Monday, November 12, 2007

Two Buck Chuck

The words "two buck chuck" do not conjure up images of fine wine, unless it takes two golds at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition like Charles Shaw's 2005 Chardonnay. Trader Joe's sells Charles Shaw wines for $1.99 in California and up to $3.49 elsewhere. TJ's is packed full of great table wines as well as wines ideal for serving at a nice dinner party. It is refreshing to find table wines in a price range that tables wines should fall in. Most liquor stores or supermarkets will charge at least $6 for a decent bottle of table wine. And no, Wild Vines is not decent table wine.

The 2005 Chardonnay is very clean and crisp with well balanced fruity flavors. I generally get green apple and pear from it with absolutely NO biting tannins. It's a really great wine. It rivaled many wines that were MUCH more expensive. In the pretentious world of wines, it is exciting to see the underdog win.

If nothing else, it shows that the buyers at Trader Joe's really do their best to bring good values to the customer. Not only do they purchase quality, they purchase responsibly. I've been drinking Charles Shaw wines for years and have always appreciated these well crafted wines. Interestingly enough, when Channel 7 out of Chicago broadcast the results of the California competition, TJ's sold out in two hours!

Upon receiving this information, I pulled some culinary strings and caught one of the last cases in existence.

cheers


3 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish that I could appreciate wine the way some people can. I do not think I have ever tasted any that were actually pleasant to drink. I will stick to my beloved bourbon.

Anonymous said...

I may know your secret. Last month I was at a Chicago area Trader Joe's store. The guy working there was very friendly, making small talk and asking questions. When I said I live in Peoria he mentioned that he is in business with a Peorian. When he told me your name, I said I knew of you because I had just started reading your weblog after finding out about it on Chef Kevin's site. Small world huh?

Keith Shank said...

It is a small world indeed! I was wondering who the mystery reader was!

cheers