2 Buck Chuck tastes different from batch to batch because it’s made from mixtures of grapes from all over, the cheapest available. They ferment them separately, then blend the wines to try to make them taste halfway decent.
I’ve tried it. It’s ‘eh.’ There are much better bottles of wine at TJ’s even for $4-5 a bottle.
Most of the Trader Joe $2 buck chuck is not blended wine but wines from little known wineries that cannot command the aisle space in larger grocery stores. A couple of years ago a $2 wine from Woodbridge, California (Near Lodi and Stockton) won the highest prize in the American wine world in San Francisco...
"The Talus Collection 2003 Pinot Grigio was awarded Best of Show & Double Gold at the 2004 San Francisco International Wine Competition. Best of Show is only awarded to a wine that the entire judging panel selects as the best in each category.The San Franscisco International Wine Competition is the largest and most prestigious wine competition in America, judged by a nationally recognized panel of wine experts. In 2004, 946 wineries submitted wines from 21 countries. The judging is based on a blind, consensual procedure thereby ensuring the competition's integrity.
The month before the competition, I bought a case of the Talus 2003 Pinot Grigio at Trader Joes for $2 a bottle. Now, its a LOT more expensive...
The DollarTree Stores often have ONE Buck Chuck... which is not too bad. I suspect the bottle and cork cost more than the wine in the bottle.
That’s what WE found.....after the first year we noticed a definite change in the cab we were buying....