[midlife]

If there's a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, go there. They have quite a few drinkable wines in the under-$10 range. For instance, I think their $5 German Champagne is quite good. Dom Perignon it ain't, but DP ain't $5 a bottle, either. :beer:

I heard a story that some years ago, a blind tasting of California wines was held at the CA State Fair, and a Two Buck Chuck came in first in one category...to considerable embarrassment all around. Anybody know if this is real, or is it one of those too-good-to-be-true stories?

Mike

That's true but I've had 'in-the-know' people tell me that bottles submitted to those fairs are brought by the winery reps so "integrity" can be an issue. It was inferred that the maker of Charles Shaw (Bronco Wine) and its owner are not above personally shepherding the contents of submitted bottles. No proof, just passing along some thoughts from people in the biz.

 

[midlife]

Well, I'd have to say that wine lover hasn't had to buy a ton of decent Napa Cabernet grapes in a while. 2015 prices averaged $6800 a ton. Using a Cornell University figure I found of 2.6 pounds per bottle yield would put the grapes alone at almost $9.00.

That said, anyone in the wine biz has seen $5 bottles score as high as $40 bottles time after time, especially in blind tastings. I've also seen experienced Somms pick high quality/price over low with astonishing accuracy. That's why I always tell people that the best bottle of wine for them is the one they like best..... that they can comfortably afford.

I think the last figure I saw for Trader Joe sales of Charles Shaw was something like 18 million cases a year. I doubt that the majority of those people are forcing it down.

 

[midlife]

I don't know if that's meant to be sarcastic or not. I frequent a wine board where that would be a 99% sure bet.

In a store where they sell that much Charles Shaw I'd bet there really ARE box wines that are measurably better. We often drink 3 or 4 wines we buy there that run between $5 and $8. We've also tried many times that number that we'd never buy again.