Wallet-Friendly Wine Reviews: Two Buck Chuck and More! (Reviewing wines under $5, cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, some pleasant and unpleasant surprises)

Show Notes

Episode 116: Wallet-Friendly Wine Reviews: Two Buck Chuck and More!  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and give our honest review of three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 each -  and should be easy for you to find. And our podcast is made for people who want to learn more about wine, find new wines to enjoy, and just want someone to talk about wine in a fun way that regular people can understand. So, if that sounds like you, you are in the right place! And we are proud to say that we are recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining

Carmela, this could be a really, really, really bad idea, but a few weeks ago we were doing a review of Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve wines and I said someday we may have to try Two Buck Chuck again to see if it’s as, well, not good as we remember, and today we are fulfilling that promise.

But not only are we tasting Two Buck Chuck, which is now like Four Buck Chuck, we are also tasting and reviewing two other very inexpensive, dare I say cheap, wines to see if they are any good or not. In fact, today, we bought all of the wines we are trying for less than $5. 

Now, this may seem like a silly exercise. Afterall, do we really expect cheap wines to be good? Do you? 

The truth is this - we drink quite a bit of wine in America, and wines under $8 make up 73% of all wines sold. So, I say that if nearly three quarters of the people who are buying wine are buying the most inexpensive wines, then there is a huge audience of people out there who might just care. 

I think you and I, and maybe some or our listeners, may have a biased view of these wines, because while we focus on wines that are under $20, in general, the wines in our podcast, unless they come from Costco or Trader Joe’s, are rarely under $10. And, in fact, the wine price point that has been doing the worst in the US in terms of growth over the last several years are wines between $11 and $15, which is the vast majority of wines that we review in our podcast. And so it may be us that are missing the point. 

For many people, wines under about $8 are their everyday, go-to wines, and wines in the $15 - $25 range are their special occasion splurge wines. So we can turn-up our nose to those less expensive wines if we want, but those are the wines that most people drink, and by the way, most people enjoy as well. Try and tell someone who has their go-to wine that’s $8 or less that their wine is no good, and they have a legitimate reason to tell you to screw off. 

In fact, learning about these wines has made me think a bit harder about the wines that we should focus on in our podcast. I don’t know that people who are buying wines under $8 particularly care about what so-called wine experts think, but I do think there are opportunities to give the value tier of wines a fair shake, and I also think that our price cap of $20 is probably going to have to move to $25 given inflation and the fact that people who are going to spend between $15 and $25 for wine are probably wanting to make sure that the wine they are going to spend a bit more money on is worth the price, and so they will care that so-called experts like them.

And in that middle tier of wine? The best thing to do is to probably focus on lesser known wine regions where you are likely to get a really good wine at a reasonable price because people don’t know about it - and in fact, that is kind of a specialty of our podcast - finding great wines at great prices that you have probably never heard of. 

I am curious to see if anyone does care about us reviewing this tier of wines. We’ll see some of that evidence in data - is this episode popular, are people searching for it, do we get a lot of page views and downloads, etc. And we also want to hear from you! Please let us know if you think this is a worthwhile topic for the podcast or not, because we want to create content you care about. If the majority of you feel like this is not a worthy subject, let us know!

However, back to today -  today we are going to give our honest review of three wines that are under $8, and in fact are under $5, and we are not here to make fun of those wines. We are here to take them seriously since the vast majority of wine drinkers are buying those wines. And just to be very clear, all the wines we are going to drink today are Cabernet Sauvignon, and we are drinking a Charles Shaw, a Beringer, and a Bay Bridge wine . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

First, we want to thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and if you have not had the chance to do so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast  - it is a free way to support us, and then you never have to miss a show!  - and a huge thank you to all of you who have subscribed already! 

And, another great way to support is to leave a nice rating and review on our website or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or other podcast service so we can continue to grow our listeners.

You can also follow us and see pictures of the wines we are tasting and trying today and weird AI pictures I am creating on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and this week at least one of the pictures is going to be very strange, and you can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and get news and food and wine pairing ideas and more! If you missed our last newsletter, which comes out on the first day of every month, just email me at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and I will send it to you!

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast. This week, we want you to tell anyone who loves their cheap, go-to wine because they may be really interested in hearing us talk about it and we would love to hear their opinions!

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2023/01/price-the-key-for-us-wine-sales 

Topic: Why Are Cheap Wines So Cheap and So Popular? 08:35

Before we get to the wines we chose for this episode, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about why inexpensive wines are so inexpensive, and also why they are so popular - and those two things are definitely connected.

First, in general, things that are less expensive just naturally sell in higher volume than more expensive things. That’s because there are more people in the world with lower incomes than there are with higher incomes. I am not trying to give an economics class here, but that is just a fact.

