2 Buck Chuck.

[HardDrive]

Ummm......can I have my $2.99 back?

Waiting for food from a nearby Indian restaurant, wandered into Trader Joes. Roll by the Charles Shaw display. Me thinks, "How bad can this be?" Bought a bottle of their Shirass.

WOW. How do people convince themselves that this is decent wine? Earth to Traders Joes shoppers, IT AIN'T.

For $2.99, no suprise its bilge water, but I hear people trying to defend it, feebly making the case that they are not drinking red colored Brut aftershave.....

I'll drink cheap wine (the Aussie Yellow Tail brand is servicable), but this stuff.....

[Tobra]

It used to be not too bad, but I haven't had any lately

You can get good wine for cheap sometimes. My buddy got some stuff from Chile that was only $2, went back and bought a case, should be pretty good in a year or two

[jyl]

Two Buck Chuck used to be drinkable, when I first heard of it several years ago. Kind of like a passable table wine that you'd get if you simply ordered a carafe of house red.

But in recent years its been awful. I won't drink it, but now buy it only for cooking, and not even for a dish that is meant to feature the wine (like a coq au vin, or a wine reduction sauce), but only for spilling a dash of wine into a stew or something undemanding.

[SteveinTO]

Had the same experience. Seems like Charles Shaw was passable a few years ago. Recently used the last bottle to soak some Carter one-barrel carb parts. Doesn't smell as good as McKay's Parts Dip, but much cheaper and less hazardous when you want to dump it.

[Eric Coffey]

Just me, but I've never had anything worthwhile from Trader Joes.

[berettafan]

the chianti salame is actually pretty decent there. not a bad price either.

[Big Ed]

I'm with you. A friend tried to convince me about a year ago that it was decent tasting stuff. Yeah, right pal. One sip and I'm out.

[Joeaksa]

It was descent wine back in the days when it got famous. Remember when it happened? 9/11 ring any bells? Remember when they stopped bringing things like bottles of wine on commercial airlines?

Thats what happened with storerooms chock full of this wine that had been ordered for the airlines and not accepted, so it was sold off at a descent price and everyone got a deal. I still have a few bottles left of a couple of cases that I bought way back then.

Its not the same swill and would not get it today.

[red-beard]

The Chrales Shaw Merlot circa 2001/2002 was quite drinkable.

I prefer Byron Pinot, but then it's $25-30/bottle

[HardDrive]

Very interesting....

I posted this because I remember drinking the stuff years ago at my mothers house, and it was decent. I guess their popularity got the best of them.....

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Thats what happened with storerooms chock full of this wine that had been ordered for the airlines and not accepted, so it was sold off at a descent price and everyone got a deal.

Sorry - that's an urban legend.

TBC is a product of the industry's biggest sob - Fred Franzia and the Bronco Wine Company. Which is not in Napa (where he bought the Charles Shaw Label/name) but a chemical refinery-esq facility in Ceres (central valley). They produced 20 million cases (that's 240 million bottles) of TBC in 2005.

One of the ironies is their Chardonnay recently won a big blind tasting. Which is either tribute to his "better living through chemistry" winemakers or what we term a "review bottling".

Ultimately, I'm really a big fan of TBC with respect to what it has accomplished - helping consumers become familiar with wine in a 750ml container with a cork and making it a beverage of choice. It's taken some the pretension out of wine which is a great thing.

[JavaBrewer]

I don't recall tasting TBC prior to 9/11 but have since tried it a couple times when it was offered at a party. Really bad stuff...Trader Joes should give folks a checkout credit for taking the stuff out of the store.

[jyl]

I didn't realize Two Buck Chuck was made by a "bad guy". Hmm, thanks for telling. I like to know that stuff when choosing.

[aigel]

Served TBC next to a $10 bottle of Costco wine at Thanksgiving with guests from out of state that did not know Charles Shaw. The TBC went empty before the Costco wine did. Now, neither I nor my guests are big wine drinkers, but you would have to have a well developed palate to taste anything wrong with the TBC. TBC is all that's served at my house - most the wine used here is put into sauces and gravies ...

Not sure I buy the "chemical plant" and "bad guy" story. That's how the small wineries are portraying it. IMHO the TBC is cheap because it is mass produced and the juice is bought at rock bottom prices. TBC is a result of the glut of grapes in CA. I travel in the central valley quite a bit and I can not comprehend the hundreds of square miles of grapes there must be.

Cheers (hoisting a glass of TBC)

George

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Just me, but I've never had anything worthwhile from Trader Joes.

Try their frozen, marinated Ahi Tuna. It's very good. And cheap.

[Don Plumley]

Franzia/Bronco is the Motor Meister of the wine world. As for him being a bad guy - when I have some time I'll link to you some newspaper articles. He's lost his license due to mislabeling varietals, insisted on calling wine made from central valley grapes from Napa - and lost at court case, etc. etc.
Making 20 million cases of wine is different from making 1000 cases of wine just as making 9 million cars is different from making 36,000 cars. From materials to process to niche markets - it's as different as can be.

Honestly, he has zero effect upon me or my winery. And I'm pleased that people like his wines, drink them, etc. If you find you prefer TBC to DRC, you've saved yourself tons of money. Drink what you like, like what you drink. That's the bottom line.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by aigel

Served TBC next to a $10 bottle of Costco wine at Thanksgiving with guests from out of state that did not know Charles Shaw. The TBC went empty before the Costco wine did. Now, neither I nor my guests are big wine drinkers, but you would have to have a well developed palate to taste anything wrong with the TBC.

Hummm... IMO that's like saying "I can't tell the difference between Sierra Nevada or Coors light". I haven't been to Trader Joes in over a year but I recall seeing many folks that day buying TBC by the case(s) so you're not alone. I think if you spend a week drinking a better wine, say the J Lohr Cabernet for $10 at Costco, you will never raise another glass of TBC.

[Don Plumley]

One of the things that I think happen as people are exposed to let's say, less than well-produced wine, is that's what their palate becomes used to as the standard. Chardonnay is supposed to taste like butter. Red wines leave an astringent feeling in the mouth. That alcohol taste/burn is normal. If you drink coors all your life, there's no way a Hoegaarden or other Belgian beer tastes "better"

Great wines have balance - nothing sticks out as an unusual component. Fruit, alcohol, acids, length - all in balance, no sharp edges.

[berettafan]

Not a wine snob but you can definitely tell 'fake' in a wine.

My wine tip of the day is King Family Vineyards Cab Franc.

MMMMM......

[billyboy]