"two buck chuck" news and stories

Petite Sirah is a grape that belies its name--there's absolutely nothing petite about it. The wine is big, bold, robust, deep-colored, and tannic, not some mealy-mouthed little girl who sits pretty and still shops in the kids' section. I won't bore you with the complete history of Petite Sirah, which is long, convoluted, and requires an agricultural degree to get through, but instead will give you the one-sentence recap: The grape was probably originally from the Rhone in France, but is now mostly grown in California. Like Zinfandel, Petite Sirah has its own fan base: P.S. I love you. (Clever, eh?)

If you look in the California wine section, you'll likely find one or two bottles of PS to try. If you've never tried them, you should. It's an interesting grape. Sometimes PS is blended with other wines, like Zinfandel. These two grapes are a perfect pair, IMO, because the jammy Zin is bolstered up by the tannic PS, and together they make a great blend.

I've got one Petite Sirah in my wine rack--a 2004 Close LaChance ($35) that I brought home from a trip to Paso Robles last fall--but haven't had a chance to open it yet. Today, my neighbor came over with a mostly-finished-and-recorked bottle of Crane Lake Petite Sirah. "Try this," he said.

More Petite Sirah - Wine of the Week after the jump.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will terminate the low price of Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck if a proposed wine tax gets the go-ahead.

The Governator wants to raise the tax on wine in the Golden State to 29.6 cents per 750 milliliter bottle, up from its current 4 cent tax, in a move that's angered the state's wine industry and Fred Franzia, the founder of Bronco Wine Company, the winery that produces Two Buck Chuck under the Charles Shaw label.

"It's a poke in the eye with a sharp stick to Charles Shaw and the whole wine industry," Franzia said.

Californians, I'm sorry to say this, but it looks like soon you're going to have to pay more for your Two-Buck Chuck. It already costs between $3 and $4 dollars in many of the other states where it's available (sadly, you can't get it for love or money here in Pennsylvania, where the Liquor Control Board regulates our booze purchases with puritanical zeal) and in light of the proposed tax increases in CA, soon there won't be a bottle of red to be hand for just a couple of singles.

For those of you not in the know, Two-Buck Chuck is a wine that is officially known as Charles Shaw and is sold exclusively at Trader Joe's stores. It's surprisingly drinkable for something so inexpensive and has become the tipple of choice for all your better college potlucks and backyard pitchers of sangria.

The price will only rise if a newly proposed tax hike, charging $.05 per drink in the state of California, goes into effect. The state calculates that there are approximately six servings of wine (at five ounces per serving) in a 750 mL bottle of wine. This would increase the state tax per bottle from $.04 to nearly $.30. Two-Buck Chuck works with a very narrow profit margin and this increase would effectly eliminate it.

The good news is that the wine would still remain fairly cheap and the state of California might be able to stave off impending budgetary catatrosphy.

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Who says that you have to spend $90 for a good bottle of wine? Or even $20?

A 2005 Charles Shaw Chardonnay, aka "Two Buck Chuck," was named the Best Chardonnay at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. The wine is sold for $1.99 at the Trader Joe's chain.

This article at the San Jose Mercury News says that it's not really a surprise that the inexpensive wine won, since judges often try to be contrarian at these events (especially if it's something fruity). The article also says that if you want to go down to Trader Joe's and buy a case you should be aware that the quality of the chardonnay can vary from bottle to bottle.

I'm not a white wine guy, but for $1.99 it has to be worth a try; and I'll still have money left over to buy some Doritos and Yodels!

Some might say that the best reds to have when barbecuing are red meats. Given that steaks and burgers are some of the top barbecue foods, there are few who might disagree entirely with that, but Food & Wine reminds readers not to forget the other reds: wines. I know that I usually think about drinks like soda, beer, margaritas, iced tea and lemonade as good choices for barbecues, as well as for dining outdoors in general. There's no reason not to add wines to that list, too.

According to F&W, a barbecue wine "shouldn't just be a fruit-bomb" and should mirror the smoky qualities of the grilled meat. Personally - most likely because I cook on a gas grill - I don't experience a whole lot of smokiness with all my grilled foods and would like something fruity to, in my opinion, enhance the juiciness of the meat. That's just me, though. Here are F&W's picks, all of which (except one) are under $20 a bottle"

• 2004 Pepperwood Grove Zinfandel ($8)
• 2004 Rocky Gully Shiraz-Viognier ($14)
• 2004 Frontier Red Lot No. 51 ($10)
• 2003 Santadi Grotta Rossa ($11)
• 2004 Woop Woop Shiraz ($11)
• 2002 DiBruno Santa Barbara County Sangiovese ($20)
• 2004 Alamos Malbec ($10)
• 2003 Dashe Cellars Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($22)

We like 2003 Ravenswood Zin, Il Valore Primitivo and, of course, Two Buck Chuck, as well.

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