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Robert Berning

Under California law at the time, there were fair trade provisions for alcoholic beverages which made it illegal to sell wines at a cheaper price than branded competitors, such as Gallo's.

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Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe's, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that Berning was brought into the company's main office in 1970 because he had expressed interest in wines.

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For example, the popularity of Charles Shaw wines, which has been nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck" for its $1.99 price.

see also