SF Chronicle Reviews a "Bevy of Boxes"

A bevy of boxes have room inside for value, flavor was another of Carol Emert's excellent past articles from the San Francisco Chronicle. In her previous article, Carol reviewed 14 of the 24 wines she found worthy out of 30 boxes tasted. In this article, she reviews the remaining 10. And which boxes got the thumbs-up this time?

• Corbett Canyon California Pinot Grigio 2003
• Corbett Canyon California Chardonnay 2003
• Corbett Canyon California Merlot 2002
• Corbett Canyon California Shiraz 2003
• Bliss Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
• Delicato California Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
• Delicato California Shiraz 2003
• Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Chardonnay 2004
• Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Australia Shiraz 2003
• Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Australia 2003

Take a look at the article for Emert's comments on the boxed wine phenomenon.

Corbett Canyon, the box wine line of San Francisco's Wine Group conglomerate, is the biggest bargain of the nine brands I tasted, selling for just $10. The citrusy 2003 Corbett Canyon California Pinot Grigio ($10) has a smooth mouthfeel, but enough orangey crispness to make a fine picnic white or aperitif.

The 2003 Corbett Canyon California Chardonnay ($10) begs to be matched with chicken, pasta or anything prepared in a cream sauce. It's medium-to light-bodied with a nose of baked apple and cinnamon, flavors of baked apple and tangerine and a comfortable balance of crisp acidity and a rounded mouthfeel.

Corbett Canyon's two reds, a Merlot and a Shiraz, were both standouts. A third red varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon, will be introduced next year.

The 2002 Corbett Canyon California Merlot ($10) is fruity and complex with a nose of cherry, green olive and hickory smoke with complementing flavors of dried cranberry, dried cherry, pomegranate and smoked meat. There is plenty going on in this wine -- particularly impressive at the equivalent of $2.50 a bottle.

The vanilla-scented 2003 Corbett Canyon California Shiraz ($10) displays a good depth of flavor, with a bright raspberry jamminess on the nose and deeper, darker flavors of dried currant and cranberry.

Family-owned Brutocao Cellars of Hopland joined the premium cask market this year with its Bliss brand, which uses Mendocino County grapes and is sold in a dark blue box.

I enjoyed the bright and fruity 2002 Bliss Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon ($32), with its red raspberry, strawberry and sweet watermelon flavors and soft tannins. It's not a terribly varietally correct Cab, but it is pleasant and drinks easily.

Delicato Family Vineyards, a large family winery that started in the Central Valley, made some of the best wines in last year's cask tasting and came through again with the latest vintage.

The 2003 Delicato California Cabernet Sauvignon ($18) is a highly enjoyable wine, with flavors of bright cherry, blackberry, juicy plum and a strong underlying note of milk chocolate. Dry tannins balance the juiciness.

The 2003 Delicato California Shiraz ($18) is a pleasant, earthy wine that tastes of pomegranate and currant, with a good tannic structure and vanilla overtones. This wine has the complexity to be a good match with meat or mushrooms.

Australia, which is known for its high-quality, inexpensive vino, made a typically strong showing in this Bargain tasting.

The 2004 Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Chardonnay ($16) is marked by sweet, honey-poached pear flavors and a hint of honeysuckle. It's unusually sweet for a table wine -- it contains 4 percent residual sugar, compared to about 1 percent normally -- but is nonetheless pleasant and well- made.

The 2003 Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Australia Shiraz ($16) had me smiling with its aromas of earth, huckleberry and vanilla, and flavors of strawberry jam and black raspberry, all hung on a tight tannic structure.

The 2003 Hardys Stamp of Australia South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon ($16) was a winner too, with complex aromas of berries, nutmeg and green bean. The wine itself was straightforward, somewhat less interesting than the nose, but offered enjoyable earthy-fruity flavors and a thin edge of mint chocolate.

