- Bottoms Up (RSS)Walmart wine
By jyadegaran
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm in Uncategorized.
Anyone tried Wal-mart’s answer to Charles Shaw? The big box store’s under $3 label goes by the name Oak Leaf, and whispers in the wine blogosphere indicate it’s “not that bad.” I believe they make a Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
I’m thinking of doing a public blind taste off between Oak Leaf and Charles Shaw. So I need some preliminary comments about the wines. Has anyone tried them who can give me some opinions? Share them here. Thanks!
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June 24th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
oh just the thought of turning to Walmart instead of Trader Joes for some cheap wine hurts my heart LOL
June 25th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Exactly. People are so attached to Trader Joe’s and their Two Buck Chuck that we should do the tasting and see what the blind results are. Any other opinions on this?
June 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
I tried Oak Leaf and the Chardonnay wasn’t too bad — considering that expectation aren’t that high on a $2 wine. You can pull off an okay white at that price, sometimes, if you are lucky. But that’s much harder to do so with a red. Oak Leaf Merlot was overcropped, stemmy, and barely drinkable.
Look forward to you “recession” wine tasting!
July 12th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
There is a article, dated September 7, 2007, in Business 2.0 Magazine interviewing Fred Franzia whose company makes Two Buck Chuck. In this interview Mr. Franzia states that he was in talks with Wal-Mart regarding creating a similar wine for them. It is possible that this is the Oak Leaf brand now carried at the stores.
If it tastes good … drink it!
July 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am
So you’re saying Franzia may be making the competition’s wines?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I’ve had Charles Shaw (red) on many occassion. I’m not too picky, and I thought it was exceptable; however, I was a little unsure about a Walmart wine, but more than happy to give it a try @ $3.00. I thought it tasted very nice, and even my snobby white wine drinking friends have switched over. Good job Oak Leaf.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Thanks Shannon
August 12th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Hi. I tried the Oak Leaf wine…….Horrible!! Bitter taste. But then again, I’m a semi-sweet person. I don’t like too sweet wines and I sure don’t like dry. Why do wines not say what flavor and whether it’s semi-sweet or not. I’ve seen “sweet” or “dry” but no ’semi-sweets’. Just my opinion.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Hi Jane. The best thing to do is ask your wine merchant or server if the wine is “off dry.” You’ll typically see that term when referring to sparkling wines or Champagne (demi-sec). As for reds, the term “fruity” is also a good indication that it might be a bit sweeter than other dry reds. Often when our brains detect a lot of fruit in a wine we interpret it as sweet. Hope that helps.
Cheers
Jessica
August 18th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I have tried Oak Left Pino Grigio/Chardonnay blend and it is FABULOUS for the money! Great summer sipping wine especially here in Arizona – - very refreshing and tasty!
August 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Good to know! What other Chard-Grigio blends do you like? How did you stumble upon this blog?
Thanks
Jessica
August 25th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Tried the Cabernet and was satisfied. Wine was well balanced and not too thin. Remarkably, the wine wasn’t too acid, which I have found common in inexpensive wines.
It passed my test and I will buy again. I would like some info on who is bottling this for WalMart. If you hear anything let me know.
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I’m really impressed with Walmart’s Oak Leaf Chard, I was really surprised at the taste and flavor. I was extremely satisfied and fooled a friend during a wine tasting. It’s a good deal for the price and yes, I am a kendal Jackson, Robert Mondavi kind of girl. It’s a fun wine. It’s remarkable for the price.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Thanks Beatrice. What did your friend think it was?
September 24th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I love the Chardonnay/Pino Grigio blend! When I first bought it, I was expecting it to be terrible and I was pleasantly surprised! Love it!!! In fact, I went back that next weekend and bought 5 more bottles. You can’t beat the price! I turned another girlfriend on to it and she loves it also!
