At this point, we all know the Trader Joe’s business model right?
Like most grocery stores, Trader Joe’s makes a heck of a lot more money on their own brands, vs the brands made by someone else. Generally speaking, those private brands come with a profit margin of about 10%. Everything else in the store? It’s about 2%.
Which yeah, sucks.
So Trader Joe’s pretty much only stocks their own branded items and it’s made them a superstar in the grocery category.
That also means, their wine section ends up being mostly American wines. After all, it’s a hell of a lot more complicated to source wine overseas, transport it, bottle it and then transport it again to each store, before selling it.
Buying a wine domestically means, bottling it, transporting it and selling it.
Which is why their annual offer of a Trentarte Rosso, such a big hit. It’s a third of Cabernet Sauvignon, a third of Merlot and a third of Montepulciano (which is basically the Italian version of Syrah).
It’s a damn good wine and shows off someone’s sourcing skills at Trader Joe’s
Uncorked Ventures Wine Club 