home - blogs - boxing sideways

Boxing Sideways

When I visited Portland for a long weekend in June, I spent a good part of my time there helping finish my friend's box of Franzia wine (slogan: "The world's most popular wine").

Boxed-wine pluses:

  • The box is recyclable (the bag that contains the wine...not so much).
  • New boxed-wine technology (i.e., new and improved plastic bags) keeps the wine good for a month after you take your first sip.
  • Paper and plastic are way harder to break and less heavy than glass, so boxed wine takes much less energy and packaging to ship.

Now we just need what Sideways did for Pinot to happen for boxed wine so that it's more acceptable to drink, prompting finer winemakers to sell by the box. Then again, maybe the Pinot-esque boxed-wine zeitgeist is already upon us, seeing as "the world's most popular wine" doesn't come in glass bottles.

-Toshio...off to w(h)ine about 6 a.m.-boot-camp-related exhaustion...

Posted by: ddiprima on 07/09/2008
related tip
38 Comments 
Email Permalink
Bookmark and Share
Email Send to a Friend
Terri  on July 09, 2008 at 04:27 PM 21
Hey Melanie, I'm drinking Target boxed wine as we speak! I agree with you, it's pretty dang good! I have tried almost all the varieties of the Target wine cube (*currently am drinking the Pinot Grigio) and we have really enjoyed them all. They make for a great travel wine and the presentation is quite fun!
Rita Burns  on July 09, 2008 at 04:50 PM 22
I tell people that I work where I do because they are the only ones that carried a particular brand of boxed wine that had become a favorite of mine. It is Almaden White Sangria. Boxed wines are great--You don't have to finish the entire container at one setting, so if you want a glass after working a late shift and no one is awake to help you, pour, enjoy and relax. The box is recyclable, it is a lot lighter than the bulky glass containers and there is less likelihood of breakage.
Andrea Wulfers  on July 09, 2008 at 06:51 PM 23
You will not be disappointed if you try ...Pure Red box wine by Badger Mountain!! Big PLUS in my book, totally organic. Whole Foods carries it normally, if not, call them directly and order by the case. Pure White is awesome also!! DRINK HAPPY!!!
Joanne  on July 09, 2008 at 07:16 PM 24
There is a boxed pinot grigio from Fenn Valley Winery in Michigan. It is the same as their bottled wine, but 1 box is equivalent to 2 bottles. Very tasty and refreshing.
John  on July 09, 2008 at 08:22 PM 25
I have to say that I saw a lot of posts for Black Box, which made by Blackstone, I agree is very good (esp. their Reserve Merlot). However, I saw one post for Sangria but no one posted about Real (Ree-al) making their Sangria now in a 3L box wine. It tastes just like the bottled Sangria, which I think is better then Carlo Rossi and its in a box. Also, Avery Lane makes a decent table red and white box wine.
Keely  on July 09, 2008 at 10:07 PM 26
There is a great new wine company here in Maryland that produces boxed wines. Terrapin Station Winery produces vegan wines with a portion of their profits going to the Terrapin Foundation to help save the Terrapin Turtle. I've bought their Traminette wine and it is delicious! It's a nice sweet white wine that I absolutely love!. The packaging is eco-friendly and recyclable (though as a previous poster commented I dont believe the bag is). Hopefully they'll be selling in more stores around me soon!
lisa  on July 10, 2008 at 04:08 AM 27
I really enjoy the boxed wines from Target, their Pinot Grigio won an award up against bottles. The reds never give me a headache. I think their collection is curated by master sommelier Andrea Robinson. I used to work at a restaurant/wine shop and buy cases. Once I broke some in my trunk on a long trip, and even though had professionally cleaned at my first stop, I could never get the smell out. I had to replace the trunk liner. Although I still enjoy a nice bottle, boxes are perfect for everyday and especially for travel.
Laura  on July 10, 2008 at 06:11 AM 28
Yay for Target's Wine Cubes! they stay fresh for much longer, and are very reasonable, not to mention cute and fun to take to a party :) I buy the small box of 4 individual cab servings so my boyfriend can have one when he's occasionally over for dinner, and I keep a box of the white sangria "on tap" for myself :) http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/supertarget_wine.jsp
Alecia  on July 10, 2008 at 07:12 AM 29
Yes, yes, yes - Black Box is the best of the boxed wines. Excellent for backpacking: ditch the box and it packs like a camelbak - but much tastier! If only I could figure out how to attach a sippy straw...
Cait  on July 10, 2008 at 07:54 AM 30
We were very skeptical about trying boxed wines, but we actually love the Fish Eye Chardonay. The Black Box Chard. is what we have in our fridge right now. The boxes are great -they stay fresh in your fridge for over a month ready for you to enjoy without having to deal with finding the wine opener etc.
« first‹ previous1234next ›last »

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <font> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <p> <br> <img>

More information about formatting options