The Super Bowl is right around the corner so we are serving up some super Super Bowl cheap wine and junk food pairings to help with your super bowl party. No doubt you will be dashing to the store to fill up on chips, hot wings, hamburgers, cheese dip, guacamole, and wine! Yes, wine! We understand that beer and football go together like Roquefort cheese and Sauternes, but we also know that it is possible to pair a good ole American Super Bowl party with wine.

So, we set out to find a wine that was not only affordable, but found at any major grocery store, and pairs well with any hot dog, chili-cheese nachos, and a vegi-dip platter. We knew this would be no easy task, so we assembled a team of eclectic judges of all wine tasting abilities, including some who prefer beer to wine, and created the following guidelines for the wine we were to review:

1) All wines had to be under $10

2) Wines had to be available at all major grocery stores chains

3) There must be no notable AVA on the bottle except for California

4) The producers of the wine must be recognizable to all (i.e. Gallo, Fetzer, Kendall Jackson, etc)

In total, we tasted over 30 different types of wine including brands such as Charles Shaw, Fetzer, Beringer, Turning Leaf, Smoking Loon, Gallo, Barefoot, BV, Ravenswood, Sutter Home and Robert Mondavi Woodbridge. We carefully analyzed, sipped, and sniffed each wine completely blind. Notes were required on all wines as well as a food pairing. All judges scored each wine on a 100 point scale based on the following:

100-90- This wine is perfect for Superbowl Sunday!

89-80- I would buy this bottle again only if I was running low on cash.

79-70- I think with a little 7-up and ‘cubes’, this might make a good wine cooler.

69-60- I will give this bottle to my _________(fill in the blank) as an April Fool’s Joke.

59-0- I can’t even give this bottle as an April fool’s Joke.

Before the start of the competition, the judges were told this type of wine review was the first of its kind and that while they may not be judging the best-of-the-best, rating these types of wines were of equal value because many people consumable these libations by the gallons. In fact, in 2010 almost 200,000,000 million cases of bulk wine was sold to grocery stores. The  Central Valley grows thousands of acres of  wine destined for bulk and boxed wine and has spent a great deal of money creating hybrid varietals that grow prolifically in the Central Valley and can withstand the heat such as Ruby Cabernet.

Cheap Wine Winners

Cabernet Sauvignon

2010 Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon, California $7.99, 85 pts

Food pairing: Hamburgers

Judges notes: Smelled of old Man’s Cologne, soap, and blackberry. Slightly acidic

Sauvignon Blanc

2011 Fetzer Sauvignon Blanc, California $5.99, 91 pts

Judges notes: Tropical Fruit, apricot, smells of powder or a new diaper, pineapple

Food pairing: Macaroni and cheese

Any Red Wine 

20109 Charles Shaw Merlot, California, $2.39, 89 pts

Judges notes: Bland, fruity, tolerable

Food Pairing: Turkey Sandwich

Any White Wine

2012 Beringer White Zinfadel, Magunm $9.99, 98 pts

Judges notes:  Strawberry, thick, fruity, refreshing, and sweet

Food Pairing: canned fruit or candy

90 point wines under $20 at Wine.com. Shop Now!