I’m on a cheap, er, affordable wine kick. I found this piece in my Inbox from last month and thoroughly enjoyed reading about other people’s faves under $10, especially since these are not domestic wines. At $6, the Sigura Viudas Cava is a staple of mine. Share yours!

Stop the presses. Er, make that the blogging tool. At the recent California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition, Charles Shaw’s 2005 Chardonnay was named the best in the state. Yes, it beat out about 350 other Chards from every price point.

That’s right C-heads, good old Two Buck ($1.99, actually) Chuck. I thought the whole Chuck model was to introduce people — young people who don’t have a lot of money — to wine, and once they realize it’s something they can have on their table every night and not just for special occasions, they would move up, to say, a $6 bottle of Bogle.

But no. It continues to sell. In fact, the exclusive Trader Joe’s line accounted for a whopping 8 percent of wines sold in California last year. That’s crazy! Chuck, released by vintner Fred Franzia, just celebrated its fifth anniversary and 300 millionth bottle. It’s like the Big Mac of wine!

I can see why people are calling it the Judgment of California. A penny for Grgich’s thoughts. And I have to agree with Laurie Daniel of the San Jose Mercury News. I bet the reason it won is because wine judges, like critics, taste, vote and probably pee in opinionated herds.

Oaky, butter bomb Chardonnays have been out for almost five years. Younger California winemakers keen on the millennial palate have been making crisp, fresh, fruity and food-friendly Chards for a while now. They’re certainly not complex, but they sell, because they’re cheap and have nifty marketing and bright funky animals on their labels.

Wine judges have to be oh-so-cool and up on these sorts of trends and industry fluctuations. Another reason Chuck could’ve won is their lack of consistency. While I’m not too familiar with their Chardonnay, I can say that, bottle to bottle, their reds are totally off.

I recall loving a bottle of the Cabernet in college, then getting a headache off it the second day. A Merlot was practically a different wine - lush, silky - the third night I drank it. And the first Thanksgiving that they released the Gamay Beaujolais, my friend Jenny and I split a case, we liked it so much. The second year it tasted like Robitussin.

Point made?

How could you write a box wine story and not mention Three Thieves? I wrote about Charles Bieler and his fellow thieving vintners late last year in a story about young people who are making a difference in the wine industry. Bieler is a French-reared vintner who paired with buddies on this side of the Atlantic back in 2002 to box and jug premium Napa grapes and wine they got at ridiculously low prices. Perhaps you’ve seen the selection at BevMo! or Safeway?

Jug Circle K Ranch Pinot Noir has all the dried berries and complexity of a solid pinot noir, with lower alcohol than most of its bottle counterparts (13 percent) at only $10.99. Drink this with Trader Joe’s whole wheat roasted vegetable lasagna, and impress all your friends. The Bandit California Cabernet Sauvignon in the purple carton has all the dark fruit and medium tannins you expect from Cali cabs, for $9.99.

Contrary to what the article said, I know top wine critics who drink and write about this wine regularly. It’s good stuff. And it’s not only millennials and seniors who buy the stuff. On the flip side, it’s people like us who are looking for food-friendly stuff for a Wednesday night. Cheers.

My colleague Blanca Torres did a story on Trader Joe’s on Sunday, and some readers are posting to her blog about Charles Shaw wine. Two readers said that they pour the stuff into more expensive bottles of wine and serve it at parties, unbeknowst to their guests. One of the readers called the more expensive labels ‘rip-off’ wines. My comments, if you will:

- Don’t mislead your guests. There are vessels to pour wine in to prior to serving it. They even have a chemical function. Decanters and carafes not only help the wines open up and improve the taste, but they are a classy, incognito way of serving your wine.

- Decanting a wine can actually make a $2 wine taste like an $8-$10 bottle. It’s a great secret among sommeliers. Try it.

- Calling a more expensive wine a rip off is just silly. Wines that cost more, by and large, are made by smaller operations and in smaller production quantities. The grapes cost more and the wines are typically of more premium quality.

- If you increased your wine budget by even a $1 or $2, you’d be surprised what better bargains abound down the aisle from Two Buck Chuck. Trader Joe’s sells excellent sparklings from Germany (great with brunch) for $3.99. Their private label wines, most run under $6, are impressive too. That’s practically all my parents drink.

- Lastly, Charles Shaw is not an illegitimate product. They have a fully functioning winery in the Napa Valley but keep their costs down by not operating a tasting room or public space.

Have I mentioned the Oakley Five Reds yet? It’s $5.99 and heavenly. Picked up a bottle last night from Walnut Creek BevMo! and cracked it open with some rotelle tossed with tomatoes, spinach, pinenuts, garlic and olive oil. Oh, it’s a Cline wine btw.

A few years ago, I sampled some amazingly meaty wines at Rancho Arroyo Grande Winery & Vineyard, a small barnyard of a winery in rural San Luis Obispo County. I regret never buying the wine (why do we do that?) and recently found it online.

It’s called Wild Game Blends, on the River Wild Winery label. They make wine for hunters but if you eat meat, you too can drink like an American, right?

Anyway, my favorite is the Venison Blend, it’s Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc and it’s bold enough to go with antelope. I think I’ll have it with meatballs.