A bevy of boxes have room inside for value, flavor

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, review, Carol Emert

SF Chronicle reviews "Boxy Beauties"

Continuing my revisit of the San Francisco Chronicle's excellent series of boxed wine reviews, in December 2004 Carol Emert tasted 30 wines and was surprised to find 24 of them worth recommending. In this article, she reviews five whites and nine reds. Thumbs-up go to:

• Wine Cube California Chardonnay 2003
• Wine Cube California Pinot Grigio 2003
• Wine Cube California Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2003
• Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Chardonnay 2003
• Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Merlot 2002
• Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
• Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Merlot 2003
• Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
• Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Shiraz 2003
• Washington Hills Washington State Chardonnay 2003
• Washington Hills Washington State Merlot 2003
• Black Box Wines Monterey County Chardonnay 2003
• Black Box Wines Sonoma County Merlot 2001
• Black Box Wines Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Boxy beauties beat the bottle at its own game
Carol Emert, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004

What if there were a specially designed wine container that kept wine fresh for more than a month after opening? And what if this super container held the equivalent of four regular wine bottles, so you could have a glass of good-quality wine each night for several weeks?

Wouldn't it be convenient if the package were as compact as a milk carton and didn't shatter, making it easy to transport? And if a handy spigot made your nightly tipple easy to dispense? And if the price were reasonable, say, $10 to $32, the equivalent of $2.50 to $8 for a 750-ml bottle?

Of course, this uber-packaging does exist: It's a heavy-duty, airtight plastic bag stowed inside a cardboard box, also known as a bag-in-box or Bota Box or cask -- names that wine producers hope will soon replace the plebeian- sounding "box wine."

On virtually every practical front -- save for long-term aging -- the bag-in-box format offers a superior alternative to the bottle. But unfortunately, boxes inspire the same fear as pink and sweet wines in insecure American wine drinkers: They used to be a solely mass-market phenomenon, so they're still perceived as (shudder) low-class.

Dear, sweet America! You watch "Desperate Housewives" every week, but you're too sophisticated to drink perfectly good wine that comes packaged in cardboard?

Sales of 3-liter premium box wines -- as opposed to the sweeter, simpler, 5-liter boxes that gave cardboard-packed wine a bad name -- are growing fast: 33 percent annually on a small base, compared to just 2 percent a year for old-fashioned boxes, according to ACNielsen.

Box wines far and wide

Look for premium casks at independent stores or chains including Andronico's, Albertsons, Trader Joe's, Safeway, Beverages & More, Draeger's, Whole Foods Market and Target, which sells its proprietary Wine Cube.

I tasted 30 wines and found an impressive 24 to recommend. That's an excellent ratio for a Bargain column -- when under-$10 wines in a bottle are tasted, it's common for fewer than half to make the cut.

This week we'll review five whites and nine reds. Look for another 10 reviews next week.

In the Wine section's first premium box-wine tasting last year, I found only two white wines to recommend. This year eight made the cut: two Pinot Grigios and six Chardonnays.

I was particularly impressed that the Chardonnays almost universally displayed a good balance of acidity and oak, comparing favorably against the many bottled Chards -- even expensive ones -- that try to be both crisp and full and wind up unintegrated and confused. A second pleasant surprise was the quality of Target's wine, which has risen to the standard of its stylish, two-tone packaging. Last year I couldn't recommend any of Target's varietals, although I wanted to: Its box is so cool I think it could help America overcome its box-wine phobia.

Cube a smart pick

Three of the five current Wine Cube releases are worth drinking. (Target has also recently released a mini-Wine Cube holding 1.5 liters, the size of two wine bottles, which sells for $9).

The 2003 Wine Cube California Chardonnay ($16) displays a pleasant nose of buttered toast and apple sauce, with a fresh attack, a grapey flavor and a butterscotch finish.

The 2003 Wine Cube California Pinot Grigio ($16), which comes in a bright chartreuse box, is light and alluring, with appealing aromas of lime and melon. Ripe honeydew and cantaloupe dominate the palate, and it wraps up with a hint of orange blossom. Serve it very cold.

