We tasted four California Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa and Sonoma, ranging from $14.99 to $29.99. Wine 4 — the Beringer Knights Valley 2022 — came out on top with 30 points thanks to its explosive, full-mouth flavor and beautifully balanced finish. Just behind it was the Black Stallion 2022 with 29 points, offering the most consistent aroma-to-palate balance of the lineup. The Shattered 2023 placed third with 27 points, while the Francis Coppola 2022 finished fourth with 22 points but remained a solid everyday value option.

Wegman’s in the Virginia area carries Cabernet Franc from the local Virginia wineries. Cabernet Franc is a grape that grows well in Virginia so we tried 3 Virginia Cabernet Franc’s up against a single original French Cabernet Franc. The tasting consisted of 2022 Domaine de La Colline from the Loire valley in south eastern France, a Cabernet Francs consisting of a 2022 Fabbioli Cellars, a 2017 Horton and a 2022 from Barboursville winery. Lynn rated the Barboursville at the top of her list and combined the French Cabernet for $14.99 came out on top

We tasted 3 red blends from the Paso Robles, California wine region and one of the blends being from Lodi. These were purhased from Safeway and the winner was the Booker Harvey & Harriet Red Blend from 2022.