Blame The Economy: Two-Buck Chuck From Trader Joe's No Longer $2

It's the end of the world as we know it: the beloved $2 wines from Trader Joe's, the Two-Buck Chuck varieties, will no longer be $2. 

Now coined the "Upchuck" or "Inflation Chuck," the $1.99 Two-Buck Chuck isn't going to cost that much more. The price increase? From $1.99 to $2.49. (Still, it's the principle right?) As first reported by the Press Democrat in San Francisco, the price increase is due to trouble in the vineyards. Bronco Wine Co., the parent company of Charles Shaw wine brand (and Two-Buck Chuck) said to the Press Democrat that a poor grape harvest in 2010 and 2011 made the price of grapes rise. "If there's one grape too many, the price dips... If there's one grape too few, the price zips up," explained Bronco Wine Co.'s representative Harvey Posert. 

A spokesperson for Trader Joe's said the $1.99 price of Two-Buck Chuck stayed the same for 11 years, a remarkable feat considering the ups and downs of the economy. "In general, our retail prices change only when our costs change," Alison Mochizuki, director of public relations for Trader Joe's, said in an email to the Press Democrat. "... Quite a bit has happened during those years and the move to $2.49 allows us to offer the same quality that has made the wine famous the world over."

Of course, people are pretty upset about the higher cost; however, the Two-Buck Chuck isn't exactly $2 all over the country. East Coast winos are used to a Three-Buck Chuck — so suck it up, West Coasters. We all have to face reality at some point.