Wine in a Box?

The question is "WHY NOT?"

Today, in Online Cooking, Clara Myers asks:

Wine In a Box... Why?

Friday, 1st June 2007
By Clara Myers

Wine snobs don’t turn your patrician noses up just yet. There are actually valid reasons to box wine. Boxed wines actually take up less space than bottles if you throw away the box and just refrigerate the membrane.

Europeans have been selling boxed wine for years now, and they seemed to have survived the practice. So if the Euros don’t find it gauche, who are we to complain? Here are some more positives:

• Boxes don’t break and are easier to handle than bottles
• Boxes are easier to store than bottles in the refrigerator
• Boxed wines stay airtight thereby stay fresher longer
• Boxed wines don’t require a corkscrew

If you’re having a problem with boxed wine, it’s probably because you’re intermingling flashbacks from your misspent youth--gallon bottles of Ripple and Boone’s Farm intertwined with the boxed Zinfandelesque concoctions sold in the past.

There are some great wines that are sold in boxes—especially the Australian wines. Another great choice is Peter Vella Wines--great Burgundies, Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, Chablis, and Chardonnays. Most boxed wines are sold for $25 or less. Also, a box holds the equivalent of four bottles which makes boxed wine great for picnics. Wine also stays fresher longer in a box which makes it a more economical purchase than bottled wine. You can actually throw away the box and just store the bag which has less of a footprint in the refrigerator.

If you’re really bent about boxed wine, buy a carafe for presentation purposes. Now I know some of you purists out there are screaming, Wine must breath! Like I said, that’s what carafes are for. Learn the art of decanting.

If you haven't tried boxed wine, this time of year is a great time to start. Boxed wine is great for barbecues, family reunions, beach parties--anywhere a large group is getting together.

© 2007, Clara Myers. Visit Vin Caché at http://vin-cache.com for great domestic and imported wines as well as wine baskets stuffed with gourmet treats. You are free to use this article (unedited) on your web site provided the byline and site attribution remain as-is with live hyperlinks to our web site.

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