: This story originally ran on our blog in 2018. It has been updated to reflect recent changes.
Walk into almost any Trader Joe’s store and you’ll spot a behemoth display of Charles Shaw wine — or, as it’s more affectionately known, “Two Buck Chuck.”
Priced at a mere $1.99 to $3.79 per bottle, this magical ether is cheaper than most bottled water. It’s been
knighted as the “darling of the discount wine world” by critics, and boasts a cult following among price-minded consumers.
For Trader Joe’s, the wine is also a gold mine.
The grocery chain has sold
1B+ bottles of Two Buck Chuck since debuting the beverage in 2002. Today, some locations sell as many as