The cat's been out of the bag regarding our feelings on Trader Joe's — and our obsession remains undying. This bargain grocery chain is the stuff that our foodie-on-a-budget life is built atop. Without it we would surely crumble. Whether in the market for an affordable frozen feast, cult-favorite snack, or even just a banana (seriously, they were rated a top product of 2016), TJ's has it all. Leading us to what may be the best part about that "all" — the wine.If you are new to the world of red wines, you may have heard a lot of terms used to describe many wines that look alike. For example, in red wines, there are dry wines, and sweet wines, and it seems a number of wines in between. So what's the difference? Dry wines are wines that have no sugar residue. The fermentation process that creates wine is a process where the sugar in the grapes is broken down, and fermented, to create the wine. Sometimes there are residual sugars in the wine, once the fermentation process is complete.

Other times sugars are added. As more of these sugars are added, the sweeter the wine becomes. But in order to become a dry wine, those residual sugars have to be gone. Dry wines are considered more complex and sophisticated. The joy of drinking a dry wine is that you can experience the amazing nuances of flavours that are melded together. You can have tobacco, earth, chocolate, berry and other flavours that are pure in the wine. It also is meant to meld with the meal being consumed to create new flavours as the residual food flavouring and wine are combined between bites. When choosing a dry red wine, here are some tips; There are so many types of fruity red wines that it is difficult to remember them all. Manischewitz wine, for example, tastes essentially like alcoholic grape juice. Whereas Champagne is considered a fruity wine but can actually taste quite bitter to some people. Port is a style of dessert wine. It tends to have a much higher alcohol level than most wines, ranging anywhere between 15 and 20%, so it can burn a little, but Port is designed to keep its natural fruit flavouring.

There are several different styles of Port wine, so you can easily find one that goes well with your meal, and if you have people that are not fond of dry wines, there is no question that port is likely the wine for them. When consuming wine it's always a good idea to keep track of the alcohol units each glass - or bottle - contains, to ensure you stay within the recommended limits. To help calculate the amount of units you have consumed, use our alcohol unit calculator; a simple to use tool where you enter the amount of wine consumed (as well as other popular drink types).buying wine online guide Update, 3/20/15: Wine industry groups have begun to contest the lawsuit's contentions and motive. wine bar la tableThe California wine trade group, the Wine Institute, released a statement saying, "While there are no established limits in the U.S., several countries, including the European Union, have established limits of 100 parts per billion or higher for wine. best wine for period

California wine exports are tested by these governments and are below the established limits." A representative of The Wine Group, one of the defendants, says that the plaintiffs "decided to file a complaint based on misleading and selective information in order to defame responsible California winemakers, create unnecessary fear, and distort and deceive the public for their own financial gain." Before you go out drinking tonight, a quick note on cheap wine: Yesterday, a class-action lawsuit was filed against 28 California wineries—including the creators of Trader Joes' Charles Shaw (a.k.a. "Two-Buck Chuck"), Sutter Home's, and Franzia, Beringer, and Cupcake—alleging that some varietals of their wines contain dangerously high levels of arsenic. best red wine 30 bottleAccording to the complaint, three independent laboratories tested the wines and found that some contained levels of arsenic "up to 500% or more than what is what is considered the maximum acceptable safe daily intake limit. top wine china 2016

Put differently, just a glass or two of these arsenic-contaminated wines a day over time could result in dangerous arsenic toxicity to the consumer." The origins of the lawsuit draw back to Kevin Hicks, a former wine distributor who started BeverageGrades, a Denver-based lab that analyzes wine. The lab tested 1,300 bottles of California wine, and found that about a quarter of them had higher levels of arsenic than the maximum limit that the Environmental Protection Agency allows in water. best wine 1996Hicks noticed a trend: As he told CBS, "The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic." Trader Joe's Charles Shaw White Zinfandel came in at three times the EPA's level, while Franzia's White Grenache was five times higher. The lawsuit alleges that the contaminated wines are cheaper in part because their producers don't "implement the proper methods and processes to reduce inorganic arsenic."

A spokesperson for The Wine Group, one of the defendants, says that it's not "accurate or responsible to use the water standard as the baseline," as people drink more water than wine. But water is the only beverage with an arsenic baseline that is monitored by the US government, and the defendants stress that the chemical is toxic even in small doses, and is known to cause cancer and "contributes to a host of other debilitating/fatal diseases." Trader Joe's told CBS that "the concerns raised in your inquiry are serious and are being treated as such. We are investigating the matter with several of our wine producing suppliers." A spokesperson for Treasury Wine Estates, another defendant, said that its "brands are fully compliant with all relevant federal and state guidelines." Whether or not you should be worried about the allegations is up in the air, particularly as the lawsuit has yet to go before a judge or jury. But in the meantime, here's a list of wines that are included in the lawsuit.

(Note: Any wines without a specific year listed mean that the grapes don't come from a single year.) Acronym GR8RW Red Blend 2011 Almaden Heritage White Zinfandel Arrow Creek Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Beringer White Merlot 2011 Beringer White Zinfandel 2011 Beringer Refreshingly Sweet Moscato Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012 Colores del Sol Malbec 2010 Glen Ellen by Concannon's Glen Ellen Reserve Pinot Grigio 2012 Concannon Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011 Glen Ellen by Concannon's Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010 Corbett Canyon Pinot Grigio Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Fetzer Pinot Grigio 2011 Fisheye Pinot Grigio 2012 Flipflop Pinot Grigio 2012 Franzia Vintner Select White Grenache Franzia Vintner Select White Zinfandel Franzia Vintner Select White Merlot Franzia Vintner Select Burgundy Hawkstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 HRM Rex Goliath's Moscato Korbel Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine

Korbel Extra Dry Sparkling Wine Menage a Trois Pinot Grigio 2011 Menage a Trois Moscato 2010 Menage a Trois White Blend 2011 Menage a Trois Chardonnay 2011 Menage a Trois Rose 2011 Menage a Trois Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Menage a Trois California Red Wine 2011 Mogen David Blackberry Wine Oak Leaf White Zinfandel Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc 2011 R Collection by Raymond's Chardonnay 2012 Richards Wild Irish Rose Red Wine Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Simply Naked Moscato 2011 Smoking Loon Viognier 2011 Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Sutter Home Gewurztraminer 2011 Sutter Home Pink Moscato Sutter Home Pinot Grigio 2011 Sutter Home Chenin Blanc 2011 Sutter Home Sweet Red 2010 Sutter Home Riesling 2011 Sutter Home White Merlot 2011 Sutter Home Merlot 2011 Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2011 Sutter Home White Zinfandel 2012 Sutter Home Zinfandel 2010 Wine Cube Pink Moscato 2011