Aldi Winking Owl Wines Ranked From Worst To Best

Think of Winking Owl wines as Aldi's version of Trader Joe's Three-Buck Chuck: a line of California-sourced discount wines that provide premium satisfaction at reduced cost. It's an ambitious undertaking to create bottles that pique the interest of wine lovers without charging peak prices. With Aldi offering so many house brand items, a catalogue of wines is a natural extension of the company's business model and a savvy way for the chain to compete with the better-known labels it stocks. It also gives shoppers a range of modest-cost sips that aim for a place in the wine-lover's pantheon of primary pours.

How does this extensive Aldi selection of discount wines stack up flavor against flavor? The allure of the flirtatious flyer on the label and the draw of a price point of less than four bucks per bottle makes this collection hard to pass up, especially for anyone with a restrictive wine budget, but that doesn't mean every purchase is a premium pour. I dropped a quarter in the grocery cart at my nearby location and rounded up the 10 varietals in stock to see which Winking Owl pours are the best and worst wines you can buy at Aldi.

The biggest advantage you have in buying Winking Owl Pinot Grigio in a box instead of a bottle is that the $12 plus price point gets you the equivalent of three bottles in a single purchase. With layers of stone fruit, citrus, and a touch of honeysuckle meant to serve middle-of-the-road flavor in a semi-dry wine, you have plenty to serve a full house during a celebration in a format that's long outlived its uncouth stigma, even if you're not likely to see this box among the Winking Owl wines featured on "Selling Sunset" – or any other high-end reality show, for that matter.

For everyone else with an interest in a boxed beverage, the entire purchase hinges on the taste you find in the wine inside. Sadly, this boxed wine falls off of those hinges. The aroma in the glass was acrid rather than being simply tart or dry, and the bitterness delivered to my tongue didn't allow any of the suggested tasting notes to come through. It's as close to lemon juice or vinegar as a wine might be. Getting three bottles' worth in a single box ends up a waste of money, especially when you could buy three far more flavorful Winking Owl bottled whites for around the same price.

Promises of black cherry, mixed berry, and vanilla got my senses revving in Winking Owl Merlot. If Aldi gets this one right, it could be a game-changer in the world of inexpensive red wines, especially if it were tasty enough to win me over. It would require a workable balance and a dryness that wouldn't turn my tongue into a desert. That's a lot to ask from a dry red wine, especially one that would be a bottom-shelf choice in a bigger-name liquor store.

Unfortunately, the truth about Aldi's Winking Owl wine in merlot form is that the bottle only checked some of the boxes. The aroma in the glass does justice to the vanilla-berry combination described on the label, though the flavor doesn't follow through on the promise of the bouquet. It does perform admirably as a standard, straight-shooting red wine, however, providing an easy pairing with steak and pasta, and would even make a great sauté or pan sauce for strip steak. But it wouldn't be a top pick for a dinner party pour, or even a middle pick, unless you were in a pinch and didn't want to wring your shopping stash dry entirely. In that case, if you have $4 worth of wiggle room, this bottle might work.

The familiar expectation of oaky and buttery notes in Winking Owl Chardonnay set me up for smooth expectations for this bottle. Aldi does an admirable job providing a white wine that captures the essence of its fellow Chardonnays on the shelf, a clue to the quality and capability of the vintners who make Aldi wines, even in their most economical iterations. In a blind-label test, this bottle could easily hold its own with bigger names, though if you aren't a chardonnay admirer (and I'm not), that might not amount to a hill of grapes to you. 

The oak aroma did come through when the cap was cracked, with a bit more sweetness than other chardonnays I've encountered. It became stronger and sharper once it hit the glass, proving itself an overall tart and fruit-forward pour, with juicy pear and apple elements present. The label suggests a hint of spice, which is very subtle and lets the essential essence of the fruits stand front and center while playing in the background. Though it wouldn't be my primary choice, in my plant-based dining world, I could easily pair this with a spinach salad topped with vegan feta, slivered almonds, and dried cranberries.

