There’s something incredibly daunting about being in charge of the wine for holiday get-togethers. You want to bring quality bottles, of course, but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg doing so. Luckily, TikToker @deetsontheeats has a solution: Stock up on Trader Joe’s line of Reserve wines, which are excellent wines that normally sell for half the cost of their winery counterpart.
There are five levels of Reserve wines, listed here in order of lowest to highest quality: Petite Reserve, Reserve, Grand Reserve, Platinum Reserve, and Diamond Reserve. All of these wines are purchased from major wineries that are looking to sell their bulk or surplus wine. Trader Joe’s then slaps on its own Reserve label and sells them at a heavily discounted price compared to what you might find at the winery the bottles were sourced from.
After admitting that the Reserve and Grand Reserve wines are “not that great,” @deetsontheeats goes on to share what a great deal the Platinum and Diamond options are.
“I’ve never had a bad Platinum or Diamond,” she says, and commenters on her video were quick to agree.
“Their Diamond Reserve Barolo is my favorite wine of all time,” wrote one commenter, while another shared that “My mom makes me bulk buy the Diamond Reserves every Christmas.”
What to Look For
Head to the wine section at Trader Joe’s to look for the Reserve line, which often feature limited-time releases. The bottles list the type of wine and the region where it’s from, but won’t reveal the actual winery. So if you know you enjoy, say, pinot noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon or cabernet from Napa in California, you can guide your selection based on that information. Or you could throw your hands up and let the universe guide you. Your choice.
So how much will you be paying for these wines? Typically, bottles of Petite Reserve are around $7.99, Reserve are around $9.99, and Grand Reserve are around $12.99. Bottles of Platinum Reserve are around $14.99, while you’ll generally pay around $19.99 for Diamond Reserve. Not bad at all.
“If I knew where the wine was from I’d pay at least $40,” @deetsontheeats speculated. One commenter on her video shared some additional insight: “According to a friend who has insider info, the Diamond Reserve wines are usually wine from big name wineries and TJ’s buys their surplus,” they wrote. “Often times these are $80-200 bottles of labeled in their producers labels.”
An $80 bottle of wine for $20? We’ll take it.
Who Else Does This?
If you think this process sounds familiar, that’s because it is. It’s called white labeling, and you’ll find it happening at plenty of major retailers. Kirkland Signature wine at Costco is just wine bought in bulk from various wineries, as is Member’s Mark wine from Sam’s Club. Whole Foods sells their own wine under a few brands, including Animist and Criterion, which come from wineries in various countries and regions.
The wine world can be intimidating, but don’t let anyone tell you that you have to source top-shelf wines from curated wine shops or well-known wineries. You can also buy a mysterious (and very good) bottle of wine at Trader Joe’s for half the price it might normally cost if it was slapped with the winery’s own label.
See? You’re the hero of Christmas dinner already.
More Trader Joe’s Stories on Cheapism
- These Trader Joe’s Stocking Stuffers Are Festive, Fun, and Under $5 — There’s a way to gift a brag-worthy stocking stuffer on the cheap, and it’s by filling your basket at Trader Joe’s.
- 8 Trader Joe’s Secrets Employees Want You to Know — Behind the fun snacks and the $2.99 wine, there’s a lot customers don’t see — tiny hacks, unspoken rules, and tricks only the crew knows.
- Trader Joe’s Is Opening New Stores Across the U.S. Here’s the Full List — Here’s everything we know about the new TJ’s locations — see if any will be near you.