Most people out there are not swimming in money, or are trying to be careful about what they spend and what they splurge on, and don’t love the idea of throwing good money away if they don’t have to, and so it makes total sense that lower priced items, like inexpensive wine, are going to sell more volume. 

But that does not explain why cheap wines are so popular, other than smart business people like those in the wine business will make sure that they create products people can afford and that they can sell a lot of. 

When it comes to wine, producers keep costs down in a few ways. First, if they don’t own their own vineyards, they source their grapes from a variety of places so that they can find good prices - because naturally grapes are one of the highest costs they have. We did a minisode on this, minisode #9 which is called What's So Special About Single Vineyard Wines? And the concept there is that there is scarcity in small, single vineyard wines, and so winemakers who want to keep prices down will shop around or will they grow a massive amount of grapes on their own where they can control the costs around grape growing and wine production.

To keep the cost of the grapes low, a lot of growers are much more likely to use a lot of water to irrigate the grapes and use a lot of artificial pesticides and herbicides in order to increase the yield of each plant. While we may not love that from a sustainability perspective, there is, as I always say, a price to be paid for getting things on the cheap.

Another way they keep costs down is to reduce production costs. Most people like their wines oaked, but oak barrels are expensive, and so many producers ferment and age their wines in big containers and throw in oak chips to give the wine the oaky flavor. They will also move their wines quickly to market rather than aging them, and so they create wines that are meant to be drunk young. They also may use less expensive bottling techniques like screw caps or artificial corks. 

Another way they reduce production costs is to skip the sorting process and just throw everything into the juice - skins, stems, seeds, twigs, leaves, etc. - and then filter all that crap out later. Sometimes wineries talk about hand harvesting and hand sorting, but to keep costs down, less expensive wines will just throw everything in.

They also tend to use additives and preservatives to make their wines less acidic and less tannic, and they will control the fermentation process every step of the way, adjusting yeast and heat as necessary, and ensure that there is ultimate consistency in the wine they produce. 

Through careful manipulation of the wine, they can ensure the wine tastes basically the same year after year, even if the grapes are from different areas every year. 

And this consistency is often what makes the wines so popular - people know exactly what to expect every time they buy the wine, and this is important to a lot of people. And, in the end, good or bad is a matter of opinion, and so while we will tell you honestly what we think about these wines today, in the end, what really matters is what everybody else who regularly drinks these wines thinks. 

By the way, we have some links to some good articles in our show notes if you head over to our website and look for this episode, that will give you more depth on some of these cost-saving techniques.

And I will be really clear, our goal here is not to make fun of the wines we are trying today, or go out of our way to make sure we say something funny about them. That very well may happen when we taste the wines, but that is not the intent of this episode going in. I will say that I did choose Cabernet Sauvignon for our wines today, and that is because it is a very popular varietal - and for those of you who listen to us regularly, you know that is not our favorite wine, so you have to keep that in mind when we do our tasting and review. We may be a little inclined already not to like these wines because it is Cabernet Sauvignon, so I wanted to be very upfront about that.

So, on that note, I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. 

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://uptownspirits.com/blogs/news/the-8-biggest-myths-about-wine-debunked
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/ 
• https://www.northcoast.coop/co-op_news/can-cheap-wine-be-good-and-other-mysteries-of-the-wine-world 
• https://toasttours.com/blog/difference-between-cheap-and-expensive-wine/ 

Under $8 Cabernet Sauvignon Wines We Chose for This Episode 15:39

As usual, all of the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $20, and as we have said, all of them are actually under $5, and all of them should be easy to find because I bought them all at either Trader Joe’s or our local Kroger grocery store. These are mass produced wines, and so none of them should be very hard to find, unless you are in an area that does not have a Trader Joe’s.

The first wine we are going to try today is the famous Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon, aka Two Buck Chuck, and this one is from the 2021 vintage. The wine is made by the Bronco Wine Company, which is a division of Franzia Wine, who bought the vineyard from Charles Shaw many years ago. Their vineyards are in the San Joaquin Valley which is the very middle of the state - kind of hot, very sparsely populated - and according to sources I found they use oak chips in the fermentation process, use engineered corks, and use less expensive and lighter bottles, all of which helps to keep prices down. And, the fact that they generally only sell the wine through Trader Joe’s means they have low distribution and marketing costs. 

These wines have sometimes scored well in wine competitions which says something. In fact, in 2013, the Cabernet Sauvignon got a gold medal at the Orange County Wines Competition. There is an article in our show notes which goes into some detail about how tastings of this wine have gone, but in general, this is considered a dependable wine by a lot of people. 

The next wine we are going to drink is called Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, and this wine did not have a year on it, so they are just going for mass production and consistency. Tastings.com did a review of this wine and gave it an 85 and called it a best buy, so that’s something. 