November 8th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Oak Leaf Vineyards (Ripon, Calif.) does not really exist as such; instead it is a production facility of The Wine Group, Inc. Oak Leaf wine is the private label non-vintage wine marketed by The Wine Group (the box wine people) only to Wal-Mart stores. (Not E&J Gallo as some reviews contend.) Headquartered in San Francisco (about 70 miles west of Ripon), The Wine Group’s labels include such well known brands as Corbett Canyon, Inglenook, Mogen David, Franzia, Almaden and Glen Ellen wines. The firm recently relocated their operations center from San Francisco to Livermore, Calif., about mid-way between San Francisco and Ripon. Privately held, The Wine Group was once part of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York. And being privately held, its operation and products are kept pretty much secret. It doesn’t even have a corporate website, although it does have brand-related sites. Strange for the second largest wine producer in California (more than 40 million cases produced annually), second only to Gallo. Oak Leaf wines are very similar to Bronco’s Charles Shaw wines (affectionately nicknamed “Two Buck Chuck”) which sells for $1.99 at Trader Joe’s stores. Headquartered in Monrovia, Calif., Trader Joe’s 300 stores has sold millions of cases of what the trade calls “extreme value wines.” Due to transportation charges to outlying states, the price can be a dollar more. The Charles Shaw label is a brand of the Bronco Wine Company (Ceres, Calif.) owned by John and Fred Franzia (formerly of Franzia Brothers wines.) The Franzias (nephews of Ernest Gallo) sold the Franzia brand name to The Wine Group and started Bronco Wines and they are competitors. The Franzia family, which now has no relationship to Franzia brand boxed wine, has made wine in California for over 100 years. Bronco is California’s third largest wine producer. Oak Leaf Vineyards (which doesn’t even have its own telephone number) is one of hundreds of wine brands bottled by The Wine Group in Ripon. It does not release the private labels of the wines it makes but there are many. Oak Leaf wines come in five varietals: Cabenet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay and White Zinfandel. The standard 750-ml bottles with an artificial cork have an elegant label that shows four seasonal oak trees, one for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. We are not one to place a lot of importance on awards since it seems all wineries get them. But Oak Leaf Vineyards did win a gold medal at the prestigious Florida State International Wine Competition and Silver and Bronze at the 2008 San Francisco Wine Competition. Incredible for a $3 wine! And the Summer-2008 edition of “O at Home” magazine (an Oprah Winfrey publication) featured Oak Leaf wine on its cover with the tag line: “The $3 bottle of wine that will blow you away.” On page 19, they picture Oak Leaf Chardonnay and call it “The steal of the season.” I like the Cabernet Sauvignon best myself. It is a full favored, medium body wine with a fruity aroma of berry, spice, vanilla and oak …pretty smooth and no unpleasant aftertaste. This is not a sophisticated wine but a terrific value at $2.97. Wine snobs won’t like it because it is inexpensive and comes from Wal-Mart. But the fact is that it is better than one would expect. I certainly have had $10-$15 French wine far worse. Wal-Mart sells out of it fast, so I buy several bottles whenever they have it. So far, it has been consistently good …a problem with low price wines. (One bottle may be good, the next not so good.) The Oak Leaf brand is perfect for an everyday wine to compliment dine-in dinner and snacks on the patio. Goes with almost anything. I rate it an “80″ out of 100.
November 10th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Thanks Fred. We’ll be doing an Oak Leaf/Charles Shaw taste off in the near future.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am
thanks Fred
appreciate all the info
I will try O.L. too
what is your favorite value wine?
November 18th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Yeah Fred, what do you like?
I always seem to turn to Chilean/New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Tried the cabernet savignon last night…pleasantly surprised…very smooth. On par with many $12-$14 wines.
