The 2012 Wine Olympic Games: We Try Every Variety of Trader Joe's Two-Buck-Chuck!

It wouldn't be an Olympic season without a little fun from your friends at Dorm Room Dinner, right?

Well we teamed up to create an Olympic challenge sure to be the highlight of this year's games. You'll be cheering, crying and shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" the whole way through. Probably.

We try our way through all the varieties of Trader Joe's Two-Buck-Chuck discount wine. There's a medal ceremony and all. Edible medals, of course. Enjoy!

What variety of Two-Buck-Chuck do you sip while enjoying the 2012 Olympic Games?

Will Levitt is a food writer and founder of the blog Dorm Room Dinner. He has contributed to Serious Eats, edible Nutmeg Magazine, Big Girls Small Kitchen, CIBO Magazine and more. He currently lives in NYC.

 

Follow Will Levitt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@dormroomdinner

Comments

[Karl Wilder]

12:45 PM on 08/11/2012

It is better than Yellowtail, but so is Mad Dog 44.

[garystartswithg]

09:17 PM on 08/10/2012

The shiraz is great for sangria. Don't forget to get a bottle of the holiday edition nouveau.

[gumbygirl]

04:19 PM on 08/12/2012

I've always thought that the quality of the brandy is more important than the wine when making sangria. And the fruit too.

[garystartswithg]

06:14 PM on 08/12/2012

yeah, just not too cheap.  sticking with a trader joe's theme the box shiraz is too cheap.  i use tj's sherry instead of brandy. its only about 6. a bottle and 6. a bottle brandy is quite foul.  they had an amontillado that was great for mixing and cooking.  i hope they bring it back. 

[Canyonduckie]

08:29 PM on 08/10/2012

Two Buck Up Chuck . . . It's really bad wine.

[WWJJD]

10:29 PM on 08/13/2012

I can't drink them either. I cringe when I see a bottle at a party. There is a couple we know that are fairly well off (they own three homes etc...) and every time the show up for a get together, that is what they bring. Ugh, cheap people.

[nastywolf]

07:07 PM on 08/10/2012

I've had plenty of opportunities to try 2Buck reds and whites and they were undrinkable...for me.. I've also heard from wine-drinkers I respect that they lucked out on a bottle or two. Price tells you nothing about a wine. I'm a member of several wine clubs whose wines range from $24 to $80 a bottle but the wine I drink at the dinner table almost every night is a $5 bottle of Trader Joe's Full Moon cab and their Tuscan Moon sangiovese. Consistently good blends, if not great.

[WWJJD]

10:25 PM on 08/13/2012

Thank you for the info!!

[KenInd]

05:41 PM on 08/10/2012

They would have liked Thunderbird. Or Ripple.

[Mark Gardiner]

02:10 PM on 08/10/2012

This video may be as much tongue-in-cheek as it is wine-in-mouth, but it actually exemplifies one of the key points I made in my book, "Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's" and that is that Trader Joe's brand halo effect dramatically influences the way the brand's fans approach its products. The result is that the perceived quality of the product is as influenced by the sliding scale the product is scored on, as it is by the intrinsic qualities of the product itself. Can you imagine anyone creating, posting, or watching a video comparing all the 'Barefoot' wines? Nevergonnahappen.

On a semi-serious note, the best advice I can give to Two-buck Chuck buyers is, beware that no wine produced in the millions of bottles is consistent. I suggest going into TJ's and buying one bottle of the varietal you're considering, and opening and tasting it in the parking lot. If it's decent (and it sometimes is) go right back in and buy a case. It's probable that all bottles of any one varietal in any one store at any one time are similar. If it is awful (a very real possibility) wait a few weeks and try again.

For more insights into Trader Joe's, and the way it built it's incredible cultural brand virtually without advertising, read "Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's" (search the title on Amazon) or visit my web site, TraderJoesSecrets.com.

Cheers!
MG

[garystartswithg]

09:14 PM on 08/10/2012

Believe it or not Charles Shaw has vat information on the bottle and box. If you pick up an odd bottle that is really good then you can get a box or two from the same vat if they still have some.

One of the appeals of Charles Shaw is the price, though the quality is on par with things twice its price at other grocery stores. Locally its difficult to anything close in price except for Walmart and Aldi. I think TJ's has a certain urban chic on a budget appeal, similar to Ikea. I live in Atlanta, where the closest TJ's is one of their busiest stores -- mostly because its surrounded by colleges and hip young thangs. It also gets ridiculous amounts of tourists. Most people that know what a two buck chuck is also know what a billy and a malm are too.
Ironically we are inundated with Barefoot here -- they show up at every arts festival and pride parade. Its a Gallo product (so is Aldi's winky owl) but they are pushing it hard for young urban markets apparently. As you are interested in marketing i am within 2 miles of an Urban Outfitters, CB2, H&M, Banana Republic, Guess, Ikea, W Elm, Z Gallerie -- you can tell the trendy niche marketers are moving in like vultures. I lost count of all the Starbucks -- I think I counted 11 within 2 miles of me. Thats past crazy.