The Price of Gold

Apparently the cliché “You get what you pay for” doesn’t apply to the wine we’ve all come to know as Two Buck Chuck, at least not to the judges at the Commercial Wine Competition at the California State Fair. The dirt-cheap 2005 chard took top honors in a blind tasting at this year’s competition, beating out a few hundred other wines—the only other chardonnay to snag a double gold was from Wente Winery (goes for about $14/bottle). We’re all for uncovering a great value, but the last time we tasted Two Buck, it didn’t exactly leave us craving more. If you’re curious, head to your local Trader Joe’s and see for yourself.