The early 2000s brought this world a lot. Most notably, it began the era of $1.99 bottles of Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wine that’s widely referred to as “Two Buck Chuck.” Since its debut, the budget-friendly wine saw an increase in price over the years–you know, inflation plus varying state distribution costs and taxes–but California maintained the two-buck price for over a decade before it, too, rose. Now, it’s finally back to the OG price, so it can once again live up to its nickname.
Before you get too excited, it’s only going back to two bucks in California–but hey, that’s a start! In the Golden State, the previous price of the wine was $2.99. The switch back to cheaper bottles is reportedly permanent. The price cut has been made possible by modifications to the packaging, lower transportation costs, and the abundance of grapes in California over the past few years.
“We’ve been able to work with the producer of Charles Shaw to make some improvements packaging-wise so that it uses less glass and the cork is a little bit different,” Matt Sloan, vice president of marketing and product at Trader Joe’s, told the Los Angeles Business Journal. “These cost savings have put us into a position where we can pass a lot of that savings right onto customers.”
In stores, you can feel the excitement. A downtown San Francisco location put up a sign above a large display of Charles Shaw wines that reads: “Two Buck Chuck is back! ...with a vengeance. Mmmm...Tasty revenge.”
Although studies show people are drinking less wine in recent years, the return of Two Buck Chuck might help shoot that up a bit. Cheers to cheap wine that’s actually pretty good and gets the job done!
Lead image licensed under Creative Commons.
