While at Whole Foods over the weekend, I was stunned to see wines for $2.49 per bottle. (There is an additional 10% discount for purchases of more than six bottles, making it $2.25 per bottle.) Curious, I picked up all four varietals and did a taste test.
My conclusion: While none of the wines will win any awards as they are generic (almost impossible to tell the different varietals), lack concentration and have no length on the palate, all four wines were front loaded with flavor and thus easy to drink. Also, the value to price ratio of these wines are unbeatable as IMHO they are not worse than many other $10-$12 wines we had tried before.
Even more fascinating was to see responses to these wines: At a party over the weekend, we shared the four bottles. Almost without exception, people who drank the wines without knowing the brand or price found it acceptable, while people who knew the brand or price immediately concluded that they did not like the wines. For me, this cemented a point from an earlier class: A lot of wine drinking is psychological.
Key takeaway? If you are on a tight budget, serve these wines at the next party you host but try not to let people see the labels! :)
PS. The Merlot and Pinot Grigio were slightly better than the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
PPS. One blogpost on this wine claims it is also made by Charles Shaw, the maker of the $2 chuck at Trader Joes. If true, Charles Shaw must produce a ton of wines!
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