Taken Down by Chuck!

On a whim, I decided to do a head-to-head throw down between two super “value” wines. I use quotes because value usually equates to a quality product for a price considered to be fair. Sometimes, such “value” is found in a wine or product that we feel like we are almost getting away with something for the price paid. This was not the case in this tasting extravaganza! Without further ado, I bring to Roasted Beast readers: The Two Buck Chuck Throw Down!

I’m not going to re-hash the history of Two Buck Chuck, it’s origin, and rise in popularity over the years. Feel free to google it and find out all of the fascinating details! I decided to do this tasting for a couple reasons. For one, I haven’t had any of the Two Buck Chuck wines in a long time. Secondly, while strolling through my local Whole Foods, I saw a display for the Three Wishes brand of wine for $1.99 with a sign that said “Dump the Chuck” or possibly something more clever- I can’t remember. In any case, it was clear that Whole Foods was branding it as the better $1.99 wine. Three Wishes makes 3 varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. If I’m not mistaken, Two Buck Chuck offers a couple more. If options are what you are looking for, “The Chuck” has Three Wishes beat.

The label of Three Wishes attempts to appeal to the Eco-Friendly wine consumer stating that the bottles are lighter thus reducing waste and their carbon footprint. It’s worth pointing out that the Two Buck Chuck bottle weighs the same as the Three Wishes bottle, go figure. So, all things being equal, it comes down to the juice right?

Undrinkable Wine- Save your two bucks!

For the tasting, I put the Cabernet Sauvignons to the test. The 2010 Two Buck Chuck Cab vs. the Three Wishes Cab. Oddly enough, the Three Wishes did not have the year on the bottle. So yes folks, Non Vintage Cab does exist. For this major event, I was joined by my lovely wife Siege, who, during the course of the tasting had an allergic reaction of sorts to the Two Buck Chuck Cab. Don’t worry, she’s fine- just lots of sneezing. We tasted “blind” because we didn’t want to be swayed by the Two Buck Chuck Wine voodoo charms or the granola, environmentally hip sensibilities of the Three Wishes wine.

Here are the inglorious details, tasting notes, and results of the battle.

	Two Buck Chuck Cab Sauv.	Three Wishes Cab Sauv.	Preferred Trait
Sight (Color/Clarity)	Claret/Ruby (Clear)	Garnet (Clear)	Even
Aroma	Alcohol spiking big time, a hint of blackberry	Smelly Cheese/Mold Funk/Cheese rind with a bit of red fruit.	No real winner here either
Taste	Sour Cherry with a predominant metallic flavor. Almost like you were licking a penny. No acid and virtually no tannic structure.	Soft and round with hints of cherry and red fruit. We both agree, sort of juicy. Slight bite from tannins.	Three Wishes
Score (100 Pt Scale)	70	78

In sum, both wines were pretty drab with little to no character. No real surprise here, you can’t expect much from a two dollar wine. And yet, Two Buck Chuck is ridiculously popular. Will Three Wishes ever gain any of the coveted Two Buck Chuck market share? Only time will tell. As for me, I’d rather spend 10-12 dollars and get a decent table wine, such as a Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel or even that crazy 2008 Smoking Loon Syrah ($8) made with Mega Purple concentrate.

Don’t Believe The Hype!

Call me pessimistic, but I’ve often found when my expectations are really high, a good percentage of the time I find myself disappointed, regardless of the experience. It could be a round of golf or a movie, but in this particular case it had to do with a Pinot Noir and an IPA.

I’ll address the lesser of the two “flops” first, which wasn’t a complete disappointment. The 2008 vintage (or year) for the Oregon Pinot Noir has been lauded as a banner year by industry members, from growers to producers to wine writers. The stars must have aligned perfectly. The growing conditions were ideal, and now every winery from the Dundee Hills to Yamhill-Carlton has a stockpile of good hooch ready to be consumed by the wine loving masses. Me, of course, being one of them. After reading a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle a while back, I decided to check out what all the buzz was about, especially when I saw the price tag of one of the Chronicle’s wine recommendations. At $13.99, It was certainly worth exploring. The wine was a 2008 Cloudline Pinot Noir from the folks behind the very reliable Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. Admittedly, my firsthand experience with Oregon Pinot is limited. Aside from the occasional bottle and a trip a couple years back, I can’t say I’m well acquainted with the more Burgundian style the state is known for. One bottling does not constitute a good sampling to truly critique the 2008 vintage. Maybe it’s my saturated, gnarly, Californian palate, but the wine definitely lacked some punch. It wasn’t a total disappointment though, just different from the brawny, more assertive style of many California wines, generally speaking. The Cloudline Pinot did possess nice, bright, fruit on the nose with a touch of cola and spice. On the palate it was very light-on-it’s-feet with flavors of cherry, raspberry with a pretty lengthy finish. It also had a nice, mineral quality on the finish that suggests it would play nicely with fish dishes. I’m still wrapping my head around this one folks… to be continued.

