Cheap Wine Review

A few months ago, Sarah and I decided to slum it a bit and drink only "extreme value" wine. With Two-Buck Chuck being such a great value (most of the time), we started wondering about the other sub-five-dollar wines offered at Trader Joes.

So, below is our "'04 Cheap Wine Review." (Stay tuned for the '05 version...)

Type	Brand	Price	Rating	Tasting Notes
Whites
Chardonnay	San Andre's	$ 2.99	4.0	Solid
Chardonnay	JW Morris	$ 2.99	4.0	Good, but not great
Chardonnay	Blue Fin	$ 2.99	4.0	Kinda harsh; solid flavor
Chardonnay	Bear's Lair	$ 3.99	4.0	Very buttery, good with food
Gewurtz	JW Morris	$ 2.99	1.0	So freaking sweet - yuck!
Sav Blanc	Callaway	$ 4.99	3.5	Crisp, clean, fruity and sweet; not much flavor
Sav Blanc	San Andre's	$ 2.99	3.0	Pucker! Not very flavorful
Sav Blanc	Barefoot	$ 3.99	4.0	Crisp, good
Reds
Cab	Santa Ema	$ 3.99	3.0	Fruity, almost sweet
Cab	Bear's Lair	$ 3.99	3.0	Alcohol, tannins, not much flavor
Cab	Tula Vista	$ 3.99	4.0	Dry but fruity; good flavor, hot
Cab/Merlot	San Andre's	$ 2.99	2.5	Smells like f&%$
Merlot	JW Morris	$ 2.99	4.5	Fruity, dry on front; solid, not too hot
Pinot Noir	Pepperwood Grove	$ 4.99	4.5	Dry, full bodied
Pinot Noir	JW Morris	$ 2.99	4.5	Tasty; too fruity/sweet
Zin	JW Morris	$ 2.99	3.0	Earthy, strawberries, pucker
Rating Methodology
Blech!	Yuck! We had to pour it out.
Bad	Not good at all, and not even worth the few dollars it cost.
Eh	Drinkable, but not worth buying again.
Good	Tasty and easy to drink. Good for an everyday or party wine.
Fantastic	Great all around and a value at twice the price. Worthy of the cellar.