Battle Of The Boxes
Living in the southernmost city of the U.S. for the past 8 years, my wine selections have tended to lean towards all the white wines out in our great wine world. Having temperatures most of the year in the 80 degrees range with a nice percentage of humidity, you want something refreshing and crisp on the palette.
Also important with the heat is a wine that enjoys being chilled or kept in a cooler nicely iced down. So taking that bottle of Opus One to the beach, in the boat or around the pool just does not cut it. Consumption of white wine around our house has grown considerably, since we have it before dinner, with dinner, after dinner and at times when those neighbors are just strolling around and dropping by for a sip on a sunny afternoon. Therefore lately, I have been on a mission to keep my wine budget somewhat intact and giving myself the challenge to find good white wines under $12.00. So far so good.
Strolling down the wine aisle at my local grocery store last week deciding what my next budget wine would be, I came across the section of Boxed Wine. I know it has a stigmatism to it, like jug wine, but I thought hey, maybe I should be giving this wine a chance.
What are the advantages?
It is compact, very portable, drinkable now, no spoilage by tainted corks, no oxidation as no air gets to it, would fit in the cooler, takes up no more room in the refrigerator than a gallon of milk, no glass bottles, really fits into my wine budget, and also would last a few nights (oh sure!). So I became intrigued with the concept and quality of “Boxed Wine”.
A feature I found fascinating is that you can take the “bag” out of the box, submerge it in a bucket of ice water and the wine is chilled faster than putting it in the refrigerator.
One should also take note that when you push the button attempting to get that last glass out of the bag and it stops pouring, it does not necessarily mean the bag is empty. Remove the bag from the box. As you will see, there may be a half glass or so of wine left in the bag. Take a scissors, hold the bag over a glass and snip the end of the bag to retrieve every last drop. (Am I frugal or what!).
Another advantage, I guess if you are on a boat, when the bag is out of the box, it floats!
How About The Quality?
Now, with all of the advantages of boxed wine, I still am not totally sold on the quality. I have tried three boxes so far, Black Box Pinot Grigio, Fish Eye Pinot Grigio, and Trove Pinot Grigio. Of the three, Black Box is the only one I would probably purchase again. It was the only one with some nice fruit and a bit of crispness. The other two I found a bit weak.
I am hoping in the near future, due to packaging costs and environmental issues, wineries will get on the bandwagon and really start “boxing” some of their nicer wines. At that time, I think we will see an even bigger jump in that market place.
In the meantime, I will not be filling my wine rack with boxes (as they just do not fit) but, I will keep on my quest of the “battle of the boxes” to find a nice boxed wine. And oh, I definitely will keep working on my wine budget challenge. Lots more to come!
Cheers!
Interesting! I’ll have to get my hands on a box of the Black Box PG. I’ve been dying to try it anyway, and now doubly so.
Of the six California PGs available in 3L boxes, you just happen to have chosen the three that placed in the . They were judged alongside bottled wines selling for anywhere from $6 to $25. Your pick, the Black Box, was a silver medal winner, and the FishEye took a gold.
A month ago I had a tasting party. We tasted five boxed PGs (blind, wrapped in brown paper). Unfortunately, I could not find the Black Box for our tasting. The top choices were split among our nine tasters, between the FishEye, and the rock-bottom cheapie Corbett Canyon. And the Delicato, which had long been a favorite in our home, was panned by eight of us (including me, much to my surprise). Go figure. It’s all so subjective.