Fred Franzia’s Silent Partner, Two Buck Chuck

There was time, not long ago, that enjoying wine with dinner was a luxury. A bottle of decent wine was not something seen on the dinner tables of middle America, even though many European families commonly had a glass or bottle of regional wine with meals. In 2002, a feisty vintner from California’s great Central Valley embarked on an effort to change that. Fred Franzia, co-owner of Bronco Wines, bought an existing label and turned the quiet Charles Shaw brand into the blockbuster Two Buck Chuck.

Fred Franzia is a third generation vintner, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Giuseppe Franzia who immigrated to California in the late 1890s. Unlike Giuseppe who had to scrape and save to plant his first modest vineyard, Fred Franzia brought a lifetime of experience to the established family vineyard. He could have chosen the safe and familiar path, one that was already established by the famed Napa Valley tradition. But, the only tradition that whispered in Fred Franzia’s ear echoed from his family’s past – hard earned success that spanned world wars, the Prohibition Era and the Great Depression.

Two Buck Chuck Goes for the Gold

That voice told Franzia his wines were destined to be different. Fred Franzia long pronounced that good wine does not have to be expensive. When Franzia’s Two Buck Chuck lined the shelves of Trader Joe’s stores across the West, that distinction resonated with customers and raised the eyebrows of high-brow wine critics. How could any wine that cost $1.99 a bottle be good? Happily, customers were the first to respond by buying Two Buck Chuck, not by the bottle, but by the case.

The critics, however, remained skeptical. Now way, they said, can a decent and drinkable wine sell for Two Bucks and provide a profit for the seller and the producer. Again, Fred Franzia proved them wrong. Two Buck Chuck was not only popular with the public who finally found it affordable and very satisfying, Two Buck Chuck went for the gold and won!

The Charles Shaw Chardonnay–aka Two Buck Chuck – achieved 98 points in the 2007 wine competition at the California Exposition and State Fair. That earned Two Buck Chuck and Fred Franzia a double gold medal. The chardonnay was also judged Best in Class and Best in California. In 2005, the Two Buck Chuck chardonnay also won Best in Class and before that, Fred Franzia’s daring 2002 Shiraz received another double gold medal when it was chosen from among 2,300 competing wines at the 28th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition.

Fred Franzia further upset the wine barrel when Bronco was named Winery of the Year by the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium for two consecutive years.

Two Buck Chuck Flies off Shelves

Although there are still critics who can’t accept Fred Franzia’s philosophy about the terms “affordable and drinkable” belonging in the same sentence, the marketplace begs to disagree. Two Buck Chuck became the fastest selling wine in the nation. In California, Two Buck Chuck lives up to its name while in some other states the same wine sells for slightly more but is still referred to by a similar endearing term – perhaps Three Buck Chuck or Four Buck Chuck.

Introduced to the market in 2002, Fred Franzia knew he had a winner and went about producing more varieties to sell under the Two Buck Chuck moniker. Now, consumers can chose a Shiraz, chardonnay, White Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pino Grigio or a Beaujolais style named Valdigue.

Franzia Philosophy 101

The remarkable success of Two Buck Chuck wines sold exclusively through Trader Joe’s Markets is a reflection of Fred Franzia’s personal philosophy. He is the most outspoken partner in Bronco Wines that owns at least 35,000 acres that cuts a swath across the Central Valley from near Sacramento to the foothills north of Los Angeles. Fred Franzia’s partners are his brother, Joe and cousin John. Together, they’ve upheld the Franzia tradition and turned it into a dynasty of winemaking, bottling and marketing.

When it was introduced, Two Buck Chuck was a cutting edge concept: good wine didn’t have to be exclusive and, therefore, expensive. Fred Franzia, a man known for speaking his mind, was unafraid to challenge conventional thought and practices. Consequently, people of modest means can now enjoy a decent bottle of wine with a home cooked meal at a price that’s less than some bottles of water.

Among the charms of Two Buck Chuck is its presentation. It doesn’t come in a box that veritably shouts “cheap” and the appropriate varieties are corked – there’s no screw cap that still rings of bottom-of-the-barrel wine.

Spreading the Wealth

Market analysts say that Two Buck Chuck may, in part, take credit for the rise in wine sales over the course of its popularity. In other Words, Fred Franzia not only helped the common man and woman raise a toast at dinner, he also helped the industry as more people became interested in wine.

When Two Buck Chuck celebrated its 5th anniversary, Fred Franzia announced a new challenge to the wine industry. Now that people can buy affordable wine for drinking at home, Franzia said it’s time for restaurants to get on board and offer an affordable bottle of wine to diners. Bottles of wine are characteristically more than $25 at restaurants and Fred Franzia suggests that everyone could make money with a $10 bottle of wine that tastes just fine. “We would like to see a pioneering restaurant chain work with us to do the same thing for their patrons as Trader Joe’s did …” with Two Buck Chuck, he said.

Building the Future

Fred Franzia isn’t holding his breath for a restaurateur to make the bold move. He’s moving forward with big plans to build a state of the art bottling company in Napa, on industrial land next to the local airport. He’s planning to make it a “green” facility that employs 350 people and dramatically cuts down on trucking traffic through the world famous wine growing region.

With the success of Two Buck Chuck and Fred Franzia’s many other labels, minds are being opened and changed as the Franzia philosophy proves itself in the marketplace – A wine doesn’t have to be expensive or come from the Napa Valley to be Gold Medal good!