Boxed Wine?

juanez · #1 09-16-2004, 10:29 PM

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 · #2 09-17-2004, 12:41 AM

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 · #3 09-17-2004, 12:56 AM

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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 · #4 09-17-2004, 01:37 AM

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

wacki · #5 09-17-2004, 01:39 AM

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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 · #6 09-17-2004, 02:15 AM

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 · #7 09-17-2004, 12:57 PM

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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 · #8 09-17-2004, 01:12 PM

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 · #9 09-17-2004, 03:39 PM

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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 · #10 09-17-2004, 04:18 PM

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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.