It turns out Winking Owl does have a pleasant pinot grigio, just not the one that comes in a box. Strange to think that it could be a simple packaging issue that makes these two wines taste so different. Somehow, the bottled version measures up much better to the standard of a white wine that lands directly in the center of sweet and dry territories.

The aroma of this one leapt from the bottle with a restrained juiciness that spoke of apples, heralding the stone fruit described on the label. A closer sniff brought more complexity to the bouquet, tilting toward the dry side of the scale without losing its gently sweet charms. A sip revealed a proper pinot providing piquant strokes of apple and pear, with honeysuckle hanging in the background to offer sugary support. It's a great table wine that does its job with conviction and would have floated higher in the ranking if I were more of a dry white wine fan. Still, it's far preferable to the boxed option, especially if pinot grigio is your wine of choice and you're looking to conserve your funds for snacks to enjoy with your bottle.

Winking Owl Sauvignon Blanc turned out to be a fun surprise in a twist-top bottle, a far more flavorful wine than I was expecting. I always imagine dry white wine as grapes with all the sugar sucked out, and gazing at the golden nectar in this bottle made the association without a second thought. What I loved about this choice is that it came with the power to challenge my preconceived notions about what sauvignon blanc is all about. It turns out a dry white can be just as joyous as a sweet white when done right, which Winking Owl happens to have done with this bottle.

The brightness of this bottle hit my nose as soon as I opened it. The label calls out citrus lemon and apple notes, and boy do the green apple and lemon elements bring the zing! Once in the glass, the apple took over the aroma, giving the experience a fresh lift. A taste of this very dry and light wine dimmed the apple flavor but kept the fresh fruit spirit intact. Dry wine in any form isn't usually my taste, but a few more swigs from this bottle could be enough to change my opinion. 

Bold and saucy from the moment the cap comes off, Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon suggests a much harder semi dry wine before the pouring even begins. The label says the blackberry, plum, toasted oak, and vanilla flavors will be subtle, but the aroma in the glass says that they will assert themselves as they like, thank you very much. And yet, the first impression it made on my taste buds was the oak, with just a bit of vanilla lagging behind. It was too little to be declarative, though enough to make its presence known. A second taste brought out a little of the promised plum layer, though there was no blackberry to be found at all. The all-around flavor profile is that of a steady-handed wine that could share the table with more expensive options.

Though I'm not a fan of red wine or red meat, it's easy to tell that this is decidedly a carnivorous wine, even without reading the label or having extensive knowledge of red wine. I can see it enhancing barbecue or pulled pork dishes, lifting a meal without lowering the bank account too much. It's one I would definitely take to a special occasion if I wanted to look like I know more about making good wine choices.

I wouldn't have thought a boxed version of Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon could reach the upper echelons of the product line. If you present both bottle and boxed versions of the same varietal, surely the bottle will outrank the box. But if I were forced to choose between the two, I'd readily leave the bottle on the shelf and throw the box in my cart. Even though red wine isn't my thing, it's just that good, and I'd be willing to bet the red wine aficionados in my circle would be pleased with it, too.

This is the most richly hued of Winking Owl's red wine line, arriving at the nose straight out of the tap with a vibrant aroma that's ready to party. My first taste was tart but enjoyable and a little sharper than the bottled version, which may be better or worse depending on how you like your cab; I found it intriguing. My second sip affirmed that this is more sophisticated than I would have imagined a boxed Aldi wine to be. It seems Winking Owl does better with boxed red than it does boxed white. This cardboard-covered cabernet sauvignon could easily adorn a drink counter at a gathering without embarrassing the host.

This sweet and light bodied version of Winking Owl White Zinfandel promises strawberry, cherry, watermelon, and cranberry essences, which sounds more like a wine punch than just a bottle of wine. True to that promise, there's a lot of punchy sweetness provided. The scent of the bottle is very sugary, tending more toward the berries than the watermelon. The aroma in the glass is more a subtle mix, with floral and fruit notes that promise a crisp yet balanced sip.

