The BEST BUY for Cab Franc Is Finally Back!

For years one of the top selling wines at Trader Joe’s was not their “2 Buck Chuck”. It was a Cabernet Franc from the Central Coast Region of California called Lazy Bones. The bottle was distinctive with a naked woman sprawled across the label.

If you are not familiar with Cab Franc, it, along with Sauvignon Blanc, are the two parents of the most popular red wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. Cab Franc and Merlot are the two wines most often blended together with Cabernet Sauvignon for the great Bordeaux wines. It is growing in popularity as a varietal wine, i.e. made from just one grape variety. I am planning a blog post on Cab Franc that will dive deeper into the wines made using this grape.

In my red wine recommendations Lazy Bones always got the highest recommendation as a terrific wine for under $8.00. But for over two years there has been no Lazy Bones on the shelves at Trader Joe’s. When asked, the staff would look it up on the computer where the answer was always “We are waiting for the next shipment”. I finally drank the last bottle of it I had in my cellar a couple of months ago and was resigned never to see it again.

This wine is finally back on the shelf at Trader Joe’s, bot ONLY the ones that are allowed to sell alcoholic beverages. I live in Montgomery County, MD which has the worst liquor licensing in the country, so none of our Trader Joe’s are allowed to sell wines. I have to drive 30 minutes to Virginia to get to a Trader Joe’s that sells wine. The label is slightly different, as shown in the picture above which is courtesy of my son Jon, with a drape now across the lounging lady on the label.

I strongly encourage you to find the closest Trader Joe’s store that sells wine and give this a try. The price varies between $7.88 to $8.99 depending on where you live, and I will put this wine up against any wine at double that price. But when my son Jon saw it at their store in Arlington, VA, he immediately got me a case. The odds makers in Los Vegas are very sure that if you try a bottle you will make it priority to get back to Trader Joe’s for a case of this wine.

It has had a very strong following with Trader Joe’s customers. As mentioned above, it was consistently one of their top selling wines. There is a very good chance that the first shipments will sell out quickly to people like me restocking their cellar. If you don’t see it one the shelf, ask at the Wine Counter if they have any available. If not, they can tell you when their next shipment is expected to arrive. Many of the stores will take your contact information and put whatever number of bottles that you want aside behind that counter and call you that it is waiting for you to pick it up.

Trader Joe’s has a number of other very good wines at good prices. Below are links to my earlier posts on recommendations of wine bargains.

Bill’s 10 Red House Wines Under $15 – https://billwinetravelfood.com/2022/02/14/wine-bills-red-house-wines-under-15/

10 Favorite White Wines for Under $15 – https://billwinetravelfood.com/2022/03/13/wine-ten-favorite-white-wines-under-15/

14 Recommended Rose wines for under $20 – https://billwinetravelfood.com/2023/06/02/rose-wine-my-14-favorites/

It is great to see this wine back at Trader Joe’s. I only hope that it will be consistently on their shelves for years to come.