Trader Joes Overrated?

[Thomas_Keim]

It’s a great place to find $15 Barolo or Amarone. The quality is usually reflected in the price. They’ve always been pretty good buyers of Petite Chateaux and always have a few surprising bargains.in that category.

I usually just go to TJ’s for their oddball food items and cheese.

[Sherr1_Shap1r0]

I buy my cooking wine at Trader Joe’s. It is satisfactory and cheap.

Never cook with a wine you would not drink.

Sorry, but I really disagree with you. Like Paul, I have picked up cheap, decent wines for cooking at TJ that I would not want to drink (although they are “drinkable”), mostly because I have a cellar of much better, aged wines. The idea that you need to cook with a good bottle is silly.

[Marcu_Stanley]

I buy my cooking wine at Trader Joe’s. It is satisfactory and cheap.

Never cook with a wine you would not drink.

I strongly disagree with this. You don’t need fine wine to enhance a dish. Most of the value is in releasing alcohol soluble flavors. Nuance gets lost in cooking.

Yeah, always puzzles me that people will freak out about a wine experiencing 80 degree temps in bottle for an hour or two in the back of a UPS truck but then claim that the nuances of a wine will survive the cooking process.

[Arv_R]

For whatever reason, the Trader Joe’s in Costa Mesa on 17th street has a Bordeaux section with usually around 10 or so good bottles. Producers like Lagrange, Lafon Rochet, Sociando Mallet, Cantemerle, Latour Martillac, Rouget, Clos du Marquis, all (in the last year or so) from the 14-16 vintages, mostly the 15 and 16 vintages. And they’ve had that kind of selection consistently for at least the last year or more, not sure how much longer back than that.

The prices are good, kind of at the lowest end of internet retail. And . . . they show up on the CC statement as Trader Joe’s, not Hi Time or Wine Exchange.

But aside from that anomaly, and I haven’t seen another TJs with those kinds of wines, I think their wine selection is of essentially no interest to me. A lot of unknown bad wine that is not really a bargain despite being cheap, a few okay labels (e.g. Pine Ridge cab type of stuff) that are often not priced very attractively. I’d far rather buy wine, and even cheap wine, at Ralph’s or Vons than TJ, other than the Bordeaux I mentioned.

I have only been in TJ’s once or twice since the National Emergency was declared (lines were painful) and one location up here (suburbs of SMF) had a similar BDX as you describe. I think I picked up an 2015 or 2016 Cantemerle for $30ish.

In general I think the wine selection at ours seems large, but not any better than the aforementioned grocery stores. I buy vermouth, and sometimes splits of champers there which can be low priced, and probably from those closeouts. Its inconsistent what’s around. I think Costco is a much better place to spend the hour+ it takes to visit these in my area (given parking/lines etc.)

[larry_schaffer]

commercial post: My business has sold wine to Trader Joe’s in the past and may do so again. That may affect this post:

I find that when they buy end-of-vintage closeouts and/or overstock from known producers, the values can be very good.

I find that for their own brands and exclusivities, the values are hit and miss. Like every other profit-seeking business, they want to buy low and sell high. Like every other profit-seeking business, the buyers sometimes err on the side of paying too little and selling for too much. Shop carefully, aka Caveat Emptor.

Dan Kravitz

So in essence they are doing what Naked Wines does, they grab bulk wine from producers and put a label on it and call it their own. I think that makes it hard to sell good stuff because most producers aren’t letting go of their good stuff…

Payne,

Not true at all - venture over to the DeNegoce thread and you’ll see tons of wines that fall into this category. And ‘good’ is a relative term - sometimes wineries simply make more than they can sell themselves; sometimes their vineyard produces more grapes than they can sell so they make the wine and bulk it out. Lots of reasons, but not necessarily because the wine isn’t good’.

Cheers.

[larry_schaffer]

Seriously, come on folks. I’m sure that there are many on this board who really do enjoy their TJ’s wines and should not feel ‘shamed’ for doing so. To each their own, all . . .

Larry, the OP asked and people have answered. I don’t think anyone is being too harsh. If there are people who enjoy TJ wine that’s fine, but there’s nothing wrong with voicing opinions that the wine on the whole is not good. People come here to learn, not to be told that Bronco wine is as good as anything else. Personally I bought a few random wines several years ago which were not bad, but most of my attempts yielded very, very generic wines that often tasted chemical and heavily manipulated. Warning people off of that is a good idea IMO. Like anywhere else, if you see a reputable wine at a good price, by all means, buy, but random purchasing is risky.

Those saying TJs is generally overrated, I disagree. I would never do all of my shopping there but they have a few items that are very good and good value. Frozen Naan, harissa paste, Calabrian chili paste, and olives are things worth buying off the top of my head. Some good seasonal items as well. But for me the big draw, though I haven’t been since the pandemic since the stores are packed even at normal times, is the cheese. They have a good selection and excellent pricing. Around the holidays they’ll have things like Harbison for about $12 for the whole round, which is nuts. Many other good cheeses at silly prices too.

Thanks for your reply and I agree that my wording may have come across incorrectly. I know how many ‘lurkers’ there are on this board at any time, and many are hesitant to post because they ‘fear’ that they may be ‘judged’ harshly by some of the more direct and vocal folks here. As others have said, you ‘get what you pay for’, but I believe that there are more folks who regularly drink sub $20 wines on this board than those who drink $20+ wines on a daily basis - but I could be wrong. It’d be interesting to see what a poll might say on this . . . Now back to harvest

Cheers

[Jeff_M1]

I am not out seeking to buy wine from TJs to drink for myself but I would certainly have a few bottles of this sort in my cellar for when we have guests over and don’t want to pour them higher end bottles since they won’t appreciate the quality of fine wine we normally drink. We had been buying Cline Ancient Vine at Costco for around $12 and its a pretty good house wine for when guests are over.

