Trader Joe’s will sell wine at all of its Colorado stores starting in March

Trader Joe’s will begin selling wine at all eight of its Colorado locations in March, a result of eased restrictions on retail wine sales that passed in November.

“I can confirm we plan to sell wine in all of our Colorado Trader Joe’s stores beginning in March 2023,” said Nakia Rohde, public relations manager with the California-based retailer, via email.

Proposition 125 permits grocery and convenience stores currently licensed to sell beer, of which there were 1,819 licensees in 2019, to also sell wine starting on March 1. The ballot measure was tightly contested, ending up passing by about 28,000 votes out of 2.43 million votes cast, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.

Two decades ago, Trader Joe’s started providing bottles of wine costing $2, known as “Two Buck Chuck” under the Charles Shaw label from The Broncos Wine Co., which is affiliated with the Franzia family. The $2 price per bottle has risen because of inflation, but it remains one of the better bargains out there. The price seems to depend on the store. Blog posts and various websites have it costing from $2.99 to $3.99 in many places, with it up to $4.49 in Florida.

The retailer has two wine stores in the state, one at 790 N. Colorado Boulevard in Denver and 5338 N. Nevada Ave. in Colorado Springs. Wine will become available at six other locations in Fort Collins, Boulder, Littleton, Greenwood Village, Parker and a second store in Denver.