapWineFinder Podcast
South Africa's Hidden Gem: The Delicious Monster White Returns
Ever wondered if a $5.99 wine could truly impress? The Delicious Monster White 2024 from South Africa's historic McGregor Winery might just change everything you thought you knew about budget wines.
This remarkable blend brings together 60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, and 20% Muscat to create something truly special. South Africa has quietly become one of the world's premier regions for Chenin Blanc outside of France, while the inclusion of Muscat—possibly the oldest grape variety known to humanity—adds fascinating depth and character. At just 12.6% alcohol, this dry white delivers wonderful acidity and approachable flavors that make it versatile for countless occasions.
What makes this wine particularly fascinating is its provenance. McGregor Winery has been crafting wines since 1948, and despite the significant challenges of shipping wine from the southern tip of Africa while maintaining such an accessible price point, they've created a consistently excellent product. While many South African producers moved upmarket years ago due to shipping economics, McGregor continues to deliver extraordinary value. The 2024 vintage marks the second consecutive year of excellence for this label, proving their commitment to quality regardless of price.
The true test of any value wine is how it performs alongside more expensive options, and the Delicious Monster White passes with flying colors. As one taster noted, when served alongside bottles costing three times as much, this wine disappears just as quickly with no complaints. Currently available at Trader Joe's with its distinctive jungle leaf label, this bottle represents one of the most compelling values in the wine world today. Try it yourself and discover how delicious affordable wine can truly be!
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hey, welcome its domain, dave. Again. Like always for cheap wine finder dot com, today it's a little bit different. We're still doing a review of a value priced wine, a really cheap one, but this is a wine we also reviewed about a year ago and we decided to retry it, just that. Well, we'll explain after. I tell you what it is the delicious monster white 2024. It is the Delicious Monster White 2024.
Speaker 1:It is from South Africa. It's from McGregor Winery that's been around since 1948. It's an estate wine. It's from the hills of I can't pronounce the name of the mountains, but it's from the Hills and Mountains side and this is a $5.99 wine. That is 60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay and 20% Muscat. South Africa is getting a name for the Chenin Blanc grape. It's a wine normally found in the lower valley of France other place too, but that's the main area for it, and one of the best growing regions outside of France is South Africa. So this is a good place to grab a Chenin Blanc wine. Muscat, which is another 20% of. It is quite possibly and probably is, the oldest grape in the world. They have the Greeks drinking Muscat wine. There's like 200 or more different variations of this grape and it can be. Let me take a sip because I'm going to give a little cough here, so hold on. And it's like it could be a white wine. It could be. It even comes as a red grape from time to time. So it's an interesting blend and the Chardonnay Chardonnay does well in South Africa too.
Speaker 1:South Africa, a good 10 years ago or so, was all the rage and the cheap wine, the value wine area. But they decided that they're so far away in shipping the wine so far. Just making a few cents a bottle didn't make sense for value price. They decided they don't want to be your value price wine place, so they kind of went up scale. So you don't see them as much in the value priced area. But here is a $5.99. I believe Trader Joe's has the US rights for it, but but this is a wine from McGregor Winery. It's available everywhere else. It could be available in places where there are no Trader Joe's and it's a really nice white wine. And how do they do it? How do they ship it from the tip of Africa, south Africa, to your local grocery store for a penny less than six bucks?
Speaker 1:And one of the reasons I tried it again, I liked the 2023 vintage. I thought it was really good, but can they continue to do it Because there's not a lot of money in there if things don't go right, if it's not a great year, it rains too much, there's a heat spike at the wrong time. I'm going to take another sip if something goes wrong, especially with this three grape blend where they they kind of adhere to the three grapes. How do you keep it going year after year, but they did at least two in a row. How do you keep it going year after year, but they did at least two in a row?
Speaker 1:It's a nice wine. It's got good acidity. The Chenin Blanc and the Muscat is different enough for American value price wine drinkers that it's not like drinking the same thing. It's going to have some different flavors in there, recognizable flavors, understandable flavors, but not the same thing. So for $5.99, you've got a wine that I think can fit in with wines. $3, I mean three times as much, man, I'm not going to you know. Oh, it's as good as this wine or that. That's beside the point. But can you put this bottle down against a $16 white wine and people will like both? Yeah, and it is well made and this isn't a wine from someone who just made the wine to order for Trader Joe's or something.
Speaker 1:This is a wine that McGregor Wine wants to make, it wants to sell, and it's from their own vineyards and it's kind of nice. It's got some. It's a dry wine. It's only 12.6 on the alcohol, so it's not an overly alcoholic. One tastes really good. I'm gonna take another sip and we'll close this up. It tastes great. There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, this is a no issues $5.99 wine that can run and gun with wines costing more and be just as delicious.
Speaker 1:You know you have people come over. Everybody brings a bottle of three different white wines. It's going to be gone as soon as the other three are going to be gone and no one's going to go. Oh, who brought this one? Nope, it's good. It's good to you, good for you. So it's the Delicious Monster White 2024 McGregor Winery from Trader Joe's. It's got a pretty label on it. It's got these jungle leaves on it. It's a good looking bottle, it's a good tasting bottle. And there you go. This is Domain Dave. They did it two years in a row and I might just drink it again next year. It's that good. So, adios, keep it cheap. I'm going on vacation, I'm going out to Napa. You know, in the past I've noticed that I've been. You know the so-and-so, you know, is south-southwest of here and I had no clue where it was. I was looking at an AVA map. So now, if I talk to you about where things are, I'll know. So keep it cheap. I'll be talking to everybody in a week or so. Bye-bye.