Grape Expectations: When Delicato Meets Coppola in a Bottle @ TJ's

Discovering exceptional value in the wine world feels increasingly rare, but Compass Bridge Sonoma County Chardonnay 2023 proves quality affordable wine still exists. At just $8.99 from Trader Joe's, this newcomer delivers surprising complexity and balance that would satisfy even at twice the price.

Behind this bottle stands an intriguing partnership. Compass Bridge comes from Manteca, California and Geyserville - connecting Delicato Family Wines (celebrating their centennial year) and Francis Ford Coppola Winery (acquired by Delicato in 2021). These established producers combine their expertise in creating accessible yet quality-focused wines, resulting in something special for budget-conscious wine lovers.

Upon tasting, the wine reveals a harmonious "stew of flavors" - creamy vanilla notes balanced perfectly with refreshing acidity. Stone fruit, dried pineapple, pear, and green apple flavors integrate seamlessly rather than competing for attention. The mouthfeel suggests both partial barrel aging and malolactic fermentation, creating that ideal tension between richness and brightness that makes Chardonnay so beloved. Most impressively, it offers surprising length and complexity on the palate while remaining approachable for casual wine drinkers.

Compass Bridge emerges during challenging times for the wine industry, with major producers scaling back operations across California. Yet this bottle demonstrates that strategic partnerships can still deliver exceptional value. Whether you're hosting dinner guests or simply enjoying a weeknight glass, this Chardonnay punches well above its modest price point. The line also includes Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir varieties worth exploring. If you've been searching for excellent affordable wines, your compass has found true north.

Follow our podcast for more hidden wine gems that keep pleasure affordable without sacrificing quality. Your perfect bottle awaits!

Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com

or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Compass Bridge Chardonnay
• 1:01 Delicato and Coppola Partnership
• 2:06 Tasting Notes and Flavor Profile
• 4:26 Final Thoughts and Wine Industry Updates

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

hey, domain dave sheep wine findercom. Another value price wine review, like we always do over and over again for year after year after year, and today we've got the compass bridge sonoma county chardonnay 2023. This is a new brand of wines from trader joe's I think it was 8.99, if I'm not mistaken, under 10 bucks for, uh, sonoma california chardonnay. And that said that, um, compass bridge is from mantica, california, and geyserville. Mantica isca is where Delicato Wines is located. That's Lodi, and they do. Gnarly Head and Geyserville I think it's Geyserville is where Coppola Wines is located and in 2021, delicato bought Coppola Wines. So this is a wine that's from Manteca, coppola wines. So this is a wine that's from Mantica, coppola. So if you like gnarly head and you like the Coppola wines, you're going to like this wine. It's made along those lines. Let's see, delicato is mostly Lodi and they're having their 100th anniversary this year and they do. Lately they've been doing a lot of interesting Zippendale wines. They've done some crazy Halloween wines with Frankenstein on it and then they've been doing Grateful Dead wines. It's interesting and Coppola's Coppola, coppola's been going on for a long time doing quality wines up and down. They got value price all the way up until the higher price range.

Speaker 1: 1:50

I'm gonna take a sip of this one because this is just a. You know, sonoma's a huge area. I mean, you got the Sonoma coast, you got Russian River, you got Dry Creek, you got just Sonoma County. You've've got all these different areas, and just being from Sonoma doesn't tell you that much. This wine has a little bit of vanilla cream to it. You know, sometimes you get oaked wines and I'm not sure if this is 100% oaked. That's buttery. No, this is kind of creamy, and I'm not sure if it's 100% barrel aged or whatever, or if it's 100% malolactic fermentation, because there's some tart flavors too. Usually malolactic fermentation changes the tart acid to grounded more fruit forward acid, and here we get a little bit of both. There's some tart flavors going on here, which kind of goes well with a creamy type. You get those two things going on too and it works. So I'm not sure they don't tell you production notes. They. They give you just enough information to not know anything sometimes. But this is a quality little Chardonnay for under $10.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Made by two people, both Coppola and both Delicato. Their brands are pretty much quality wines and they make good, value-priced wines, and I think they both make high-end wines too, though that's not something I've really known about. I always drink their more affordable wines. So here we go, another sip. So this is a nice wine.

Speaker 1: 3:39

It's got a. It's a rounder, softer flavor. Chardonnay it's got a. It's a rounder, softer flavor, chardonnay. It's got a good acidity. It's got a nice length to it. There is a creamy part of it and then there's this tart thing to it and there's some stone fruit and there's maybe dried pineapple bits and pears and green apple. You know, none of these are ripe and juicy. They all just kind of blend together. It's kind of more like a stew of flavors, which to me is pretty good. I mean, when one thing sticks out, then maybe that's not right. You should probably get a little bit of everything, which is why it's from Sonoma County, because they probably used multiple locations. I don't know. They could have used a single vineyard. For all we know. When you put the label on there like Sonoma on the front label, that just means that all the grapes came from Sonoma. But it could come from a single part of a single vineyard, and that'd be perfectly legal too, although I doubt it did a single part of a single vineyard, and that'd be perfectly legal too, although I doubt it did.

Speaker 1: 4:53

This is a nice, easy to drink wine from people who know how to make value priced wines that are easy to drink and don't cost too much. Third sip it's smooth. Third sip it's smooth, reasonably complex, reasonably long on the palate and it's $8.99. They also have a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir. Don't know about that. I just found this one. It's a new brand for Trader Joe's.

Speaker 1: 5:26

We'll be trying those other ones in a bit, but this Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2023 is a winner. I mean, it is for the price. It is a delicious Chardonnay. It'll be liked by a lot of people. You don't need to be an experienced wine drinker to like it. There's some softer flavors, then there's some little rougher edge things, but it's all easy to pick out. So there you go, this nine dollar trader joe's compass bridge, snoma chardonnay 2023 from one of the better value price producers out there. It's a good wine. So there you go. I'm Domain Dave. Like us where you like your podcasts, we will. It makes a difference. I have no idea why it's irritating to me. But there you go and I have other wines coming. This summer has been actually pretty good. I figured, wine. There's a lot of trouble in the wine world. Coppola, not Coppola. Gallo just shut down their entire Central Coast division. Things are closing down, things are changing, but we've been drinking good wines. So, adios, keep it cheap and I'll be talking to everybody later. Adios, bye-bye.