Vola

Well, this was supposed to have text attached but apparently the emailed text didn't get through, so here's what should have accompanied the image:

In grad school, we drank a lot of $2 Chuck. It's a drinkable table wine at a drinkable price, and on a grad student budget, it's wonderful. But now that we're in AZ, $2 Chuck is $3 Chuck! I know! A travesty against good taste and all of God's creation!

While I'd happily pay $2 for Chuck, once i"m paying $3, I might as well pay $5 and get the Goat (Chateau Julian - a fantastic French red). Our local TJs has started carrying a new $2 wine under the name Vola. It's connected to the d'Aquino wines and comes in a red (Sangiovese) and white (Pinot Grigio). Our store does wine tasting from 2-5 and most recently was sampling both Volas. (I'm all in favor of wine tasting, for free, at a supermarket. Except for this wine I haven't found anything I've really liked and had to buy, but I have had the opportunity to cross several bottles off of my list that I had been considering).

For $2, it's fantastic. Less jammy and sweet than recent vintages of Shaw seem to be (sad that I remember 2000 and 2001 as being really "good" years). A little drier and a bit more complex, or as complex as a $2 bottle of wine can be. All in all, a good find and one I'll definitely buy again. Sticking to the classy nature of cheap wine, we're drinking this out of tumblers b/c the apt doesn't have wine glasses.