Boxed Wine?

[juanez]

I'm certainly no wine expert. There's a fancy work for "wine expert", but I have no clue what it is because I'm not one. But I do like wine.

On one of the local AM news channels they interviewed a "wine expert" who was talking about how there are many very good wines out there these days that are sold in 5-liter boxes, many are less than $20. I think "Holy sh*t - 5 liters for $20? Gotta be garbage."

Can anyone recommend any GOOD boxed wines? (I was driving and forgot the "experts" recommendations)

Am I a filthy peasant for even considering boxed wine?

[astroglide]

i would just buy a few and not worry about the embarassment. if you like it, it's good. if you don't, it's not.

[wacki]

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Am I a filthy peasant for even considering boxed wine?

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No, that just means your not austentatious. Australia has a bunch of good wine. Join a wine forum and ask around. New York has a bunch of good wine from the four fingers region that is respected around the world. Californian wine is also well respected by europeans. French wine is very inconsistent and tends to be overpriced. For cheap wines I like Yellow Tail and it is one of the fastest growing wines in history. Trader joes has alot of good cheap wine. Join a wine forum or ask a manager at Trader Joe's.

[MMMMMM]

If you like white wine, try boxed Liebfraumilch. Hard to go wrong with Liebfraumilch.

[wacki]

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If you like white wine, try boxed Liebfraumilch. Hard to go wrong with Liebfraumilch.

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The name of that wine is so wrong.

[emp1346]

boxed wine rules!!! me and my buddy got drunk all the time in college of that stuff... cheap, tastes like grape juice, and still has the drunken affect of a good bottle of the hoity-toity stuff...

and yes, i just said 'hoity-toity'...

[The Ocho]

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Am I a filthy peasant for even considering boxed wine?

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No, but are you by any chance pledging a sorority? They drink that stuff by the truckload.

That said, there's got to be something halfway decent out there. But, I'd stick to bottles though for any dinner dates/parties. Pulling your drink from a 5-liter cardboard box reminds me too much of getting orange hi-c from a gatorade cooler during 4th grade soccer practice.

[nothumb]

A wine expert is a sommelier. Not that it matters. I know several and they are often very nice and helpful.

There are a lot of very drinkable wines that come in bottles and are very inexpensive, to the tune of ten bucks or less. Are you interested in boxed wines because these wines are too expensive for you, or because you heard some guy on QVC say they can be good and thought it sounded rad? I'm guessing the latter.

The only boxed wine I have ever had was the Sutter Home White Zinfandel my mom used to drink (happily- it was her favorite, although now I think she gets it in little mini-bottles) and boy is that stuff foul.

Somebody posted about all the various wine regions and how French wines are overpriced and how you shouldn't be snobby, but I didn't hear them mention any boxed wines, unless they're putting Yellow Tail in a box now. BTW some of the Yellow Tail reds are definitely drinkable for the price. Some other pretty cheap wines that I drink regularly are Santa Cristina Sangiovese (we used to use this for cooking in the restaurant until we realized it's potable, and it costs like 6 bucks) and Ruffino Chianti.

I stick to stuff out of a bottle. Boxed wine and malt liquor just remind me of dark times in my life.

NT

[benfranklin]

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I'm certainly no wine expert. There's a fancy work for "wine expert", but I have no clue what it is because I'm not one. But I do like wine.

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The term for a serious wine drinker is oenophile.

There are a number of good wines starting to be packaged in boxes, many from Autralia. A big advantage is that you can have a glass of wine with a meal and not have to worry about the rest of the bottle going bad. The typical life of an opened wine box is 60 days, whereas a bottle can go bad after a few days. (The typical life of an opened wine box on campus is about 60 minutes.)

[juanez]

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A big advantage is that you can have a glass of wine with a meal and not have to worry about the rest of the bottle going bad.

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This is the main reason I'm curious. It would be nice to have one glass if vino now and then without wasting the rest of a $12 or $14 bottle of wine.

[juanez]

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Are you interested in boxed wines because these wines are too expensive for you, or because you heard some guy on QVC say they can be good and thought it sounded rad?

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Rad? I'm a little old to call anything rad. The "sommelier" I was listening to wasn't on QVC - it was an AM news show that has the "sommelier" on once per month or so. She's rather interesting and I've learned a few things from her.

$10 for a bottle of wine is not too expensive for me (I have a self-imposed limit of $15 max), but if I have one glass out of a bottle it will go bad in less than 2 days. So it's really a $10 glass of wine - that's like 5 BB's at Party 1/2! I'm not a college punk guzzling booze like I used to, so the month long shelf life of the boxed wine was the reason for my interest.

