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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2005 > December > 15 > Entry
Trader Joe’s Pulls Italian White Off Store Shelves Nationwide
Trader Joe’s — which had pulled its Chiaro del Bastardo Italian white wine from the shelves of its Ohio stores after “Uncorkedâ€? raised questions about two apparently different batches that were bottled under the same label — has expanded that action to all of its stores nationwide, a TJ’s spokeswoman said Thursday.
The action came two days after a Ventura, California reader of “Uncorkedâ€? found what he identified as “two distinctly different-colored Bastardos exactly as the article describedâ€? on the shelf of his local Trader Joe’s in Ventura. The reader’s comment was posted on “Uncorked” Tuesday morning (12-13-05).
“We thought the issue was isolated to the Ohio market and that is why we started there,� said Trader Joe’s spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said in an e-mail response to questions. But now, she said, “the wine has been pulled in all markets.�
Reached by telephone Thursday afternoon, Mochizuki …
…declined to say whether the action is temporary or permanent or what prompted it, saying she would not comment beyond her e-mailed responses. When Trader Joe’s initially pulled the wines from its Ohio stores a week ago, a company vice president suggested the action was temporary until the company could gather information from the wine’s supplier in Italy.
“What we found is that the blend of grapes of the darker colored Chiaro del Bastardo Bianco is not what we initially approved, although there is nothing wrong, qualitatively, with the darker blend …,â€? Mochizuki said in her e-mail.
Trader Joe’s operates more than 200 stores in 19 states and has emerged as a national leader in retail wine sales in part because of the popularity of its line of Charles Shaw “Two-Buck Chuck� wines.
By the way: In its “Fearless Flyer” catalog that touts the Chiaro del Bastardo, Trader Joe’s points out that Chiaro “means light or clear in Italian.”
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Note: for an update on what the winery owner and winemaker who made the Chiaro has to say on this topic, check out this follow-up entry on Uncorked.
Photos by Jim Witmer
Comments
By Giampiero alias Aristide
December 19, 2005 6:17 PM | Link to this
Mark, compliments! I’m writing on my blog here in Italy about your story (www.aristide.biz). I can’t find any news in Italy about “Marchesi di Montecristo” brand: probably it is a “private label” or something similar. Cheers. GiampieroBy Megan H
December 19, 2005 11:12 AM | Link to this
I’ve been following this blog topic since the beginning - I must say not only congrats to Mark for great detective work, but congrats to all for the quite remarkable and insightful commenting. It’s been very informative and I have certainly learned a lot from the TJ controversy.By Ecots
December 18, 2005 10:30 PM | Link to this
Hey Paula, maybe you ought to visit this site more than once before you go making unfounded accusations.By Jimmy O
December 18, 2005 5:22 PM | Link to this
Re the comment about storage conditions, another cause of oxidation (which could result in wines from the same case / bottling being so different) is “random oxidation” caused by a batch of faulty corks, which fail to create a barrier to oxygen.By Cynthia
December 18, 2005 9:02 AM | Link to this
Wow, Mark you’re a regular Ralph Nader for the wine community! What’s your next cause?By cathy
December 18, 2005 8:47 AM | Link to this
PaulaS: I believe that your accusation is unfounded. Mark posts comments whether he agrees or disagrees. Please read the entire Trader Joe’s series (which began Dec 2), and all the comments posted before bashing. Thanks!By Mark Fisher
December 17, 2005 7:50 AM | Link to this
Paula: I think taking a little tour of this web site and reading the comments on my posts will give you some insight into whether — as you suggest — I screen out all of the comments that disagree with what I have written. Cheers! Mark FisherBy PaulaS
December 17, 2005 12:06 AM | Link to this
Interesting. I notice you moderate/approve. Is that a media term for “screen”? Do you screen out anything positive about these issues or are all your postings in favor of an obviously biased and self-serving “reporter”? Below the comments: “Commenting on this blog is moderated. Your blog will wait in a queue for approval by an administrator.” What a joke. Great “reporting” Mark!By Randy
December 16, 2005 10:17 PM | Link to this
With my karma points being at an all-time high, I’d like to add another note. Brownish white wine can never be the same as pale straw , greenish tinted white wine of the same type. Period. Who are these people trying to kid? Sad to say, but the TJ spokesperson doesn’t know her bonnet from her shoe. As I pointed out in my previous response, bottling is a continuous process where a blended tank(s) is bottled. 5 gallons or 500,000 gallons, the process yields cases containing virtually identical bottles. Finding mixed bottles from the same source at the same time in the same case is almost impossible. There is a remote possibility that one of the purging devices (the things that remove as much oxygen as possible from the bottles & the wine) might have malfunctioned. Regardless, brown white wine is bad (by definition), pale green is the ideal colour for this type (look at the other like wines)(& actually the paler the better). This is not a type where colour (short of clear) of any sort is an asset.By Crush
December 16, 2005 12:54 PM | Link to this
Funny…I went to TJ’s last night, and picked up a few Italian whites to taste, before my trip to Tuscany. I selected vintages that were very pale in color, just because that’s what I usually prefer in a white. But I paid no attention to the label other than the fact that it was Italian. So when I read this article, I raced outside to see what vintages I had actually purchased. I was relieved to see that I had not purchased any “Bastardo”..but I had to laugh. It’s early in the morning here, and I ran out in my nightgown. Cheers from California! -CrushBy Ken Dixon
December 16, 2005 12:51 PM | Link to this
So, Mark—— The two wines have different blends of grapes. Chiaro means light and clear in Italian> Bastardo means ??? in Italian? It’s great to have a writer from the midwest tell a national chain about their wine problems. Keep up the good reporting!!By Craig Camp
December 16, 2005 11:50 AM | Link to this
Great work - very nice to see journalism being applied to wine reporting for a change. Is appears from the photo that the darker wine is showing oxidation as it has a decided brownish cast to it. Is this the case? If so, How can Trader Joe’s argue that there is not a quality problem. In my experience the most common reason for such a problem is keeping inventory too long in improper conditions - or that the wine was just crap to begin with. Once again, great reporting Mark!By Dr. Vino
December 16, 2005 11:26 AM | Link to this
Congratulations! The power of the blog!By Tom Wark
December 15, 2005 11:23 PM | Link to this
Clearly Mark you get the award for the most impactful wine blog post of the year. Well done!!!By jens at cincinnati wine
December 15, 2005 9:59 PM | Link to this
I was thinking of asking you o come down to visit my store in Cincinnati, but maybe now I could visit you up in Dayton instead! But seriously, nice job, and I think Trader Joes should be commended for doing the right thing. Have you heard anything more about Tonys Wine Warehouse in Dallas? jens at cincinnati wine warehouse, no relation to Tony’s