Peter Vella Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $10
Maker: Peter Vella Wines, Modesto, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 5 liter box, push-button spigot
Alcohol: 11%
Our Rating: 6 out of 10

Peter Vella Cabernet Sauvignon is an ultra-cheap box wine - we found a 5-liter box on sale for less than ten bucks. We have studiously avoided these offerings from Vella and Franzia because we’ve invariable been disappointed. But, it was on sale, and this box proudly exhibited a gold medal from Chef’s Best - the coveted (?) “Best Taste” award for 2007. Before we knew it, a box had somehow found its way into the shopping cart. As it turns out, we could have saved the trouble of lugging this box home. This wine is light-bodied for a Cab - it weighs in at a mere 11% alcohol, and the color is a rather light ruby shade. The flavor, unfortunately, was mostly oaked prunes. Pouring a glass and letting it breathe for a while slightly improved the flavor, but we’d consider this acceptable only for starving college students looking to buy massive quantities of wine for not much money.