The easiest way to make poor wine taste better is to chill it. Cold eliminates the more volatile components of the smell, which tend to be the worse features of a wine. It even works for red wine (bad red wine straight from the fridge can be enjoyable sometimes). Works particularly well in Florida.

Almaden is an interesting case study of how brands evolve. Almaden was one of the first box wines in the US (20 years ago? I think it is circa 1985); they had "jug" wines in gallon bottles before then. Used to be quite good for the price. Over time the taste has gotten a lot sweeter and more fruity -- and worse. Seems like a business decision, or response to perceived market demand. They definitely changed the style to be more "soft drink" inspired (taste like Sprite).