I can't figure this one out!

Moving on to the lesser of the two drinks (albeit vastly different), this one comes from the notable micro brew powerhouse, Sierra Nevada. I won’t spend too much time on this because I don’t believe in writing in detail about food items, wine, beer, or otherwise that in my experience are subpar. Why? As I’m sure many of you in the blogosphere would agree, I’d rather focus time and energy on things I really enjoyed. The beer on the hot seat was an American Double/Imperial IPA special bottling, cleverly dubbed, Hoptimum. Apparently, it was previewed during Sierra Nevada’s 30^th Anniversary party last fall, but only recently distributed to stores. For me, Hoptimum didn’t have the signature quality and consistency that is synonymous with the name Sierra Nevada. A couple of my buddies agreed that it was pretty much as advertised, all hop and not much else. Like the 2008 Oregon Vintage for Pinot Noir, this beer garnered critical acclaim and attention. Which is probably why I was dejected after trying it.

Whole Cone Hops Anyone?

So the lesson here is, DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE! At least not always. The good news for Oregon Pinot, is that there are tons of wines to buy and try. The bad news for Sierra, there’s only one rendition of Hoptimum. That said, even though Hoptimum fell short for my set of tastbuds, it won’t stop me from trying new Sierra beers in the future.

Gobble! Gobble!

This post was intended to be about the challenges of making pizza at home. But, we can talk pizza anytime folks. It’s turkey time! Thanksgiving is here at last. So as my wife and I get ready to make the rounds to the homes of our parents, I paused to give thanks (of course), and also to give some thought as to what food and wine I would serve guests if the day were celebrated at our humble abode. You see, due to family size and other logistics, holiday dinners at my house just won’t do. So instead, I’ll have to vicariously “live it” through the blogosphere creating a sort of “mock Thanksgiving Day meal”.

It's okay pal, you've lived a long and happy life!

That said, I’m definitely more of a traditionalist than I realized. Most likely due in large part to my upbringing. If you’re like me, and I’m sure there are millions out there, you always had the standard T-Day fixings: Turkey with gravy, stuffing, yams, rolls, vats and vats of mashed potatoes and of course, the ubiquitous green bean casserole, etc. If I were hosting Thanksgiving at my house, most of these would find their way to my table, with the exception of the green beans. I’d swap it out for a green salad of mixed baby greens, walnuts, goat cheese, cranberries with a champagne vinaigrette to lighten things up a touch. The turkey would be brined (stuff with all sorts of herbs and butter under the skin) and then deep fried…yum. As for the starch, I’m thinking whipped sweet potato puree with loads of cream and there is a strong possibility that gruyere or some other cheese would make their way into the spuds. This is not a conclusive list by the way. For wine, I’m keeping it simple with the following general guidelines: 1) Keep the alcohol low (14% or below). The last thing you want is people nodding off before dinner. On second thought, maybe you do- more leftover turkey sandwiches for you. 2) Provide a red and white wine option for guests. Better yet, provide a sparkling wine too. 3) Don’t presume you will find a wine that compliments all of the food on the table. There are just too many different food combinations and flavors to fuss over finding the perfect wine. Selecting varieties that don’t overpower the food is more important than finding the perfect pairing. Varietals to look for (white): Gewurztraminer, Riesling, or white burgundy. Varietals for red: Pinot Noir, Syrah, (from a cooler climate such as Anderson Valley or the Sonoma Coast in CA) or even a well balanced low ABV Zinfandel.

Okay, so I’ve spilled some of my Turkey Day wish list as host. What do you serve, or would you serve if you are/were hosting T-Day? Traditional, or radical culinary experimentations? Also, feel free to share a favorite wine you enjoy on Thanksgiving Day. Below you will find three wines and their tasting notes that would go just fine for any celebration- Thanksgiving included.

Lastly, be safe, God bless and have a super cool Thanksgiving!

2009 Harvest Moon Vineyards Russian River Valley Estate Dry Gewurztraminer ($24, 13% ABV) Fresh tart summer melon aromas, a light creaminess on the mid, and a delightful crisp fresh finish; this dry Gewurztraminer has all the bells and whistles of a world-class Chard.

www.harvestmoonwinery.com

2007 Porter Creek Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel ($34, 14.7% ABV)* A classic example of Sonoma County Zinfandel. Aromatically, it has the explosive cherries and berries jam and on the palate it is rich and textured on the finish. Produced from hillside grown vines and blended with 10% Carignane for texture and overall harmony.

www.portercreekvineyards.com

2007 Freestone Vineyards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($44, 13.5% ABV) The wine exudes layers of sandalwood, anise, cassis and dried tea leaves. Its density lingers on the palate and offers flavors of plum, bing cherries, black tea and tobacco, while the finish provides the spicy and earthy characteristics that are typical of Freestone wines.

www.freestonevineyards.com

*But you don’t taste it (the alcohol that is). A wonderfully balanced effort.