What's up with Two-Buck Chuck?

In case you haven't heard, Two Buck Chuck is the moniker for a new line of California wines sold under the Charles Shaw label. The wines in the line include a Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Each is packaged in a reasonably expensive-looking bottle with a real cork (well, a "real" synthetic cork) and a nice foil capsule. The kicker is that the full retail price of Two Buck Chuck is $1.99 a bottle (in some areas readers may find a price of $3.49. According to a spokesman for Trader Joe's, the difference reflects shipping costs and differing state regulations.)

There is no Charles Shaw winery. Two Buck Chuck is bottled by the Bronco Wine Co., which is owned by Franzia, the box-wine juggernaut. It is sold exclusively at Trader Joe's stores. The company is selling so much (an estimated 1 million cases a month) that it can barely keep the wine on the shelf. Actually, "shelf" is the wrong word. I've seen it only on palette-size floor displays that quickly disappear as customers transfer the wine into their shopping carts and then to the back of their Chevy Suburbans.

And how is the wine? Well, it's not what I would call good. On the other hand, it's not terrible. Let's call it a C minus. At two bucks a bottle, a C minus is a pretty reasonable return on investment. The Cabernet is the best of the lot. The finish is brittle, and the nose is from box-wine central, but there's enough red fruit on the mid-palate to make it acceptable, provided it is served with some food to mask its thinness.

	Charles Shaw - 2003 California	Price: $1.99 Add to My Wine Rack
	Highlights: It's cheap.