All must sing the praise of Charles Shaw. $3 and you get a choice of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet, Shiraz and Nouveau... (cook with the nouveau).
It's a blend of excess wine from a variety of Califonia vinyards that they bottle and blow out the door for $2 bucks in CA. CV is that a good bet is to snag a bottle from Trader Joe's and pop it in the car. If you like it grab some more. A friend remarked that it can be quite a find but very inconsistent. Due to the blending you are kind of playing roulette and he then suggested the afformentioned strategy.
I just punt and buy a mixed case so when someone asks for a Merlot or a Chardonnay I have one, etc. If you want to try it for the first time I'd recommend the Cabernet or the Blanc (I'm finishing a bottle of the Cab right now and it's more drinkable than the average Cab, not as dry. It's gotten fruitier in recent weeks but that should not be consistent. The merlot is good (fricken GREAT for $3) as is the Chardonnay. The Blanc is my favorite of them all and the Shiraz is great with the $5 pizza Friday nights at Dominick's. A Blanc in the fridge will be finished by the end of the week.
For a cook it's a great reduction liquid anytime, red or white.
Sorry dude, but $3 Chuck is pure crap.....this shit may kill you! Bronco Wine Co. which owns CS and 20 some other bogus, location less labels uses massive amounts of commercial fertilizers and methylbromide (a soil sterilizer and NOT a good thing) which have been proven to cause cancer and various other health concerns among their "undocumented" vineyard workers. So.....if you support eco-terrorism, unfair labor practices and insipid, crap wines then Charles Shaw is the brew for you.
Da' Schtonker
Posted by: Wine-schtonker | March 12, 2005 at 11:49 AM
As far as I can tell there are tons of wineries using the same bromides. From Mumm's to Stag's Leap... Albeit not making it right. The lawsuit is for the workers:
http://www.davidicke.net/newsroom/global/092600a.html
At this point I don't consider Bronco's at the same level as Halliburton or Monsanto.
If you know anything that I'm missing post a link to the source. Or email me and I'll get on it.
Posted by: josh | March 12, 2005 at 12:37 PM
Josh,
You have added a link to a class action in regard to liquor producers/wineries products and actions resulting in alcohol addiction. Though an interesting topic for debate, it has little to do with egregious pratices and consumer deception which represent the standard business model of Bronco Wine Co. They are currently in litigation with many plaintiffs including the Napa Valley Vintners assc. for blatantly misleading consumers to the origins of the wines they a purchasing. One of Bronco's primary labels is Napa Ridge; however, the wine sourced for this label does not come from Napa or anywhere nearby. Yet another case in point to the unethical practices and marketing of Bronco products, including the aformentioned use of underpayed, undocumented workers, use of methylbromide (already proven to cause cancer to farmworkers) and many other unseamly business practices. An informed consumer should avoid their wines at all costs....not to mention that the Charles Shaw wines suck!
There are many other options for good quality, low-cost wines from more ethical producers, and for that matter retailers. Traders Joe's is just as guilty of these practices by aggressively marketing said products.
Da' Schtonker
Posted by: Wine-schtonker | March 12, 2005 at 02:08 PM
that's funny... I didn't read the entirety of that link as it came up after a bromide bronco search.
Give a source for the litany of complaints... you're calling them evil, slave driving pillagers of the earth, and crappy wine folks to boot. I went looking and nothing screamed EVIL at me, nor called Bronco's out for anything other than lowballing or marketing their semi-swill.
re: methylbromide?
http://www.winebusiness.com/html/SiteFrameSet.cfm?fn=../Archives/Monthly/1996/9610/BM109641.html
thanks for the post btw!
Posted by: Josh | March 12, 2005 at 04:40 PM