A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines
In a decision that will surely make Fred Franzia grin and every other California winemaker cringe, Charles Shaw Chardonnay was judged to the the best example of that varietal from California: The Charles Shaw 2005 California chardonnay (yes, the $1.99 “Two Buck Chuck” made by Bronco Wine Company sold at Trader Joe’s) was judged Best … Continue reading “Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay Best in California”
It’s the fifth birthday of Two Buck Chuck, aka Charles Shaw Wines, and the brand has hit the 300 million bottle mark. That’s a remarkable achievement for a wine sold only through a single retail chain, Trader Joe’s. The wine is either the scourge or the savior of the U.S. wine industry, and is the … Continue reading “300 Million Bottles of Two Buck Chuck”
Price: $3 Maker: Bronco Wines Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Packaging: bottle, natural cork Our Rating: 7 out of 10 We don’t have a Trader Joe’s near our Midwest location, so on a recent trip to New York City we had a chance to try Charles Shaw Blend Cabernet Sauvignon (Two Buck Chuck) 2003. A long way … Continue reading “Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw Blend Cabernet Sauvignon (Two Buck Chuck) 2003”
Price: $10 Origin: Holland Importer: Clever Imports, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Packaging: 750 ml bottle, screw cap Alcohol: 14% ChocoVine‘s label promises, “the taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine.” It looks like a frappucino, or perhaps an Irish cream liqueur in a darker shade. The combination doesn’t sound very promising – I was expecting … Continue reading “ChocoVine”
Price: $11 Maker: Kenwood Vineyards, Sonoma County, California Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Packaging: 750 ml bottle Alcohol: 13.5% Our Rating: 8.7 out of 10 At a recent stay at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, I was handed a half-bottle of Kenwood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 as an amenity of their Joie de Vivre club. … Continue reading “Kenwood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2007”
Need to take a bottle of wine to a party and want to stand out from the rest of the bottles the host gets? Well, you could show up with a nicely aged bottle of Opus One, which should only set you back a few hundred bucks… or, you could grab a bottle something way … Continue reading “Wine Labels Make Gift Giving Fun”
Price: $3 Maker: Oak Leaf Vineyards, Ripon, California Varietal: Chardonnay Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork Alcohol: 12.5% Our Rating: 8.3 out of 10 Oak Leaf Chardonnay is another ultra-inexpensive wine designed to take on Two Buck Chuck. Surprisingly, perhaps, it’s quite drinkable, even if undistinguished. The nose is mild, with sliced green apples and … Continue reading “Oak Leaf Chardonnay”
Price: $3 Maker: Winking Owl Vineyards, Modesto, California Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork Alcohol: 12.0 % Our Rating: 6 out of 10 Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage offering aimed at the market niche popularized by Two Buck Chuck from Charles Shaw Wines. Unfortunately, it matches the price but misses … Continue reading “Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon”
Price: $3 Maker: Oak Leaf Vineyards, Ripon, California Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork Alcohol: 12.5% Our Rating: 8 out of 10 We’ve been hoping for a Two Buck Chuck beater to emerge, and it looks like Oak Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon may be it. This non-vintage offering is sold by Wal-Mart, and … Continue reading “Oak Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon”
Everyone acknowledges that there is a lot of subjectivity in wine tasting, but it turns out that more expensive wine really DOES taste better, even when it’s the same stuff in the cheaper bottle. Neuromarketing notes in Why Expensive Wine Tastes Better that neuroscientists at Stanford and Caltech found that wine that the drinker thought … Continue reading “Wine Tastes Better With A Higher Price”