They also make a Trout Blend, Turkey Blend and Waterfowl. Check em out: www.riverwildwinery.com.

You can’t call yourself a wine enthusiast if you haven’t visited Paso Robles. I lived in San Luis Obispo from 2002 to 2004 and consider that area the foundation of my love affair with wine.

This weekend’s 14th annual Zinfandel Festival was my first trip back in over a year. The growth in that short amount of time astounds me. Not only is Paso Robles officially the state’s third largest wine region (there are 100 wineries and counting), but the quality has not been sacrified in light of accolades and a lot of media attention (a PBS reality show on winemakers there is in the works, more on that to come).

Neither has the down-home hospitality and overall farmer spirit. There is class, not snobbery. A few wineries have incorporated tasting fees, but it’s still for a purpose (a glass; 10 tastes) and is often waived if you make a purchase.

I recommend hitting Highway 46 West, which starts at the ocean off Highway 1 and spills into what I’m convinced is the most beautiful land in California. It pops you out at Hwy. 101.

To be honest, I couldn’t find one thing I liked better about tasting in Napa. Here are 12 wineries you won’t want to miss in Paso:

Castoro Cellars: "Dam Fine" Zins.

Eberle Winery: Don’t miss the complimentary cave tours.

Four Vines Winery: Young winemakers doing forward-thinking blends with hip names. Try the "Anarchy."

JanKris Winery: Almond Champagne that’s actually not too sweet and only $12. They also have a cafe!

J. Lohr Vineyards & Winery: The 2001 Cabernet Sauvingon is in my Top 5.

Justin Vineyards & Winery: So is their 2001 cab. Beautiful grounds with an inn and restaurant.

Martin & Weyrich Winery: Stunning orange muscato.

Mastantuono Winery: Ditto on the raspberry champagne.

Peachy Canyon Winery: The Incredible Red is a best seller at Trader Joe’s.

Stephen’s Cellars: Organically-grown grapes. At $16, the Pinot’s a steal.

Tablas Creek: Also organic, and fabulous.

Wild Horse Winery and Vineyards: One of the all-time favorite merlots.

For more info., go to www.pasowine.com.

Let’s take a moment of silence to celebrate with our East Coast food and wine kin. After more than 30 years of bragging about our favorite affordable, Polynesian-themed gourmet grocery store, New York City is getting a Trader Joe’s.

No more rubbing it in their faces. They can now get Two Buck Chuck, wild blueberry juice and Valrhona chocolates like the best of us. The store will open on March 17 down the street from a Whole Foods and not far from the City’s own household grocery names, Zabar’s, Sahadi’s, Agata & Valentina. To them, we say good luck.

Recently, a friend mentioned that he needed to pick up a bottle of wine for his parent’s anniversary dinner — “a special occasion.”

That’s when it occurred to me: People still think of wine like Hallmark cards. Meanwhile, I’m drinking the stuff with popcorn (sprinkled with pepper), Chinese take-out and frozen pizza. When I visit a friend’s, it’s not uncommon for us to pop some break ‘n’ bake Tollhouse chocolate chocolate chip cookies in the oven and wash them down with that half-bottle of merlot.

Wine is a lifestyle, so when you’re into it, you drink it with everything, not just filet mignon, and certainly not just on a fancy date. Try it. Here are some of my favorite snack wines. They’re all around $10. 

Smoking Loon Pinot Noir: Everything.
Papio: Any cheese.
Robert Mondavi Grand Reserve: I like this one with nuts and olives.
Coppola Claret: Brownies, people, brownies.
Bonny Doon Dry Reisling: Try it with the Trader Joe’s Crab Cakes or Chickenless Nuggets, with a sweet and sour dip, like the kind from McDonald’s.

Could there be any better combination than art and wine? Yeah, I guess there IS wine and Reese’s pieces. If you haven’t tried it, you must.

Anyway, art and wine works for me because, with time, they can both be exponentially rewarding. The longer you spend with a painting, the more you notice the intentions of the artist, however understated, much like a smooth Bordeaux, or deliberate, like a big Aussie cab. Those of you at last week’s sold-out Dozen Rosé event know what I’m talking about.

Not only are pink wines hot hot hot right now, but about 150 of us got to swirl and sample some of the industry’s best while viewing the "The Kennedy Years" photo exhibit at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek: There was baby John Jr., dressed in the same christening gown his father wore years before. (P.S.: The chocolate-dipped strawberries weren’t bad, either).

Among the 12 wineries, Lang & Reed and Roederer Estate were buzzing the most. I kept going back for more of the latter’s 1999 L’Ermitage Rosé, not only because it was $72 and most of us would never pay that for a rosé, but because of its lasting fruit tart taste. It also tasted really good with smoked salmon, which was flowing all night.

Bonny’s Doon’s Big House Pink was a hit, though that’s nothing new. The surprise of the night (you ALWAYS learn something new at a wine event) was the Susana Balbo, which is made from Torrontés, a Northern Spanish varietal I’d never heard of. Recent DNA testing reveals its origin as a hybrid of Muscat and Criolla Chica, better known as the Mission grape.

Don’t you just love art?