There was not a ton I could find out about this wine, although one website said that it is exclusive to Kroger stores, which is a way they can keep their prices down for sure. The other thing the article noted is that the grapes are from California’s Central Valley, which also helps to keep the prices low. 

Another website said that they won a Silver Medal for this wine at the World Value Wine Challenge, and also said that this wine is made by Bronco Wine Company as well, so it may be very similar to the Charles Shaw wine. 

The last wine we are going to drink is the Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon. This is also a nonvintage, and Tastings.com gave this one an 86 rating and also called it a Best Buy. They also say it is made by the Acme Beverage Company. Which is owned by Wile E. Coyote, I think. From what I can tell, the wine is actually part of The Wine Group.

Main and Vine is an offshoot of Beringer wines that was purchased by The Wine Group in 2021 from Treasury Wine Estates. This is one of those really confusing things about the wine industry - there are so many parent companies and sub-brands that it can be really hard to tell who’s who. If you go to the Beringer website, they do not list this wine brand. 

There is just not a lot else I can tell you about this wine, other than it has a big sticker on it which says it has won 100+ gold medals. For whatever that is worth.

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.mashed.com/101888/truth-trader-joes-two-buck-chuck/ 
• https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/118518 
• https://blackwineclub.com/why-is-bay-bridge-wine-so-cheap/ 
• https://www.winetesters.co/bay-bridge-wine-review/ 
• https://www.mainandvinewine.com/ 
• https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/industrynews/treasury-sells-portion-of-beringer-brand-in-st-helena-to-the-wine-group/ 

Wallet Friendly Under $8 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Pairing Tasting and Reviews 22:41

Wine: Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Year: 2021
Price: $3.99
Retailer: Trader Joe’s
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

What we tasted and smelled in this Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon:

• On the nose: Vegetable, cherry, fruity, fresh, tomato, a little wood, plum, red fruit, a bit of spice, a bit of vanilla 
• In the mouth: Tart plum, cranberry, crunchy, little bit of stone or pencil or metal or clay on the end of it, very mellow, thin, pleasant, drinkable, good with food

Food to pair with this Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon: Cookout, hamburgers, casual meals, picnic wine, panini, sandwich wine
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 6/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Year: NV
Price: $3.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Rating: Tastings.com 85

What we tasted and smelled in this Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon:

• On the nose: Old lady perfume, astringent, bathroom potpourri spray, earthy, some smoke, some red fruit, underripe plum
• In the mouth: Bad, perfumy, vinegary, potpourri spray in your mouth, gross, pour down the sink wine, not drinkable

Food to pair with this Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon: Nothing

Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 1/10
• Carmela: 2/10

Wine: Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Year: NV
Price: $4.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Rating: Tastings.com 86

What we tasted and smelled in this Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon:

• On the nose: Bathroom potpourri spray, tart red fruit, old lady perfume, mushroom, earth, raspberry jam, cherry jam, sweet
• In the mouth: Hurting our guts, burning a hole through our stomachs, very tart, Nerds candy plus metal, sour candy, underripe sour orange

Food to pair with this Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon: Cheeseburger, nachos, wet macho burrito 


Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 3/10
• Carmela: 4/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon
• Joe: Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon

Taste profiles expected from Cabernet Sauvignon 39:25

• General 
  • Wine Folly (California): Black Currant, Blackberry, Pencil Lead, Tobacco, Mint, Cedar, Baking Spices, Black Cherry 
• Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Vivino: Vanilla, oak, cherry, raspberry, plum, blackberry, strawberry
• Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Winery: This medium-bodied, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon has vibrant notes of blackberry fruit, hints of vanilla and oak, and a lingering finish. 
  • Tastings.com: Aromas and flavors of chocolate covered toffee, fruit and nut press, black tea, and licorice with a lightly tannic, crisp, dry medium body and a medium-length finish with crunchy tannins and moderate oak flavor. A bold, chewy, spicy Cabernet
• Beringer Main & Vine American Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Winery: full of jammy black fruit flavors that make this wine enticing from the first sip. The sweet vanilla and richness of the oak flavors blend seamlessly into the wine, offering just a hint of spice.
  • Tastings.com: Deep purple color. Aromas and flavors of ripe blueberries, fresh shortcake, aniseed, and black tea with a satiny, bright, fruity light-to-medium body and a warming, interesting, medium-long finish displaying notes of chocolate fudge. A juicy and appealing Cabernet bursting with blue fruit flavors.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 42:16

Ok, so, Carmela, it is just about time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

We would also love to hear from you about a wine you would like us to taste and review. You can, leave a message for us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com and you can join our email newsletter there, too, or you can just email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and tell us about a wine you are curious about, or curious what we think of it. And, follow us on Instagram and Threads so you can see pictures of all of these wines we are tasting and reviewing. 

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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