Trader Joe’s is upping the price of its famous “Two-Buck Chuck.” After 11 years of selling the Charles Shaw shiraz or cabernet sauvignon for $1.99, the retailer has upped the price to $2.49 in California as of Jan. 16.
It needs a new nickname.
Some suggestions I’ve heard: Inflation Chuck and Upchuck (though I can’t be the only one who is grossed out by the thought of vomit anywhere near my wine).
Some suggestions from the Twitterverse:
SoapinTrucker: Last Straw Shaw, Save a buck Chuck, Lucky Chuck(y).
jboren4507: Cheap wine for $2.49.
HarmsWayChad: The wine formerly known as 2 buck chuck.
Organized by the San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association, the 6th annual competition highlights wines produced in California’s warm-weather regions. Here are the winners:
Best of Show: Peirano Estate, The Heritage Collection, Petite Sirah, Lodi, Estate Grown, 2008
Gold Award Winners: Cardella Winery, Fattoria Cardella, Ruby Cabernet, Fresno County, Fundus Vineyard, 2008 Pierano Estate, The Heritage Collection, Petite Sirah, Lodi, Estate Grown, 2008
Silver Award Winners: Cardella Winery, Fattoria Cardella, Barbera, Fresno County, Fundus Vineyard, 2008 Cardella Winery, Fattoria Cardella, Sangiovese, Fresno County, Fundus Vineyard, 2008 Gnekow Family Winery, YN, California Red Wine Idle Hour Winery, Tempranillo, Clarksburg, Heringer Vineyard, 2007 Peirano Estate, The Heritage Collection, Tempranillo, Lodi, Estate Grown, 2007 Peirano Estate, The Heritage Collection, Viognier, Lodi, Estate Grown, 2008 Peirano Estate, The Other – White Blend, Lodi, 2007 Peltier Station Winery, Hybrid, Pinot Noir, Lodi, 2008 Silkwood Wines, Chardonnay, California, 2008 Wend-Tyler Winery, Chardonnay, Stanislaus County, 2008
Here’s one of the great things about living in the Valley: During harvest season, you can help a winery pick wine grapes, and watch it crush them.
Sure, you can do this in other wine growing areas, but why drive so far? Here are a couple of local wineries that welcome volunteers — and feed you after the harvest.
Birdstone Winery, 7:30 a.m. through early afternoon, Sunday. Picking starts at 7:30 a.m. Lunch and wine are served at 11:30 a.m. Folks who want to watch winemaker Tony Kirk crush the grapes can stick around, says Birdstone co-owner Kim Kirk says. If you want to join them, call (559) 970-2060.
Cedar View Winery, 8 a.m. through early afternoon, Sept. 25. The event begins at 8 a.m. with grape picking and crushing. A barbecue lunch with wine follows. Feel free to bring a change of clothes, the owners say. After your time in the field, you may want to freshen up before lunch. To attend: Call (559) 787-9412.
[photo: Cedar View Winery's vineyards, 2004. Credit: Eric Paul Zamora, The Fresno Bee.]
Drink up, wine lovers. But take a designated driver with you to Cracked Pepper Bistro, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary by slashing 40% off wine bottles — for the entire month of June.
Chef/owner Vatche Moukhtarian says he bought a lot of wine and needs to share it quickly. “A lot of wineries are offering great deals just for people to try their wines,” he says. “We can pass these deals on to our customers.”
Up to 20 bottles will be on sale every day, Moukhtarian says. Some of his current favorites are Jack Creek Cellars 2008 Chardonnay ($54), Jack Creek Cellars 2007 York Mountain estate pinot noir ($68), and Ramos Torres 2007 Lucas Vineyard Zinfandel ($42). (These are original prices, without the discount.)
Here are a couple of deals and events from the local wine scene:
My column today describes the potential closure of Water 2 Wine in Clovis. If the owners can’t find someone to buy the custom winery, it will close at the end of the month. All wine is 20% off.
You can taste and buy Fresno State Winery’s 2008 Muscat Canelli, 2006 Zinfandel, 2008 Pinot Gris, 2006 and 2008 Sangiovese and 2008 Barbera. Eats are appetizers from Sam’s Italian Deli & Market, tastings of Fresno State’s olive oil, and servings of Fresno State’s ice cream.
The cost is $15, or $10 for Fresno State students, staff, faculty and alumni with Fresno State ID. Admission includes seven tasting tickets; more are available. For Fresno State Wine Club members, admission is $5, which includes a tour of the winery at 5 p.m. Everyone will be carded, so bring ID.
The event will take place here. Need more info? Go here.
Also, there is a tasting of Fresno State Winery’s 2009 Nouveau wines from 5:30 to 8 p.m. tonight. The tasting includes the wines, hors d’oeuvres and a cooking demonstration by Fredrick Clabaugh, executive chef of the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.
These Nouveau wines are created in the style of Beaujolais Nouveau, the extremely young French wines released every year on the third Thursday of November. Drink them soon, for these wines are closer to juice than the complex, layered flavors of older wines.
The tasting costs $15. (Fresno State students and alumni pay $10. Fresno State Wine Club members pay $5.) It will take place in Fresno State’s Enology Building, 2360 E. Barstow Ave. Guests must be at least 21 years old.
Parking permits are available at any parking dispenser on campus. Enter coupon code 16080002. For more information, call (559) 278-4867 or go here.
In today’s column, I’ve already told you about the Fall Wine Cornucopia, Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church’s annual food bazaar, and a menudo cook-off at the Kings County Fairgrounds this weekend.
Here are three other food events you may want to check out:
My story today points out the variety of wine events during the fall season — from grape stomping at Chappell Winery & Vineyard in Mariposa to movie nights at La Belle Winery in Terra Bella.
With so many events this fall, I couldn’t list them all in the story. So, I want to know: Where are you drinking wine? Drop your answers in the comments below.
Or, if you’re hosting a wine event, add your details in the comments.
Eighteen pieces of art were entered into Saturday’s competition, where local artists were asked to create works around two themes: the cornucopia and “A Sip of the San Joaquin.”
The winning artist was Andrea Cooper, the Bee’s former art director. A big Beehive shout out to Andi for her beautiful watercolor.
It will be interesting to see how the wine association turns the art into a poster to market the event.
By now, lots of wine lovers know that Murphy-Goode Winery in Healdsburg is offering a dream job as a wine country lifestyle correspondent.
The six-month job goes something like this: Drink lots of wine, then Twitter about it. Drink more wine, then blog about it. Drink yet more wine, and post videos of yourself, glass in hand, on YouTube.
Oh, yeah, you’ll have other duties, such as checking out picnic spots throughout Sonoma County and chatting up visitors in Murphy-Goode’s tasting room.
Did I mention that you get paid $10,000 a month for this lifestyle? And housing is included?
There’s lots of competition for the job, but so far, I’m not that impressed. Check out the applicants’ videos and ask yourself: Do any of these pitchmen (and women) compel you to buy wine?
