"Blinky the Shark" > wrote in message
.. .
> Paul M. Cook wrote:
>
> >
> > > wrote in message
> > oups.com...
> >> On Jul 22, 12:45 pm, "James Silverton"
> >> > wrote:
> >> > notbob wrote on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 14:01:25 -0500:
> >> >
> >> > ??>> I guess standards differ. TJs wines are drinkable but
> >> > I've ??>> not had a *great* bottle of wine for $5 since the
> >> > 1960s ??>> :-)
> >> >
> >> > n> I have. A 1L bottle, no less. Back around '92-93,
> >> > Woodside n> was closing out the previous year's bottling of
> >> > Zinfandel. n> They were discounting it all over town and I
> >> > was just n> getting started on wines. I bought out all the
> >> > places that n> still had some, about 6 cases from different
> >> > stores, all n> bottled in different places, all about $5-6.
> >> > Most of it was n> just ok, a few bottles had turned, but
> >> > there were 4-5 n> bottles that were spectacular, even by a
> >> > neophyte's n> standards.
> >> >
> >> > n> While not a $5 bottle, Gallo had a cab in '94 that was
> >> > n> fantastic for only $9-10. When people caught on, it went
> >> > n> like wildfire. I wish I still had some of those.
> >> >
> >> > Not to downgrade the bargain too much, $10 in 1994 is
> >> > equivalent to $13-14 now and $14 will get you a very decent
> >> > bottle of OZ Shiraz. Spending over $20 will get something
> >> > verging on very good.
> >> >
> >> > James Silverton
> >> > Potomac, Maryland
> >>
> >> help me out James, still a novice here, although my hubby
> >> enjoys expensive champagne. Let me ask you how a cheap wine
> >> WINS a competition like this TJ wine did, if you can't get
> >> anything good for under $20.00. I am not doubting you or
> >> causing a fight. Just wonder, really, how a wine can win if it
> >> is only a couple of bucks but real wine drinkers insist it
> >> can't be good. How do they finagle those darn contests? >B.T.
> >>
> >
> > Wine contests are all classified into varietals and price. You
> > do not see a 2 dollar wine competing with a 20 dollar wine. The
> > TJs wine was probably in the "under 5 dollar" category.
>
> I don't do wine so I don't have a dog in this fight, but I think
> one of the articles said that some of the wines it bested cost
> something like $55 a bottle. That would seem to indicate, if my
> memory is accurate, that it wasn't only competing with five-buck-
> or-less wine.
>

Not a chance. I've had wines in the 50 buck range and they are light years
beyond anything TJs sells. TJs is just bulk process made table wine. It's
jug wine in a small bottle. TJ sells Fat Cat Cabernet which at 4.99 a
bottle is not only afine bargain but it is a very very nice Cab. And it
could wipe the floor with any of the Charles Shaw stuff. .

Paul