Thanks for the recommendations!

[scotnt73]

speaking of wine:

when i worked as a waiter this really pretetious guy with a beutiful blond comes in one day and orders a bottle of wine. he claims hes some kind of wine specialist. anyway i bring him the wine and i pop the cork for him and present it to him as i goto pour his sample. he puts his hand on the bottle to stop me and starts sucking on the wine end of the cork and states bring me a different bottle. we go through 3 bottles before my boss tells him bullshit stop wasting our time to impress your date. anyone ever heard of this crap? in 6 years of serving wine i NEVER saw anyone else suck on a cork..lol

btw this was the olive garden so it was only a 20$ bottle of wine.

[sam h]

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The name of that wine is so wrong.

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Why buy it in a box when you could get it straight from the teat?

[sam h]

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Hard to go wrong with Liebfraumilch.

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Millions of German toddlers agree!

[wacki]

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Are you interested in boxed wines because these wines are too expensive for you, or because you heard some guy on QVC say they can be good and thought it sounded rad? I'm guessing the latter.

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The quality of wine has nothing to do with the cost of the wine. Anyone that tells you that you have to spend $50 plus dollars a bottle for good wine has no idea what they are talking about. I've tasted good wines as cheap as $5 a bottle, and in my opinion bad wines up to $200 a bottle. Being in a bottle or in a box has little effect on a wine when in a time period of a few years. If the lining of the box is as inert as glass (which is possible), it is possible that there is no difference. My favorite wines are all between $5-$38 a bottle. I always buy by the case, so I almost never spend more than $10-15 a bottle. I don't have much experience in purchasing boxes, but I have tasted many good ones. Again, join a wine forum.

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The only boxed wine I have ever had was the Sutter Home White Zinfandel my mom used to drink (happily- it was her favorite, although now I think she gets it in little mini-bottles) and boy is that stuff foul.

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Sutter home makes some really crappy wine, and they make some good wine. I don't care for any Sutter Home wines, just my opinion.

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Somebody posted about all the various wine regions and how French wines are overpriced and how you shouldn't be snobby, but I didn't hear them mention any boxed wines, unless they're putting Yellow Tail in a box now. BTW some of the Yellow Tail reds are definitely drinkable for the price.

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That would be me. And I said "French wine is very inconsistent and tends to be overpriced." I stand by my statement. The french have some of the most fertile growing regions in the world. Everything is very natural. Any wine grower knows that water is the most important ingredient in making good wine. The australians have literally cultivated and almost artificially created their growing regions. Everything is precisely and scientifically controlled. It's very impressive, and they are very effective at making world class wine at rock bottom prices.

The french have taken a natural approach to wine growing. They depend on mother nature for the water. Some seasons are very dry, and others are very wet. The grapes grown in France vary considerably in quality from year to year. Also, vineyards are handed down via family lines. There are a considerable amount of French wines are sold mainly via prestige of the name and not by know how. Some people, like the Australians, shun the French and say they are neglecting the fertile soils they were blessed with, as well as wine growing knowledge with the family hand-me-down of their vineyards instead of passing control (not ownership) of the vineyard to the most knowledgeable grower. Others, disagree and say this gives the French wine more character and unpredictability. It's a matter of preference. French wines are much more expensive in general compared to similar quality Australian wines. Their two methods of growing are simply way too different. Australians are much better equipped for mass production, and are grown using the leading edge scientific technology. The French are more natural. It's a free country, pick what matters to you the most. I personally am a big fan of australian wines and wines from the four fingers region of New York.

Just and FYI, I don't drink any french wines for various reasons, but I do drink one french champagne on occasion and it is Cristal. My choice for avoiding french wines is several fold. I like to know the wines I buy will be the same from year to year, and aren't overpriced. I am also boycotting french wines because of the way they have been treating the US and numerous scandals at the UN including several with Iraq. But that is my choice, and you don't have to do the same. My report on the wines is accurate though.


As for boxed wine, again, anyone who thinks good wine has to come in bottles has no idea of how wines are actually made. The glass in a bottle does not react with the wine. The oak of a barrel does. I drink out of bottles because my friends and I will use up a bottle before it expires. Plus, I enjoy the whole ceremony of opening up a bottle of wine. In a few years this may change. But I doubt it, because there is something about the look of a wine rack full of wine that appeals to me. Bottles can be a pain in the rear though, so maybe one day I might get lazy.

Again, join a wine forum. There are too many different wines, good and bad, for me to attempt to start recommending.