The 2003 Wine Cube California Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz ($16) is balanced and consistent, if slightly light-bodied for a blend of these two grapes. It tasted of berries, violets and a soupcon of rubber.

Carmenet Vintner's Collection, a Beringer Blass Wine Estates-owned brand sold in a tall, hexagonal box, has introduced three cask wines, all of which are recommended.

The 2003 Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Chardonnay ($15) is pleasant and balanced, offering an appealing nose of baked pear. Ripe apple dominates the palate and the wine finishes with a brisk tangerine and lime tang.

The 2002 Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Merlot ($15) has nicely layered, plus-size fruit -- plum, blackberry and blueberry -- and a long, baked plum and berry finish.

The 2002 Carmenet Vintner's Collection California Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) displays a big, cherry nose with an undercurrent of black olive and a high note of eucalyptus. The texture is light and flavors combine bright cherry and watermelon with earthy, lower notes.

An Aussie producer, Banrock Station, makes three recommended cask wines. The 2003 Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Merlot ($16) offers forward- fruit flavors of strawberry and blackberry and a smooth mouthfeel.

The 2003 Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon ($16) is an enjoyable wine with a plum, currant and berry nose, bright berry flavors and a goodly amount of tannin.

The 2003 Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Shiraz ($16) was a favorite in this tasting, with dry tannins balancing its bright cherry-pie liveliness and deep, complex, roasted-fruit flavors.

Washington Hills, which is owned by Seattle-based Precept Brands, has boxed two varietals it has long sold in bottles, Chardonnay and Merlot. The packaging is handsome, with woodblock-style graphics, and both wines are delightful.

The 2003 Washington Hills Washington State Chardonnay ($20) has a fresh, springlike scent of lilies of the valley, cucumber and citrus, as well as the requisite oak. The dominant flavor is apple, with notes of apricot, melon and cinnamon, and loads of acidity. Try it with crab salad.

The 2003 Washington Hills Washington State Merlot ($20) is medium-bodied and packs a fruity wallop of cassis and blueberry, with aromas of coffee and dark fruit.

Black Box Wines (Motto: "The more you know about wine, the less you have to pay") was a pioneer in premium box wines and makes three wines we can recommend. The 2003 Black Box Wines Monterey County Chardonnay ($18) is deep gold, mellow and buttery -- plump, but not flabby. It's a good alternative for those who like plenty of wood on their Chard.

A far cry from the all-too-common cloying California Merlot, the 2001 Black Box Wines Sonoma County Merlot ($25) offers wonderfully dry tannins that lend plenty of structure to flavors of blueberry, plum and earthy mushroom. The wine's nose is a heady combination of bright red raspberry, toasty caramel and spearmint.

The full-bodied 2002 Black Box Wines Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon ($18) is also a winner, with big, spicy berry and fig flavors and a structure to match. Your guests (if they are like my guests) will be shocked it came from a box.

Boxy beauties beat the bottle at its own game

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, review, Carol Emert

New Website - Boxed Wine Worldwide

New this year to the online wine community: Boxed Wine Worldwide and its associated blog, The Wine Box.

This ain't your parents' box of wine!

The wine industry is seeing a revolution — a revolution in how we package and drink wine. A new generation of containers are now being used by great producers to deliver great wine in a box, not a bottle. And for good reason: Boxing wine makes a lot of sense. Boxed wines are already wide-spread in Europe and Australia, and they are becoming more visible in the US.

BoxedWineWorldwide.com is totally dedicated to the boxed wine industry and the boxed wine drinker. Here you will find the latest news and commentary on boxed wine in all forms and styles.

Many new exciting features are still in development, so, stayed tuned!

Also: Read about how BoxedWineWorldwide.com was born and follow The Wine Box, a blog by the founder of BoxedWineWorldwide.com that provides commentary on boxed wines, the boxed wine industry, and sometimes just wine in general.

