Two-Buck Chuck?

[coleslaw]

Has anyone tried the infamous "Two-Buck Chuck" wine? It's labelled as "Charles Shaw" and sells for $2/bottle exclusively at Trader Joe's (it's slightly higher in some states).

I don't have a Trader Joe's near me (only a Jungle Jim's), so I can't hunt for it, but I've heard that people are buying this stuff by the case. Supposedly all of these cheap wines are the result of a very large grape-production year and many of the high-end wine-makers are taking serious losses due to these cheaper wines.

I think it's great that people are drinking more wine thanks to the lower prices. Maybe we as Americans can finally get away from the soft-drinks-at-every-meal thing and shift into a wine-at-every-meal thing. However, even at $2/bottle (750ml), many Americans wouldn't be able to afford wine at every meal.

[brainsmile]

yeah I've had their Cabernet... it's not gonna blow you away. It's not a great wine... fair at best.

[coleslaw]

But a fair wine for only $2 seems like a bargain to me. My favorite "cheap" wine is probably Bella Sera Pinot Noir, but even that is like $6-7 per bottle.

[coleslaw]

Originally posted by DarkFury
Sounds like it is up there with "Boone's Farm Strawberry"

:heh:

This is definitely nothing like Boone's! :P

[Jeffbx]

Yeah, I've tried it - it's about $3/bottle in MI, and it's actually pretty good. I'd put it on par with about an $8-10 bottle.

[brainsmile]

which ones have you tried?

[raimin]

their chardonnay is not that bad either

If you guys have a safeway near you, they are selling something called searidge...their chardonnay, for 2.50, and ti's good...friends think it's BV coastal(which sells for 9-11 bucks), but packaged under another name, since many winerys had excess of grapes

[brainsmile]

so how long can this type of wine be stored... I heard that some people are buying them by the cases but then I hear the shelf life is only about 60 days. So unless you are selling it by the glass and you own a restaurant or something I just can't see myself buying that much unless well... you're a lush.

[cheapie]

sorry to thread dig but i just bought a few bottles of charles shaw when i was in DC. i really liked the cab. we have a trader joe's in ann arbor and i might pick up a case unless bs is correct about the shelf life. anyone else know about that?

[Showtime]

I love tj's.

-j

[CornMonkey]

hmm, first time i heard about the 60-day shelf life thing. 2-bucks are pretty good...considering the price. i hear about people buying cases at a time all the time.

[zenbooty]

so how long can this type of wine be stored... I heard that some people are buying them by the cases but then I hear the shelf life is only about 60 days. So unless you are selling it by the glass and you own a restaurant or something I just can't see myself buying that much unless well... you're a lush.As long as they remain unopened and out of heavily lit areas, they should last much longer than that. After all, people keep wines in their cellars for years! Now, once you open a bottle, its really best to drink it all after you open it. Certainly don't let it sit around more than a day or two.

[TofuNinja]

Two buck Chuck is not the best wine, but it is not the worst either. For 2 bucks it is a great value.

[Jeffbx]

It's true that not every wine will get better with age - they will peak and then begin to go downhill at some point. However, even for a cheap vintage, you should be able to squeeze at least a year or two out of it, not 60 days.

[nickel]

for a second i thought coleslaw was back

[baggio248]

Definately not the best, but for $2 bucks...who cares. Pretty cheap buzz. Unless you can find the $0.99 40oz.

[StonedWheat]

I always keep a few on hand for backup. I heart trader joes! Speaking of cheap wine, I also really like yellow tail shiraz. The worst cheap wine out there is probably carlos rossi. Just the smell of that crap makes me want to :puke:

[Gothic Girl]

Yeah, I've had it. It's pretty good actually, and I don't like wine.

[DarkFury]

Heh... Coleslaw is officially on "da skids" now. :heh:

[nickel]

Heh... Coleslaw is officially on "da skids" now. :heh:
actually he lives in Long Island now. :)

[DarkFury]

actually he lives in Long Island now. :)
You trying to say that "da skids" don't exist in Long Island? :heh:

[Kevster]

I like The Charles Shaw Cabernet is much better than the Chardonnay. I get kind of spoiled with all of the great and inexpensive Chardonnays we have here from California wineries - especially the ones from the California central coast.

