Four-Buck Chuck.

There is a lot going on with this wine; trendy packaging, organic grapes, innovative closure, infamy.  What it doesn't have going on is complexity.  This is a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck, or rather Four-Buck Chuck ($3.99, to be exact, at Trader Joe's), Bronco Wine Company's Charles Shaw ultra value-priced vino.
The biggest selling point of this bottle of wine, perhaps, for those who care about such things, is that it is made from organic grapes. It seems that organic has become a synonym for quality nowadays.  As compared to most other wines that I drink, that are not made from organic grapes, does this wine taste different?  Better?  This is a four dollar wine, people.  Now, if this plonk was produced by a perceived premium winery the fact that it was made from organic fruit may count for something.  Instead, I'm quite sure this wine was produced in 50,000 gallon (or larger) silos.  Whose taste buds are that good to make such a distinction?  Not mine.
My WhiffsNotes for the Shaw Rosé 2017 are; nondescript on the nose except for a generic berry component; Kool-Aid-y berry-ness on the palate; acceptable acid; slight bitterness on the finish.  A beautiful pale, pale salmon, it is a shame that one can't taste colour.  (Or can one?  Synaesthesia?)  Undrinkable?  On the contrary, think a hot summer's day, afternoon garden party, giant galvanised trough of iced wine bottles, good conversation.  Drinkable?  Abso-freakin-lutely!  Besides, one sometimes has to drink the cheap stuff to understand why the good stuff is so, well, good.

A White House whitewash.

When British Prime Mininster David Cameron sits down to break bread with the American President, at a state dinner in Washington DC this evening, we the people will have no clue as to what wines are paired with each course.
At a time when the entire US economy is suffering, not just the sales of domestic wines, the White House has decided to forgo the long tradition of disclosing the identities of the wines that are served at state dinners, including those that will be poured at tonight's repast.  Instead, the menu details released to the press simply stated "an American wine will be paired with each course." Rather than using this occasion to showcase American wineries, agriculture and the inherent tourism that goes along with the wine industry, the current administration has decided to keep mum as it does not want to be seen as elitist, or insensitive to the plight of the average American.  Let's not forget that in 2011 grape sales alone in the Napa Valley amounted to some $412,000,000 - that's a huge injection of dead presidents into the economy.  By pandering to the pressure of those who perceive a state dinner as a snobby, let them eat cake moment (paired with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, perhaps?), the White House has deprived individual US vintners of a valuable marketing opportunity to promote those wines chosen.
Elitist?  Well I know that I, for one, cannot afford to buy a $400 bottle of wine, but somebody can.  And that somebody is instrumental in keeping thousands of Americans (and foreign nationals, e.g. me) employed in the Napa Valley's wine industry alone.
Selective transparency at it's best.  Clear as mud!