Does the bouquet translate into a winning taste, too? It does, though it changes a little on the way down. The juicy watermelon flavor comes bursting through on first taste, though the strawberry really takes the lead on second taste. It's all the best flavors of summer sweetness, captured in a bottle and capped for the enjoyment of anyone who favors a lighter, sweeter blend. This is a great wine to enjoy with a fresh fruit salad or to mix with honey and orange juice to make dressing for a mixed green salad. The one drawback: I would label it as a bit too sweet if it weren't so refreshing.

Bottling a mix of wine and fruit juice for Winking Owl Sangria belies the tradition of creating your own using fresh citrus and inexpensive varietals in a party-ready punchbowl. The aroma is quite similar to Winking Owl Sweet Red, suggesting the ingredients likely overlap between the two bottles. The nose-in-the-glass test confirmed the initial aroma, promising, though both could have been a world away from the final flavor. But this bottle follows through on its bouquet with fantastic flavor that lives up to the excitement. The label mentions only red fruit notes with a hint of citrus, which led me to expect juicy berry flavors with the tang of orange zest. Berries and citrus are all present and accounted for, in a playful and elegant blend. It was the citrus flavor that lingered long after my sip was finished.

This under-$4.00 pour is a premium choice that could absolutely replace homemade sangria if you were in a rush and simply poured the bottle into a pitcher with a splash of your own orange juice for authenticity. Even if it's your evening choice while enjoying grilled vegetables or chicken for supper, this is a sure-to-please pick for stocking your wine cabinet.

The idea of a sweet red wine to me always brings to mind dessert-friendly selections, though that's not always the expected use for a bottle like this. With Winking Owl Sweet Red, the idea of sweetness is a nuanced element, one that lends balance to the overall flavor rather than making it cloying by trying too hard. It's the difference between a cheap red wine that tastes cheap and an inexpensive red wine that tastes like a successful juice-wine hybrid. Winking Owl easily lands on the winning side of that distinction.

The nose experience on this bottle it's almost rose-like, florally perfumed with detectable raspberry and wildflower flavors as denoted on the bottle; it smelled like a more elegant version of Winking Owl Sangria. The aroma gets even more floral once the wine hits the glass, leaning even further into roses followed up with a burst of honey. A single taste is all it took to pick up the juicy berry notes, and even a splash of red apple. A second taste reinforced the light-handed sweetness, bringing together a very well-apportioned bottle that I would happily eat with creamier fare like Alfredo pasta or even a white pizza.

When the label promises a sweet, light bodied wine that features peach and apricot tasting notes, a very specific flavor harmony needs to be achieved. In Winking Owl Moscato, the harmonics are so well-played, it's hard to imagine this as a discount bottle. Level and supremely balanced, every note in the symphony of tastes here gets a chance to shine. It's a more rhapsodic description of wine than I would expect myself to be capable of, but that's the effect of a well-made beverage served at a highly attractive price.

The aroma from the mouth of the bottle gave enough sweet peach softness to win me over before I had even taken a taste. The flavor came through in a big way, with the apricot and citrus notes showing up the longer I let it sit on my tongue. This would make an excellent dessert wine, even used as an ingredient in a recipe like grilled peaches or roasted apples to add brightness. It's a juicy, complex blend that makes me think I should stock up on Aldi wine from the Winking Owl collection before the company realizes what it has and raises the price.

To gauge the quality of flavor in these wines, I went the traditional route and did a basic tasting of each. I went one bottle at a time, adding a bit to a stemless wine glass and sampling the bouquet of each wine at room temperature to allow the essences to come through with no alteration due to temperature. Then, I took a sip of each flavor separately, doing the swish-and-spit method and clearing my palate with water between bottles.

Though the wine tasting I've participated in have usually been flights of three to five flavors, it wasn't difficult to extend the process to a larger set by allowing myself a break in between the whites and the reds to make sure my tongue had a chance to "breathe." There were a few that even tempted me to pour a full glass, though I resisted to keep my wits about me for the remaining bottles and boxes to be tested.