This one’s for Ray.
He’s a dear friend who keeps pestering — uh, I mean encouraging — me to explore boxed wines.
So, Ray, here are some recent observations of boxed wines.
They are courtesy of Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg at The Washington Post:
It’s tough enough to convince wine lovers that screw-cap closures are better than the traditional corks; unscrewing a bottle doesn’t inspire the same poetry as popping a cork. But convincing them that boxed wines are not inferior is even tougher, which might account for the lack of coverage.
However, because boxed wines are one of the fastest-growing segments of the wine market (up more than 40 percent over a year ago, according to the Nielsen Co.), that should change.
How good can a boxed wine be? Sipped at a party in 2005, a 2004 Dtour Macon ($37 for a three-liter cylinder, equal to about $9.25 a bottle) left Page and Dornenburg “shocked by the quality that came out of this cardboard tube and the vacuum-sealed bag.”
Given the economic times, Ray may be on to something.
I did a quick survey on the Wine News Review aptly named Smarter Wine Search tool and came up with a couple helpful recent articles that include boxed-wine recommendation among a slew of other affordable picks:
- CBSNews.com opines, “This just might be box-wines’ greatest hour!” The article serves up two three-liter selections: one from California (Black Box Chardonnay 2006, $28) and the other from Australia (Hardy’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, $24).
- The San Jose Mercury News suggests the non-vintage Corbett Canyon Chardonnay, about $10 for three liters, translating to about $2.50 for a 750-milliliter bottle.
Thanks for the idea, Ray!
Thanks for the Box-Wine ideas, Sam! I’ll keep an eye out for that Hardy’s cabernet.
I used the Smarter Wine Search last week to find a Malbec, and it turned up a gem: It was Gascon, and for $12.99, it was superb. Thanks.
Keep up the good work!
Your pal,
Ray
I’m a way big fan of Malbecs (as alert WNR readers know). Thanks for pointing out this one, Ray. Glad the Smarter Wine Search helped out!
Alas. So many wines. So little time……
Indeed!
I’m all for boxing wines. As far as I’m concerned it’s a win, win ,win situation.
It takes me several days to consume a bottle of red wine and most deteriorate quite rapidly. We use one of those vacuum pumps but that’s a pain and although it’s not perfect it will extend the life somewhat.
Please producers put some, no all, of your wines in boxes.
In addition, I can’t believe the shippers and distributors don’t love box wines. The shape and weight savings must yield significant cost reductions.
so…
” ban the bottle”
“cork the cork”
and if you absolutely need to seal a bottle —
— screw it!!!