January 24th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I was drinking Yellow Tail for several years because I really liked the mellon, vanilla, oak flavors (and price); however, after drinking the Walmart Oak Leaf Chardonnay for a few months, the taste of the Yellow Tail was more acidic and bitter than I had thought. I’m hoping to find out where Oak Leaf comes from. I like it as much as a $10-$13 bottle of Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Thanks Ed. Wow. Maybe this is a story. Read Fred’s post above to find out where it comes from.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I buy my Oak Leaf wines at the Neighborhood Walmart in Uptown Dallas. This is no ordinary Walmart, for it sits squarely on the edge of downtown in an upscale urban locale. The clientele is young, professional and well-healed.
The beer and wine section has always done a stiff business, but Oak Leaf has brought new dimension to the wine sales. When the brand hit the store several months ago, it sat on the shelf for a couple weeks without notice. I thought the price was mislabeled, but I tried the Gregio and the Cab anyway.
Oh my! This was a helluva wine…never mind the cheap price. I immediately stocked-up. Soon Oak Leaf had their own shelf at the end of the wine aisle, but that was then. Today the stockers don’t even bother with shelves. They just leave the cases on the freight pallet and wheel-in the stuff by the truckload! There is one stocker assigned to the Oak Leaf shipment conveniently located next to the self check-out. All day long the kid stands there zipping-open the cases with his trusty box cutter and watches the bottles fly out of the store.
I love fine wines and don’t mind paying $25 or more for a nice bottle, but for a nightly table wine Oak Leaf is the ticket. One curious note: While the Oak Leaf label is handsome and almost sophisticated in design, there’s no vintage date. At $2.97, what’s the point?
Cheers!
January 31st, 2009 at 10:46 am
I love Walmart’s Oak Leaf wine! the Chardonnay! I can’t tell much a difference between this wine and a $10 bottlie of wine. I recommend it!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Walmart’s Oak Leaf is the BEST!!!! I have fooled the most savvy connoiseurs with this wine……Don’t let the price deceive you—this product is PHENOMENAL!!!!!!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
This product is PHENOMENAL!!!!! I have served it to the biggest wine snobs on the planet and they all thought they were drinking a $100 bottle of wine! What a great surprise! The Pinot Grigio is Outstanding!!!! Don’t tell too many people about it because the price will go thru the roof!
June 13th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I am an avid fan of “Two Buck Chuck”, but I am curious about Wal-Mart Oak Leaf wines. Does anyone know where the wine is being sold in New Jersey? I plan to serve it at our next cookout.
Thanks,
Patricia
June 15th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hopefully someone will know, Patricia. I did a search for you and found nothing. Good luck.
August 19th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
My friend swears by the Walmart wines. She convinced me to pick up a couple bottles. The Sauvingon Blanc was the first I tried and it was just awful, it tastes like it was fermented in rubber, something very wrong. I trust my friend so I figured it was just a bad bottle. I am trying the Merlot tonight and it is actually quite nice, a bit lighter in flavor than most merlots but still quite good and drinkable.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Tried the shiraz after an above post. Make no mistake this is a true american shiraz made in the new world style, it is as different than a syrah as one could get. For $3 thats not a bad thing.
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 am
Right, it’s a shiraz all way.
October 31st, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Having lived in France and Switzerland for many years,
and drinking red wine with my dinner every day because
the Harvard Medical School says that red wine from a
cold climate in moderation is excellent for very many
and different health reasons, I am absolutely blown
away by the Walmart house label, Oak Leaf, which sells
in Florida for under three dollars and in Arizona for
under two dollars, different reds, whites and roses.
This is a magnificent contribution to human happiness
and good health by Walmart, probably a larger contribution
to health reform than the hopeless mess now being
mangled to pieces by Obama and Congress. As Will
Rogers said, when Congress is in session, no American
is safe.
I defy anyone to show me anywhere in the world outside the USA, any large production wine of comparable quality for less than three or four times
the Walmart price, and often even more than that. In Norway you’ll pay
ten times the price.
To your good health…… with Oak Leaf.
Frank Peel
Florida and Switzerland
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Wow, that’s the best endorsement I’ve ever heard. Cheers to you!