[Jane83]

who here drinks wine in a box?

[sourdough]

I am happy to say that both 2-buck Chuck wines go well with sourdough, but if push came to shove I'd have to side with the cabernet sauvignion. The chardonnay doesn't finish well. Then again for the price what should you expect? Good bakery-made sourdough rounds cost more than 2-buck chuck!

[nickel]

You trying to say that "da skids" don't exist in Long Island? :heh:
no at all :P

[baggio248]

who here drinks wine in a box?

I used to when I was in college. Cheapest way to get drunk. Then I took a wine class, and got sophisticated.....HAHAHA

[Nija]

I could never get into wine or champagne. Flavored alcohol is fine (in fact I'm drinking a Hornsby's right now), I could just never really get into those two. *shrug*

[Gothic Girl]

Wow, Nija's back!

[Nija]

Yay.

[yippiekiyeh]

2 bux for a table wine is a good deal.

[baggio248]

WOOHOOO! Four Buck Fred :cheers:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050706/050706_wine_hmed_11a.hmedium.jpg



NAPA, Calif. - First came Two Buck Chuck. Now, there's Four Buck Fred.

Central California vintner Fred Franzia, who has been fighting a state law requiring that wines with "Napa" on the label be made from grapes grown in that exclusive region, is releasing two new wines under his Napa Creek label, both going for $3.99 a bottle.

The twist: This time the wines are actually made with grapes from Napa.

"This shows that you can put Napa Valley wine in there for the price that we're doing," says Franzia. "People want to buy things at a reasonable price that are good value. It's not new. It's America."

In Napa, where wine is more likely to cost $40 than $4 a bottle, the release was a chardonnay shocker.

"Fred Franzia's chucked another volley our way," was the headline of a column on the St. Helena Star's Web site.

Some vintners wondered how Franzia could possibly be making a profit on the new wines. (He'll say only, "I don't do anything unless I make money.")
Others couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad to see Freddy using Napa Valley grapes in Napa Valley wine," Mike Moone, founder of the boutique winery Luna Vineyards, said with a chuckle.

Moone thinks Franzia is doing Napa Valley a service by buying up surplus inventory. He notes that a large company like Franzia's Bronco Wine — which controls everything from vineyards to delivery trucks — is in a unique position to cut costs.

But most wineries can't make those economies of scale, says Karen MacNeil, author of "The Wine Bible" and chair of the wine department of the Culinary Institute of America's California branch.

"When people buy wine they have this romantic picture of a husband and wife and he's out on the tractor and then later that day they come in and make the wine and hand label the bottle," she says. "You think to yourself, 'It really ought to cost $4.' But in point of fact, it's like the restaurant business in that it's enormously costly."
The price of an acre of Napa Valley vineyard land can easily reach six figures. The average price for cabernet sauvignon grapes here is $4,000 a ton, compared to a statewide red grape average of about $600.

Then there's planting, harvesting, bottling and paying people to keep up the myriad regulations. Vintners also have to keep at least three years worth of inventory on hand, often in expensive oak barrels.

"There's a good reason why there's that popular quote, 'The way to make a small fortune in the wine business is to lose a big one,'" says MacNeil.

Costs aren't the only factor in pricing a wine. There's also supply and demand.
"If you are a top producer and you only make 1,000 cases of a given wine and you know that there are 20,000 people who want that wine, why not charge $70 a bottle as opposed to $50 or $40 a bottle?" says MacNeil.

Franzia's fight with Napa revolves around a California law, staunchly supported by valley vintners, requiring that wines with "Napa" on the label be made with Napa grapes.

Bronco has argued that state law doesn't trump federal regulations, which are similar to the state law but exempt brands established before 1986. Over the years, Bronco has purchased three such brands — Napa Ridge, Napa Creek Winery and Rutherford Vintners.

[/quote]

[cheapie]

thanks for the article. i personally like wines from the alexander valley.

[bachviet]

I should give it a try.