Since my last post on Wal-Mart wine, two commenters have indicated that Oak Leaf Vineyards is part of The Wine Group and not Gallo, as I had indicated. From Cheap Wine Critics:
It has been indicated that the industry should keep an eye on a player that just entered the field last year, Oak Leaf Vineyards, a brand of The Wine Group in San Francisco…
The wine is Oak Leaf and it sells for the amazingly low price of $2.97. Because of federal wine laws and other considerations, the Wal-Mart name will not appear on the label, but Oak Leaf is exclusive to them and will only be available at Wal-Mart stores.
AFAYK, I haven’t purchased copious amounts and the Wife doesn’t drink it. From The Wine Curmudgeon:
Oak Leaf Vineyards, run by the negociant firm The Wine Group, has won a bunch of medals, including a gold for its chardonnay, at several recent wine competitions. It’s available only at Wal-Marts that sell wine for $1.97 in California and $2.97 elsewhere. I have not tasted this brand, but will do so and report back. The Wine Group is best known for buying the Big House labels from Randall Grahm a couple of years ago.
I have been drinking this brand of wine for almost a year. To me it is a good inexpensive wine. In todays economy if you drink wine with dinner each night it is economical and it has a great taste
This wine is very good! Big suprise at the low price of $1.97 a bottle. I have only trid the white wine because I have no interest in red. Would like to know how the red wine love would rate this.
AFAYK, the Wife doesn’t drink it. But if she did, she’d be very fond of the Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay blend, the Chardonnay not so much. And she would also like the Cab Sav over the Merlot. I regret that I am only able to talk about beer.
In this case, you get what you pay for. I hated the cork substitute they used and the wine itself left a lot to be desired. Better to put the money towards a mid-range wine and not insult your taste buds.
I’m still trying to find a good red wine.
It is what you make it I have had more positive comments on this wine than negative. Just type Oak leaf in to the search bar on my site. It is the most hit wine on my site. Cheap Wine Critics I would say people feel cheap when they drink cheap. So dump it in to a empty bottle of Faustino V Reserva 2003.
Oak Leaf Vineyards (Ripon, Calif.) does not really exist as such; instead it is a production facility of The Wine Group, Inc. Oak Leaf wine is the private label non-vintage wine marketed by The Wine Group (the box wine people) only to Wal-Mart stores. (Not E&J Gallo as some reviews contend.) Headquartered in San Francisco (about 70 miles west of Ripon), The Wine Group’s labels include such well known brands as Corbett Canyon, Inglenook, Mogen David, Franzia, Almaden and Glen Ellen wines. The firm recently relocated their operations center from San Francisco to Livermore, Calif., about mid-way between San Francisco and Ripon. Privately held, The Wine Group was once part of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York. And being privately held, its operation and products are kept pretty much secret. It doesn’t even have a corporate website, although it does have brand-related sites. Strange for the second largest wine producer in California (more than 40 million cases produced annually), second only to Gallo. Oak Leaf wines are very similar to Bronco’s Charles Shaw wines (affectionately nicknamed “Two Buck Chuck”) which sells for $1.99 at Trader Joe’s stores. Headquartered in Monrovia, Calif., Trader Joe’s 300 stores has sold millions of cases of what the trade calls “extreme value wines.” Due to transportation charges to outlying states, the price can be a dollar more. The Charles Shaw label is a brand of the Bronco Wine Company (Ceres, Calif.) owned by John and Fred Franzia (formerly of Franzia Brothers wines.) The Franzias (nephews of Ernest Gallo) sold the Franzia brand name to The Wine Group and started Bronco Wines and they are competitors. The Franzia family, which now has no relationship to Franzia brand boxed wine, has made wine in California for over 100 years. Bronco is California’s third largest wine producer. Oak Leaf Vineyards (which doesn’t even have its own telephone number) is one of hundreds of wine brands bottled by The Wine Group in Ripon. It does not release the private labels of the wines it makes but there are many. Oak Leaf wines come in five varietals: Cabenet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay and White Zinfandel. The standard 750-ml bottles with an artificial cork have an elegant label that shows four seasonal oak trees, one for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. We are not one to place a lot of importance on awards since it seems all wineries get them. But Oak Leaf Vineyards did win a gold medal at the prestigious Florida State International Wine Competition and Silver and Bronze at the 2008 San Francisco Wine Competition. Incredible for a $3 wine! And the Summer-2008 edition of “O at Home” magazine (an Oprah Winfrey publication) featured Oak Leaf wine on its cover with the tag line: “The $3 bottle of wine that will blow you away.” On page 19, they picture Oak Leaf Chardonnay and call it “The steal of the season.” I like the Cabernet Sauvignon best myself. It is a full favored, medium body wine with a fruity aroma of berry, spice, vanilla and oak …pretty smooth and no unpleasant aftertaste. This is not a sophisticated wine but a terrific value at $2.97. Wine snobs won’t like it because it is inexpensive and comes from Wal-Mart. But the fact is that it is better than one would expect. I certainly have had $10-$15 French wine far worse. Wal-Mart sells out of it fast, so I buy several bottles whenever they have it. So far, it has been consistently good …a problem with low price wines. (One bottle may be good, the next not so good.) The Oak Leaf brand is perfect for an everyday wine to compliment dine-in dinner and snacks on the patio. Goes with almost anything. I rate it an “80″ out of 100.