The Best of California...

"There is an ass for every seat" - Author unknown

When I heard the news that "Two-Buck Chuck" was the highest scoring chardonnay in a blind tasting at the California State Fair, I'm thinking this is a gag and maybe there is a radio station involved. I mean there were 350 chardonnays in the competition and if this was a true test, it would have to be extremely embarrassing to the California wine industry. And keep in mind that you don't find Two Buck Chuck at the French Laundry - it's sold exclusively at Trader Joe's for $1.99 a bottle (more in some states depending on delivery and laws).

I remember one critic explaining the recent phenomenon of the Two Buck Chuck success story - "It's a wine, not the name of a mafia don or pimp; its price actually ranges from $1.99 to $3.50; it sucks; and in spite of this, sales are brisk." It was the "it sucks" that kept me from trying it.

In terms of the event, there were some 64 judges involved and many of them included wine makers and restaurant owners, so maybe Two Buck Chuck doesn't suck, and perhaps this is something for the wine folks to ponder. There is an audience out there looking for quality for less, and is it possible that we will soon be seeing wine-by-the-glass programs with two-dollar selections?

There are undoubtedly all kinds of explanations why this "inferior" wine fooled those judges, but it's not a great moment for some 640 California wineries. It's also a sobering thought for all those restaurants that stay in business serving all those ten-dollar glasses of wine.

Taste is 100% subjective!

All these big shots with there expensive wines are label readers. 1 in 100 learn to trust there palette...the rest if tasted blind would be blind! I see it a lot and have seen it for years...brown bag your wine and learn to trust your taste.

Steve Waxman
Brown Bagger!!

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