San Francisco, Sept 21: As Robert Mondavi Corp celebrated its annual blessing of the grapes late on Friday, investors also hoped consumers would bless the winemaker's launch of a wine label that could put some heat on cheaper rivals such as the wildly popular "Two-Buck Chuck." Oakville, California-based Mondavi, the state's largest publicly traded winemaker, is rolling out a new label that will be priced on store shelves at about $4 to $5 per bottle, a price-point encroaching on "super-value" table wines, analysts said.
Mondavi Vice President and Treasurer Bob Philipps told Reuters the Napa Valley winemaker wanted to "reach out" to value-conscious consumers with its new lost-cost wines.

Super-value wines priced around and below $3 a bottle have caught on fast with consumers, led by the Charles Shaw label of privately held Bronco Wine Co. Charles Shaw wines sell for $1.99 in certain California stores -- earning them the "Two-Buck Chuck" nickname -- and their torrid sales have spurred clones and stunned winemakers whose wines are of equal quality but carry higher price.
US winemakers have been forced to come to terms with a worldwide wine glut that has depressed retail prices, especially for red wine. Competition from foreign winemakers , especially ambitious Australian wineries making and marketing them at low prices, is intensifying. Bureau Report