Sunday, November 12, 2006

A Box of Wine - A Cultural Icon

Many of the Franzia wine box Halloween costume photos I posted in October came from the website Box of Wine - A Cultural Icon. This website is a must-see for anyone curious about the whole boxed wine phenomenon. Writer, composer, and musician S. K. Waller is gathering info for a big full-color glossy coffee-table book about boxed wine. On the site's front page, Waller comments on wine-snobbery:

"I'm darned tired of wine snobbery. Wine should taste good. It's that simple. You don't need to know how to swirl a glass, or inhale the vapors as the wine sits on your tongue (that little pantomime makes you look like a demented fish, anyway). All you need to know is, do you like it? If not, it's a bad wine. If so, it's a good wine. And who the hell cares how much it costs? I took a $6.99 bottle of Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc to a wine tasting party a few years ago, where all the bottles were hidden inside paper bags so no one would know their identities. It won 1st place over dozens of other wines, including a $45.00 bottle of some California-wannabe-French wine. That night I learned a valuable lesson -- and won a fancy corkscrew as first prize besides." -- S.K. Waller

Box Of Wine - A Cultural Icon




The often disparaged box of wine has won a place in the hearts of one out of five wine drinkers worldwide. Why? Is it because of its lack of pretentiousness? Its ability to fit in with nearly any group or party? Certainly, it has less to do with economy than one might think at first consideration, because people the world over seem to love having their picture taken with a box of wine under their arm, suspended over their open mouths and even holding it front-and-center as they would a baby, a pet, or a treasured possession. Many people even dress up as a box of wine for costume parties. It's apparent that the simple, satisfying box of wine has become a cultural icon, recognizable to all and loved by many.

Box Of Wine - A Cultural Icon


Well, the if National Trust of South Australia officially names the bag-in-box wine cask a "heritage icon" for it's contribution to South Australia's cultural identity, then why not a coffee table book? Take a moment to visit Waller's "Boxxo" site!

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