There has been mention of a wine shop that carries a variety of wineries and offers much better prices. I'm not sure if it's in Napa or Sonoma, and cannot find the post. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

You may be thinking of Trader Joe's. Their selection varies from store to store, but their prices always beat the wineries' own. And there are many TJ's in CA; actually, it's such cool store, you may want to plan to stop anyway (it's a gourmet grocer, not just a wine shop). However, if you fall in love with something from a small winery, you may want to buy it on the spot rather than risk not finding it later.

I make trips to Trader Joe's at least once a week! It's a great place. You can find many Napa/Sonoma wines there for good prices. DH buys Charles Shaw two buck chuck by the case for his nightly glass of red wine for his heart.

I just enjoyed a very nice Tiramiso last night after dinner and for lunch I'm having their spianch salad with the dried cranberries, candied pecans and feta cheese with the raspberry viniagrete dressing.

Yesterday's lunch was Trader Joe's spinach and mushroom quiche which was very good. ***kim***

Kim is making me hungry!
There is also Beverages & More, also in the area-discounts not quite as deep as TJ's,yet selection is much more diverse. Both will be better than purchase at the winery, unless you run in to one of those "limited production
sold only at the winery" bottles.
R5

BevMoooooooo...BevMoooo...
www.bevmo.com/

Dean and DeLuca in St Helena had some decent wine prices but I wouldn't say "much better prices" or discount.

Trader Joes is the absolute best... but "2 buck Chuck"?...EWWWWWWWWW!!! If you need some wine to cook with, well I can see that but otherwise......

By no means am I a wine snob. In fact, I recommend that you try Deloach Zinfandel. It's $4.99 and drinks much so much.

LOL, he just purchased a case of the Charles Shaw Shiraz for medicinal purposes.

I was thinking about all of the great things we have in our house from Trader Joe's.....the lavendar lotion, gorgeous bouquets of flowers that I put in each room, the Moichi in chocolate, strawberry and green tea that son's GF loves, the garlic chicken enchiladas, the yummy dill and jalepeno sauce for my grilled salmon, but the greatest find is the Sparkling Pear Juice called the Sonoma Sparkler that I love!!

I also enjoy their chocolate seashells filled the hazelnut cream and DH loves the sesame honey cashews that he's packing to take to the Niners game this weekend!! I tried their key lime pie but found it to be too tart for my liking.

DS is in serious trouble, he stole my TJ cheesecake and took it up to the condo with him last night!! He confessed and said they were going to make strawberry topping for it. ***kim*** Oh, I also love their organic fresh-squeezed OJ and can't drink any other kind now, and they have San Pelligrino that I buy by the case.

You may be thinking of JV Wines in Napa. They have a good selection and wharehouse prices. They also have interesting tastings. Here's a list of Napa Valley wine shops:

http://www.ilovenapa.com/visitors_wi...p?orderby=name

In Calistoga there used to be a wine shop in a shopping center made of railroad cars.

In Healdsburg, the Safeway has a great selection of wines from the various wineries in the area, and the same brands are a lot cheaper than buying directly from the winery. Additionally, if you buy a case, you get an additional 10% discount. Someone also mentioned on the board a couple of years ago that if you applied for a Safeway card, you will get an additional 10% on top of the case lot 10%.

If you find something you really like, it would be worth checking into.

Budman, Trader Joe's is much more interesting than Safeway! I like a little culinary adventure when I grocery shop! LOL ***kim***

"Trader Joe's is much more interesting than Safeway! I like a little culinary adventure when I grocery shop"

Some of us have to shop at both. For wine, sometimes Safeway has even better prices than TJ's on commodity wines when they are on sale.

OK, there is a brand new Safeway in Astoria, OR that is VERY nice. Riverfront location, hardwood floors in their produce section, a fireplace and even a Starbucks. I love that Safeway! We have the club card for our extended stays there.

It's a beautiful store to shop while on vacation. ***kim*** I've found some very nice PNW wines there that I like for great prices, also.

I think the place you're looking for is near Healdsburg. I don't remeber the name and I know that doesn't help much, but it has an amazing selection of wines at very good prices. I remember seeing wines there that that I hadn't seen in many other shops. Maybe someone familiar with that area can help.

If it's in Sonoma, you're probably thinking of either The Sonoma Wine Shop @ 412 First Street East or it may be the Wine Exchange of Sonoma, www.wineexsonoma.com Both are located on the plaza.

We went in one of these on our last trip and browsed around but I can't remember the exact name of the store. Hope this helps! ***kim***

K&L or the Wine Club - both south of Market in San Francisco. Best prices, great service, huge selections. No 2 buck chuck - but someone asking about Napa or Sonoma isn't looking for 2 buck chuck. They want something drinkable.

The OP was asking for a wine shop in Sonoma or Napa not SF! LOL ***kim***

It is to our good fortune that
"2$upchuck" (as my neighbor calls it)
is neither a Sonoma or Napa county wine.
A few facts:
Not a teaspoon of the grapes in this wine are are from any Napa/Sonoma appellation.

There is no Charles Shaw winery.

It is bottled by Bronco wines-the same folks that make the Franzia box wines.
The same Fred Franzia who was forced to step down as president of Bronco and fined 3 million dollars for misidentifying grape varietals on numerous Bronco labels.

Clearly, this stuff has nothing to do with being a true representative of Napa or Sonoma county wine.

And I am a snob about misrepresentation.

There is a nifty place for incredible wine selections up in northwestern
Santa Rosa called Bottle Barn-sound familiar?
I would definetly look over the shelves
at Safeway and BevMo-T.J.'S is OK
but kind of limited, though do take a look and make up your own mind.
R5

We received this info when we were chatting with our sommelier from Erna's Elderberry House, it's old news, R5, LOL!

tinkerbride9, check out the Wine Exchange on the plaza and have lunch at girl and the fig if you go to the plaza! ***kim***

Note to friends:
Remind others never to drink in an
establishment where the sommelier
discusses Two Buck Chuck...
LOL!!!
R5