As many of you know, Anytime Wines was up for a "Maggy" award this year. The Maggies are sponsored by Cary Magazine, and are an opportunity for Caryites (and anyone else with Web access) to vote for their favorite local businesses. Well, somehow Trader Joe's managed to sneak into--and win--"the best place to shop for wine" category. I wish Cary Magazine would allow only locally owned businesses and not chains to compete in these awards, but that's a topic for another blog entry. In the meantime, I've got Trader Joe's and their lousy wine in my crosshairs.
Are there really people out there who honestly believe that the best place to shop for wine in Western Wake is a chain whose best-known wine is nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck"? This is a wine whose reputation is based on its price, not on its quality or drinkability. When people walk out of Trader Joe's with cartloads of Charles Shaw Wine, are they really stopping to think about what they're serving themselves, let alone their guests? Here's a newsflash: producing, bottling, labeling, corking, packing and shipping a bottle of wine costs more than what Trader Joe's sells this dreck for. They're not making money off of Two-Buck Chuck, they're just using it to lure you in. If you look at the rest of their (somewhat paltry) wine selection, they make up for the loss they're taking on the Charles Shaw by overpricing everything else.
Just in case you're curious, here's a link to an online video review of the whole Two-Buck Chuck lineup: http://tv.winelibrary.com/2007/04/10/2-buck-vaynerchuk-episode-212/ It's worth the 20 minutes out of your day for the sheer entertainment value.
There's a big difference between wine that is cheap and wine that is a good value. For some, perhaps Charles Shaw is a great value, but I hope that more of you stop and think about the quality, flavor and price before you make your purchase decision.
Have you tried Two Buck Chuck? Post your own review here...I'm dying to hear all about it.
Jennifer
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
While I could continue you rant..... just know that I share your frustration. It's like the whole Dollar Store thing. You go in and possibly save some loot on one or a few particular items and then buy 30 cents worth of candy for your kid for 5 bucks while you're standing in line to check out. It just doesn't make sense. I've never seen so many people so excited about paying fresh prices for frozen product. Oh wait, I think that I'm starting to rant.
You mentioned serving themselves.....not mentioning what they are serving their friends and family! :)
Actually, I did say, "...let alone their guests." Looks like we're on the same page!
Ever heard the addage 'you get what you pay for'? Well, two-buck chuck is exactly that...if you recall that 'chuck' is often a euphamism for either throwing something into the garbage, or throwing up (vomiting). I'll leave it to the reader to decide which of those two it is...but just don't DRINK the stuff.
Post a Comment