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You are here: Home / Cheap Wine - Red / Cabernet Sauvignon / Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon

Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon

June 6, 2012 by Domaine Dave 12 Comments

74580$2.69, that’s right a $2.69 California Cabernet Sauvignon. The Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage Aldi’s exclusive, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s and while Bronco Wines produces their low end wine, Charles Shaw (2 Buck Chuck, actually $2.99 in Illinois), Aldi’s bargain wine, Winking Owl, is produced by E & J Gallo. It is sourced from vineyards through out all of California, Gallo is the world’s largest winery and has access to a vast amount of grapes. The back of the bottle mentions flavors of “toasted oak and a hint of vanilla,” which would indicate some sort of oak aging, at $2.69 per bottle, oak barrels are probably out of the question, so oak chips or staves were probably added to the stainless steel aging tanks to give the Cabernet a little extra flavor. Ten years ago I was wary of $10 bottles of wine, you didn’t know what you were going to get, it was very hit or miss, today the average ten buck wine is a solid and enjoyable. Three years ago, I dreaded drinking $5 wine, there were some strange bottles out there, today I can think of 10 $5 bottles that I would recommend to friends. That takes us to the last cheap wine frontier, the $3 and under wines. This Cabernet Sauvignon has an alcohol content of a relatively mild 12%.

The color is cherry red in the center and it gets progressively lighter as it reaches the sides of the glass. The nose is strawberry fruit roll-ups, spearmint chewing gum and a very faint whiff of baking brownies. A very soft wine, there are no hard edges here. It starts off with strawberry and then blueberry, followed by a little non fizzy cola. There is a hint of chocolate and vanilla on the mid palate, with a late dash of sour cranberry. There really isn’t a finish, the main body of the wine goes on for a while then abruptly ends.

This really isn’t a Cabernet Sauvignon, if Merlot was on the label you wouldn’t notice any difference. What it is, is a very drinkable, very inexpensive bottle of Red wine. It is slightly on the sweet side and the tannins are missing, so there is not a ton of structure, but it has a nice mix of flavors and no “off” flavor or odd textures. I can think of a couple of $5 wines that are far better wines, so the Winking Owl isn’t a home run, but it would make a very useful party wine. A couple of cases would get the party started for a wedding party on a budget or a backyard anniversary party.

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Filed Under: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheap Wine < $10, Cheap Wine - Red Tagged With: ALDI, California, cheap wine, E & J Gallo

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Comments

  1. dianne says

    January 22, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    Where can I purchase Winking Owl wine in Orange CA

  2. english says

    April 18, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    This is my first time pay a visit at here and i am genuinely impressed
    to read all at one place.

  3. Sandra streets says

    January 23, 2017 at 9:30 am

    I discovered winking owl cab a couple years ago. Buying one bottle, I was skeptical. To my surprise, I found it pretty good for under three dollars. I went back to buy several. Working in the resturant business for over thirty years, I’ve tasted and had many wines. Of course, there are better at higher prices, but I’ve had some that have turned bad. I’ve turned friends on to this cab, so for informal parties when you’re on a buget,this is a plus and I’ve never got a headache from it. Once I got a horrible headache from Rothschild … Go figure

  4. Bobby McKnight says

    March 11, 2017 at 10:06 pm

    Great very drinkable if you’re not into wine that much.

  5. Norma Delgado says

    March 7, 2018 at 3:21 am

    Where can I purchase winking owl wine in Orange, Ca.

  6. Domaine Dave says

    March 7, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    Its an ALDI exclusive

  7. Sandra says

    February 5, 2019 at 8:45 pm

    where can I purchase Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon, in Rochester NY 14624

  8. Domaine Dave says

    February 5, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    It’s an ALDI exclusive

  9. Tom says

    August 24, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    I picked up a bottle of this at my local Aldi yesterday thinking that the worst that could happen was that I was 3 bucks poorer. The reviewer nailed this one except for the “This really isn’t a Cabernet Sauvignon” part. It’s different from your typical California Cab, but very much like Washington Columbia Valley Cabs.

  10. FRANK DARIENZO says

    October 15, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    CAN I BUY IT BUY THE CASE OR GALINS

  11. Domaine Dave says

    October 15, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    It is available only at an ALDI store, I am sure they can get you all you need

  12. chris g tucker says

    October 17, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    Here in Tampa Florida, we have plenty of ALDI stores. I buy this wine, and also the Merlot from Winking Owl. Both are very good tasting wines, especially for the money.
    I hit the roof once when a 15 dollar bottle did not go down as cleanly as a bottle of this 2.99 wine.

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