Wine in a box (red wine, beer, Italian, French)

[southdown]

Anyone recommend any brands of boxed wine that taste OK? They are so hard to judge from the packaging, and $20 is a lot to spend if it's awful.

I'm not looking for ultra-cheap, but something decent and drinkable to sustatin my red wine habit.

[cb at sea]

I'm not a big wine drinker, and my daughter laughs at me about this, but I LOVE boxed wine! I think it's the little dispensing nozzle!!! I love that!
Basically, whatever they put in a bottle can be put in an airtight bag in a box! I think it's perfectly fine, but wine connisseurs (sp) will problably deny that!

[newtoutah]

box o wine ROCKS..lol. I dont drink anymore, but when I wanted a glass of wine that was the only way to go

[Moonlady]

I bought some of those Wine Cubes at Target awhile back and they were very good. I consider myself a bit of a wine snob (but I'm a bargain hound too). They actually got good reviews and they are reasonably priced. It's a Target exclusive brand, so you can't just buy them anywhere. I thought they were much better than the Black Box wines which cost a little more.

[nomoresnow]

It reminds me of my friend who came to stay with me one time to help me clean up after the renters in our FL house left. I had bought a box of wine and had it in the fridge. While I was fixing dinner, she asked if I wanted anything and I asked if she would please pour me a glass of wine. She opened up the fridge, looked around in it and said she couldn't find it. I told her it was right there, the box on the top shelf. "OMG, they make wine in boxes now???" She just thought that was the wildest thing.

[southdown]

I am thinking of converting to boxed wine as there is no glass recycling collection in my area and I cannot bear to put glass in the garbage. We drink 3-4 bottles of wine a week, so it's a lot of glass.

Boxed wine uses less packaging and tranportation - the Australians and the French have embraced it, even the Italians do it - I think it's the way forward! Just a shame it isn't seen as upscale enough for most American producers.

Thanks for the tips!

[Chinolala]

I like a brand that is sold at Binny's. Not sure if they have stores outside of Chicago. Anyway, the brand in a box that I think is very good is called Bota. They have about 4 varieties. I've liked the 2 that I've tried.

[Widowmaker2k]

Originally Posted by southdown

I am thinking of converting to boxed wine as there is no glass recycling collection in my area and I cannot bear to put glass in the garbage. We drink 3-4 bottles of wine a week, so it's a lot of glass.

Boxed wine uses less packaging and tranportation - the Australians and the French have embraced it, even the Italians do it - I think it's the way forward! Just a shame it isn't seen as upscale enough for most American producers.

Thanks for the tips!

I'd be very surprised to see boxed wine come from a Grand Cru. Also, box wine doesn't age like bottled wine, and so you should be ready to drink it soon after purchase (there will never be wine cellars filled with boxes of wine). I'd imagine that most box wine is produced by high production wineries, and as such you won't find the attention to detail and overall quality that you get from low production wineries/labels. The best box wine will almost certainly not be on a par quality wise with mediocre bottled wine, and there are lots of economical bottled wines to be found. But then again, I'm a bit of a wine snob (which is sad, because I never used to be, and never wanted to be). Check out you're local bargain retail outlet, you'll be surprised with quality of bottled wines you can get there, if you know what you're looking for.

[skbs]

I love the idea of this as my husband and I don't usually buy too much wine and I would like for it to last longer than the mere day or two once you open a bottle and the oxygen hits it. The only downfall in my area is the selection of wines available in a box... well, perhaps I should say quality wines available in a box. I live near the Finger Lakes and I would love to see more boxes of their wine in a box. I am of the understanding the African and Australian wines are beginning to package more of their wines in boxes as well... it would be nice if they sent some over my way... LOL The other issue we have in WNY, that might limit the boxes (since there is somewhat of a stigma about them), is that we do not have wine as readily available as other parts of the country. I am reading about people purchasing their wines at TARGET LOL We cannot go to the grocery store, big box, or wholesale (like BJs or Sams) and jut buy a bottle of Kendall Jackson... it is for groceries and beer alone. In order to buy a decent bottle of wine (not a wine cooler like BOONES) I must get back into my car and travel to the nearest Liquor Store. It tends to get annoying... and since they are carrying more than just WINE in these stores I am under the assumption that they need to have more space for the more popular bottles rather than the lower end boxes that are available in our area.... it is a shame...

Also have you all noticed the switch from cork to twist tops? Because of the cork tainting of the wine and the ease of the twist top... also with the twist top your bottle of wine can stand upright due to the airtight seal it creates... where as the cork tops must be placed on their sides in order to keep the cork moist and prevent oxygen from entering into the bottle... I know it looks cheap... but so does wine in a box and I am all for that (for the same reason... plus the added longevity of the wine)

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Widowmaker2k

I'd be very surprised to see boxed wine come from a Grand Cru. Also, box wine doesn't age like bottled wine, and so you should be ready to drink it soon after purchase (there will never be wine cellars filled with boxes of wine).

What ages well is a function of the quality of the wine rather than the container it's in, the vast majority of low-end wine isn't going to improve with age, either in a bottle or in a box. Thinking has changed quite a bit, there are some very high quality 'ageable' wines actually switching to synthetic corks or screw-cap bottles as it's no longer the belief that natural corks aid the aging process. That being the case there's really no reason why the same wine should age any differently in glass or a coated mylar bag, only the esthetics are different.