[Victor_Hong]

I buy my cooking wine at Trader Joe’s. It is satisfactory and cheap.

Never cook with a wine you would not drink.

Sorry, but I really disagree with you. Like Paul, I have picked up cheap, decent wines for cooking at TJ that I would not want to drink (although they are “drinkable”), mostly because I have a cellar of much better, aged wines. The idea that you need to cook with a good bottle is silly.

A good bottle goes into the cook, not the cooking.

[bretrooks]

I’m one of those inexpensive-bottle drinkers Larry mentioned above, and although we’ve purchased little wine from TJ’s in the last 2-3 years, we’ve picked up daily drinkers there now and then over the preceding years.

At price points above $10 or so, we’ve been disappointed more often than not. In lower price ranges, we could occasionally find cheap and cheerful bottles for parties or Tuesday nights. In certain vintages, we’ve enjoyed Espiral Vinho Verde for $4 (later $5), Pontificis GSM (from Languedoc) for $7, Cecilia Beretta Trevenezie {FREEDA} rose for $9 (I think), and Symington Douro Tuella for $6. Our local store has carried some better Bordeaux selections for the last year or so (Cantemerle, Lagrange, etc.), but I haven’t bit on anything…not a category I tend to “splurge” on.

TJ’s has good store-branded versions of a variety of products at fair prices (cheese, organic milk, condiments, frozen orange chicken, my favorite toothpaste, the only non-homemade mac 'n cheese my daughters will eat, etc.), but there are other categories which have never impressed…for example, we almost never buy meat there.

[NED_VALOIS]

People who buy wine at TJs need to write an open letter of apology, and take a month hiatus from the board

+! !!!

[larry_schaffer]

People who buy wine at TJs need to write an open letter of apology, and take a month hiatus from the board

+! !!!

[Daniel_H]

Fred McTaggart frequently blogs about Trader Joe wines, including quite a few older vintages like this one:

Nerelo del Bastardo, 2008

I always enjoy reading his notes.

[Markus_S]

A good bottle goes into the cook, not the cooking.

So the cook gets cooked, in other words?

[Russ_Williams]

The only TJ wine I thought punched way above it’s weight class is the North Coast Brut Rosé Sparkling wine. These should be available in the next month or so.

[EAScrog]

I’m one of those inexpensive-bottle drinkers Larry mentioned above, and although we’ve purchased little wine from TJ’s in the last 2-3 years, we’ve picked up daily drinkers there now and then over the preceding years.

At price points above $10 or so, we’ve been disappointed more often than not. In lower price ranges, we could occasionally find cheap and cheerful bottles for parties or Tuesday nights. In certain vintages, we’ve enjoyed Espiral Vinho Verde for $4 (later $5), Pontificis GSM (from Languedoc) for $7, Cecilia Beretta Trevenezie {FREEDA} rose for $9 (I think), and Symington Douro Tuella for $6. Our local store has carried some better Bordeaux selections for the last year or so (Cantemerle, Lagrange, etc.), but I haven’t bit on anything…not a category I tend to “splurge” on.

TJ’s has good store-branded versions of a variety of products at fair prices (cheese, organic milk, condiments, frozen orange chicken, my favorite toothpaste, the only non-homemade mac 'n cheese my daughters will eat, etc.), but there are other categories which have never impressed…for example, we almost never buy meat there.

You’re lucky to be in a great location Bret. My daughter lives just south of you, and I’m in that area a lot. Not far from TJ’s, the SLO Costco wine buyer seems to snap up some fantastic local bargains. Sometimes there are only a few cases, but I’ve picked up some tasty wines: some Sta Rita Hills Pinot, Grenache, Syrah. They’ve all run between $10-18 but tasted much higher. The only problem is that it disappears fast. I’ve been in the Santa Maria Costco too, but it doesn’t have near the selection that SLO does.

[Scott_K1]

The only TJ wine I thought punched way above it’s weight class is the North Coast Brut Rosé Sparkling wine. These should be available in the next month or so.

This is the one wine I buy at TJs. Simple, but has QPR all day long…

[Carlton_McCrindle]

We don’t have a TJ in our area but picked up some 2012 GSM (Sonoma) on a trip to Santa Barbara in ‘14 which I thought was decent, especially for $9@.

[Scott_Brunson]

Yes
Every time I drive by TJ’s here in SC there is a line stretching into the parking lot. I don’t get it.
I have bought cooking wine from our FL store but see no reason to wait in line.
Lavau CdR Villages from Costco at 8 bucks is fine for cooking and is drinkable.
Raw Bar Vinho Verde from a local grocery at 8 bucks works as a white option.

[Richard_Albert]

On cooking wine, many moons ago I remember reading a British reviewer’s Coq Au Vin recommendation: two bottles of Chambertin necessary, one for the pot, one for the table.


Does one calculate the cost of the unpleasant bottles tried into the cost of finding a good tasting “bargain” wine?

[Chris_Seiber]

Does one calculate the cost of the unpleasant bottles tried into the cost of finding a good tasting “bargain” wine?

This is a critical part of it. Even if, among all those unknown bottlings on their shelves, there are a few that are pretty good wines and value, how are you going to find those few without wasting time and money on the others?

And then by the time you do that, did you really get a bargain? If you had to buy three $7 whites to find one pretty good one, you could have spent the $21 on a really good bottle of Curran Grenache Blanc or Pepiere Clos des Briords instead.

I mean, that is somewhat true in all wine buying, but at least in stuff you find in wine stores and even grocery stores, you can read reviews and CT and get other sources of useful information to greatly improve your odds.