2007 Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz, California.

Terry post:

UPDATED: Included at the bottom of the blog.

I was on my way home from the big-box retailer Target with 1.5 liters of 2007 Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz tucked away in the trunk of my Camry when my brother sent me an email asking where I was getting all of my time to crank out my wine postings. He implied that I wasn’t giving my new employer its full due. Well, the answer is that I am fortified with cheap (errrr) inexpensive wine and that will keep you going. That and frozen pizza by any rate.

Wine Cube is a Target-brand boxed-wine and, based on the semi-hip looking in-store marketing, is aimed squarely at the under 30 crowd. When I lived in San Diego in the early 1980’s, I drank more than my share of Franzia boxed wines and didn’t think much about it at the time. The wine was very reasonably priced and tasted good to me.

My impressions: Medium ruby in color. Gobs of fresh fruit with bright cherries on the nose and a slightly herbal character at the short, thin finish. There is a lot of fruit in this wine, but it does not linger in the mouth. Virtually tannin free. After a couple of glasses and consulting my tasting book I was reminded of a better Australian blend I’d sampled last year and enjoyed greatly (and recommend highly)– Moloto “Jester”.

It would complement the traditional simple red accompaniments such as hamburgers, ribs, grilled beefsteak or pasta with red sauce. I paired it with a Tombstone “Original” Pizza (pepperoni and sausage) and enjoyed each completely and thoroughly.

At $11.89 for a 1.5 liter box it is the equivalent of a $6.00 750 mL bottle of wine. It is a simple wine, but it is a decent simple wine and at its price it is a good value.

August 28th Update: It has been a couple week since I first opened the box and have intentionally not finished it - choosing instead to let it sit and see how well it holds up. My experience is that most bottled wines have a shelf-life, once opened, of only a couple of days.

How would the boxed wine hold up? Well, the answer is: quite good.

Should you choose to dissect the box (as I did) you'd see that the product is contained in an airtight, bladder-like sac which did a fine job of keeping out oxygen and hence preclude the oxidation of the wine. I did not detect the flatness nor sourness as I have come to expect from corked bottles forgotten on the countertop.

All-in-all one more reason to embrace good cheap wine sold in boxes.

~ Terry