My grandmother drinks boxed wine. As a child of that other big recession, she’s got thrift in her blood. As a grownup, she leans towards value over quality. So when Franzia first hit stores in the ‘70s, she was there.
None of that is true. My grandmother is actually a socialite from Tuscaloosa with close ties to some of the infamy of Alabama, including the Bryants (as in Bear Bryant) and the Wallaces (as in Governor and Mrs.). She’s got more class in a single back-handed southern social dealing than I’ve got in my whole body.
Regardless, whether it’s my grandmother or yours, the point is that a generation of undiscerning, undiscriminating connoisseurs of cardboard packaged wine, in search of value above all else, has soured us to the idea of boxed wine.
Luckily, these days we’ve got some terrific rectangular alternatives to the traditional cork and bottle (that you don't need to be embarrassed about buying).
Boxed wine can not only be found in surprisingly high qualities, some rated 90 points or more, but you also get a terrific value, reduce your carbon footprint, and get something that stays fresh way longer than a recorked bottle.
There are a handful of readily available, reliable labels that produce great wine at great value. Bota box, Black Box, Fish Eye (Shiraz), and Wine Cube have each produced high rated (80-90 pts) wines at remarkably low costs. Even for a great boxed wine, you’ll pay little more than 5 bucks for an equivalent 750mL of standard packed wine. Check Total Wine & More for some good options.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2010.