Two Buck Chuck, Beyond the Bargain   |   Two Buck Chuck, Let's Talk about Value   |   Submit Blog     

Two Buck Chuck Value

Franzia Who?

Although I am not a wine connoisseur I was certainly familiar with many of the big vintners and labels in California. One wine maker I hadn't heard about was Fred Franzia, until I bought a few bottles of what is known as Two Buck Chuck and became curious. I guess that Franzia is a very familiar leader in California wine. Why haven’t I head the Franzia name more often? Who is he and what’s the Franzia history? Since he's the guy who makes it possible for my husband and me – who are young and on a tight budget – to have pretty darn good wine with our dinner whenever we want, I'd like to know more about Franzia. Any Franzia – philes out there?

Bronco Bucks Napa Tradition

You're not alone. It seems that many people didn't resonate with the Franzia name in any meaningful way until Two Buck Chuck, made by Franzia, became a Trader Joes specialty item. Let me first say that the Franzia name has been on 'boxes' of wine for a long time. However, that Franzia is not the Franzia of whom we speak. Fred Franzia is really one of a kind! First of all, he comes from a three-generation wine making tradition. Franzia is the outspoken partner in the Bronco Wine Company that bought the Charles Shaw label in 1991. Always looking to make things better, Franzia experimented and created a special category of wines dubbed "super value wines."

Out of this genre came Franzia's best selling Two Buck Chuck. While customers like you and your husband flocked to T.J.'s and appreciate the opportunity, much of California’s mainstream wine community was not so pleased with Franzia. As the popularity of Franzia's value wines spread, he found himself an outlaw in the polite wine culture of the Napa Valley. Being Fred Franzia, this only inspired him to dig in his heels and produce even more low cost wines under several different labels. Under Franzia's leadership Bronco has about 60 labels – mostly low and mid-priced wines. Further prickling the establishment, Franzia’s 2007 (Two Buck Chuck) Chardonnay won a double gold medal at the California State Fair – beating out other labels in a blind tasting.

Franzia wasn't done shaking up the status quo – he also came up with a challenge to restaurants. Franzia says that people should be able to buy a decent bottle of wine at a restaurant for less than $10. According to Franzia, a restaurateur could still make a profit with the right label. So far, it seems no one has taken Franzia's dining dare.

Personally, Franzia is an extremely unpretentious man who owns vineyards throughout the Central Valley and into Napa wine country. Although Franzia is undeniably successful as both a businessman and vintner, his 'office' is a dusty trailer plopped down next to a vineyard. He rolls up his sleeves and goes to work every day – has he's done for many decades.

Franzia's latest (outrageous) project is to build an environmentally sound bottling plant on his property in Napa, complete with a park and the promise of a new, big payroll. Of course, Franzia faces opposition but that's never stopped him before. So, ya, I guess I am a Franzia fan and happy to share his story!