Ok- I'm new to California, having lived in Canada for most of my life- where I had never seen a bottle of wine cheaper than $5.99. In Canada about $5.00 of that $5.99 is liquor tax and everything has at least a $5 tax to start. Imagine- that makes a 6 pack of beer cost $10-$12! 24 Packs are $30 MINIMUM!
When moving to the US I heard about this rumored "2 buck chuck" wine at Trader Joe's locations in the US. These wines sold for $1.99 for a 750ML bottle. I am told that these wines were "drinkable" (not sure if they are still sold). Well wheat grass and cough medicine are also "drinkable", so I'm not sure where these critical tasting notes came from. Perhaps I should just shut up and try it?...maybe one day I will.
Well, just when I thought 2 buck chuck was some sort of anomaly, I'm starting to see a lot of wines at bargain prices at a number of bay area grocery stores. Today I found Fox Brook Wine for $2.28 a bottle at Food Maxx in Fremont. How bad could this stuff really be? Lets reserve that answer for another time.
Charles Shaw (2 buck Chuck) is terrible, and leaves one with a terrible headache even after only 1 glass.
ReplyDeleteRecently I went to a friends house that is a "foodie". She prepared an amazing lunch of hot artichoke soup, homemade bread, and homemade lemon bread for dessert. She paired the lunch with Fox Brook Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was perfect with the meal, and was very good. While drinking a glass, I thought to myself that she must have spent at least $12 on the bottle since the taste was up there with similar bottles of that price I have enjoyed prior. I about fell off my chair when she told me she the wine was only a little over $2.00!
This sparked an entire conversation about wine. She told me every year at Christmas, her family gets together and brings wine for taste testing, covering each label. She brought the Fox Brook and her wine choice won for the favorite pick of the holiday. No one could believe it she exclaimed that it was just over $2.00.
I like this wine, and think it is a great pick for a great price.