"I don't care anything about reasons, but I know what I like."
- Henry James (1843-1916), American writer
Earlier this year just before my wife and I were planning to visit California, a wine connoisseur friend of mine who knows we enjoy wine but don't like to pay an arm and leg for it suggested we try a bottle of Two Buck Chuck while on our trip. "It's not bad and should fit your budget nicely," he quipped.
Well, we never found a place where we could buy any. Every retailer we approached was sold out, and at $1.99 a bottle we began to understand why. The story was the same everywhere: "We can't keep it in stock. As soon as we get a shipment, we get cleaned out. We're having to limit customers to two cases each in order to be fair to everyone."
Interesting, I thought. Here's an inexpensive wine with an unusual name that has the taste of a pricier brand. That should appeal to many people like me whose per bottle price limit is around $10. It seems it does and is part of a growing new trend (brief registration required) in the wine business:
"A small but increasingly visible group of winemakers has created wines with eye-catching, funky labels to complement their funny names--Goats do Roam (a play on Cote du Rhone), Love My Goat, Three Thieves, Tin Roof, Jest Red. The idea is to make wine less intimidating and more popular, especially with the 20's crowd."
Thinking this new marketing ploy might offend the sensibilities of someone like my friend who appreciates fine wine, the last time we were together I questioned him about how price influences his decision about the wine he buys. He responded by showing me the latest issue of The Wine Spectator and pointed out several brands in the $7-10 range that he said were excellent choices for anyone who enjoys good wine.
He had many of them on hand, and gave us a bottle of Papio Chardonnay to sample at our leisure. In keeping with the funky label philosophy, it featured a three-piece monkey band. I don't know what tune they're playing, but I imagine it's something about making big bucks with lower prices and innovative packaging.
Update: Anyone interested in learning how to taste wine as a professional does can find instructions in The ABC's of Wine Tasting at The Wine Spectator Online. The same techniques apply whether you're sipping Gallo or Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes, so give it a try.
Update: A friend sent me the link to this story about Two Buck Chuck. All is not peaceful in Napa Valley.
1 comment:
Hi Ron. I remembered seeing a story about "Two Buck Chuck" on 20/20 a while back. All I could remember about it was that the "big" winemakers in Napa Valley were pretty ticked. I went to the 20/20 archives and emailed you the story that was aired. Thought you might like a little background on "Chuck."
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