Comments on: A Judgement in California

By: Arthur

Arthur — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:44:47 +0000

When this award was announced, I got caught up in a heated conversation about what a travesty this award is. Finally, when someone actually pointed us to the criteria used at the fair, I decided to see for myself. I went to Trader Joe’s and tried the whole lineup available. (05 Sauv blanc, 05 Chard. 04 Merlot, 04 Cab and 05 Shiraz)

Truly, the 2005 Chard was a nice stand out of the whole bunch I bought - when you consider that it is a $2 wine. It was the cleanest, offering the most fidelity to varietal character. If you are looking for power, oak and residual sugar, this is not your wine. But it’s a nice every day ‘house’ wine.

Just last week I tried the 2006 Chard. I would encourage you to try the 2006. Also a good wine for 2 or 3 dollars.

We all think different thinkgs about Fred. And if you don’t want to drink his wines because you don’t like the way he does business, that’s fine. I was personally pleasantly surprised.

By: Ward Bell

Ward Bell — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 04:54:26 +0000

What I really find interesting (and good) has been the number of people who have asked about the chardonnay — because they have heard of the prize and the buzz.

It is sort of like the buzz that accompanied the Stag Leap Cab that beat out those French wines.

The cool thing is that if this brings folks to wine then our “job” is to get them to try other wines to develop their palates. Since my interests lie in the area of how retail shops can help their customers to develop their appreciation of wines, the two-buck chuck is a great starting point. Getting the buzz working helps the long-term appreciation of finer wines.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:48:46 +0000

Dr. Debs: I think it’s a combo of batch variation and where the Shaw was tasted in the random line up. Since this wine had to go through 2 blind tastings, I find it hard to believe that the judges missed the same thing twice. The wine had to be pretty good in the bottles judged.

Ward: I haven’t seen the label version Gary had on his podcast, either. In both Minnesota and California Trader Joe’s I’ve seen the same classic Shaw labeling. I’ll also see you down in St. Louis Park picking up some samples of the Chardonnay for my blind tasting

By: Ward Bell

Ward Bell — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:54:52 +0000

Why even speculate? It really doesn’t matter and there is no hard evidence that any of the many theories is right!

Lots of folks will be drawn to this chardonnay and many will like it and purchase it again. Sure, if they dig into the full story, they will learn that Bronco produces lots of wines and they can expect some variation from batch-to-batch and there is no way of projecting what the 2006 will taste like once it is released.

Personally, I happen to enjoy the wine. I cannot say it is the best 2005 Chardonnay that I’ve tasted but it does have characteristics I like and you can’t beat the price (even ‘tho it is more like “3-buck chuck” here in Minnesota).

(Interestingly, I’ve not seen the Trader Joes labeled versions that Gary showed in his tasting. And I don’t agree with his assessment of the cab — but, again, not labeled the same as what he tasted.)

By: Dr. Debs

Dr. Debs — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:24:57 +0000

Others have hinted at “Batch variation,” but you’re the first I know to come right out and say it. Wine made at the volume of $2 Chuck is not going to be made with the same grapes in every batch. It’s the most sensible explanation that will please the skeptics.

Of course, *(&^ happens and it could just be that on that day, in those conditions, with that tasting panel, it really was the wine they judged to be best.

I personally would like to see the photo with the judges faces when they discovered they awarded best chardonnay to this wine.

Thanks for the link, and the lucid post.