Jul 17 2007
Two Buck Chuck rules
6abc.com: Charles Shaw Chardonnay, better known as “Two Buck Chuck,” beat hundreds of other wines and was named the top prize in a prestigious tasting competition in California.
“The characteristics that we look for in our gold medal winner & a nice creamy butter, fruity & it was a delight to taste,” said 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition judge Michael Williams.
The affordable wine beat out 350 other California chardonnays to win the double gold. Second place went to an $18 bottle, and the most expensive wines at the event, at the price of $55, didn’t even medal.
To find this prize winner, you need not go to a fancy wine shop or elite retailer. Charles Shaw Chardonnay is mass produced in California and only sold through the quirky Trader Joe’s grocery stores.
“We choose to sell good quality wines at $2 a bottle because we think it’s a fair price,” winemaker Fred Franzia told ABC News’ Ryan Owens. “We think the other people are charging too much.”
When I was in school, the cheap wines of choice were Annie Greensprings, Ripple, and Boone’s Farm. None of these, um, products would have won a medal. But then, that was not their mission.
(from Brad DeLong)
Charles Shaw is a non vintage wine, in which,through the modern
miracles of chemicals and blending remains consistent every year.
Two buck chuck is essentially a box wine put into a bottle.It falls into the same category as Carlo Rossi,Gallo and other NON-Vintage
wines.Fred Franzia makes his Charles Shaw wine with the grapes
other wineries reject.So, if you don’t mind the hang over that these
type of wines provide,due to it’s low quality and the chemicals they add, then two bucks would dictate the quality of life one would provide for themselves.
I’ve never actually drunk the stuff; I just thought it was funny that $2 (well, $4) bottle of wine beat out more expensive wine in a taste test.