Boxed Wine at BoxedWineWorldwide.com: Boxed Wine - Bag in Box Wine

Diana Sonnenreich is the creator of Boxed Wine Worldwide, and she is obviously a seasoned wine professional.

Ms. Sonnenreich, founder and owner of BoxedWineWorldwide.com, has worked for over 10 years in many areas of the wine business, including wine making, importing, retail, restauants, and private consulting. She studied wine tasting and enology in France and Switzerland before becoming one of boxed wine's biggest supporters.

BoxedWineWorldwide.com - About Us

It's fantastic that such an expert is devoting so much attention to boxed wine. I am looking forward to much more from her website and blog.

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, Boxed Wine Worldwide

Bag-in-Barrel ?

Here's a new item that just turned up on eBay. It's a barrel (I'm assuming made of oak) to hold a bag of wine (3 or 5 liter) which has been removed from it's box.

Introducing the Bag-N-Barrel. This barrel is a serving container for all brands of boxed wine. The barrel will hold a 3 or 5 liter bag of wine and is the perfect decoration for the bar or kitchen! Here's how it works Lift the front panel of the barrel out of it's slot. Place the bag of wine in the barrel and replace the front panel around the spigot. Enjoy your favorite wine at room temperature or chilled!

eBay: Wine barrel for serving boxed wine- 3 or 5 liter bag (item 160046561514 end time Nov-04-06 19:04:38 PST)

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, barrel, bag-in-box, Bag-N-Barrel

South Africa May Ban Un-Boxed Wine

Apparently in South Africa, wine is sold in the bag without the box. It's call a papsak, and the government is moving to ban the packaging. The reasoning is that it contributes to alcohol abuse. The poor reportedly find the bag sans box easier to transport and store than the bag-in-box.

The Business Report (South Africa) reports that an industry association is calling for better policing and tighter regulations instead of banning bag-only packaging.

Wine player challenges calls for papsak ban
October 30, 2006
By Ronnie Morris

Cape Town - Government plans to ban the sale of the papsak, the five-litre foil container of low-end wine, could cost the wine industry millions of rands, lead to job losses and even end up in court, an industry player has warned.

The foil container, colloquially known as the Bonteheuwel briefcase because of its popularity with the poor, retails for between R28 and R40. Bonteheuwel is a working class suburb on the Cape Flats.

Papsak wine is blamed for increased alcohol abuse and for being a major cause of foetal alcohol syndrome. The foil bag is known for its versatility and after its contents have been drunk, it is used as a water container, a cushion and a flotation device.

Boet le Hanie, the chairman of the Standard Price Wine Association, said the organisation's 15 members distributed 12 million litres of affordable papsak wine every year. Instead of banning the papsak, there should be better policing and tighter regulations to eliminate the fly-by-night distributors of inferior quality wine.

The problem of alcohol abuse would not be solved by putting the foil container in a box and if distributors were forced to sell the bags in cardboard boxes, jobs would be lost, he said.

Le Hanie warned that "if this [the ban] is done unilaterally without input from us, we will have to test this in court".

Henry Hopkins, a respected wine writer, said wine-in-a-box was patented in Australia and brought to South Africa in the early 1980s.

Cheaper wine of dubious quality was later sold in the foil bag as consumers in poorer areas, particularly the rural areas, struggled to either carry the five-litre box of wine or transport it on a bicycle and solved the problem by tearing the box apart.

Wine maker Danie de Wet, the chairman of wine and brandy producer KWV, said the real problem was to educate people that alcohol, if abused, could be dangerous.

The foil bag was hygienic, convenient and handy for consumers, did not break and could be fitted into a refrigerator or transported far more easily than wine in a box, he said.

Henk Bruwer, the chairman of Wine Cellars SA, said the foil bag was problematic and created a negative image of the wine industry and the added costs of putting it in a box would not affect the lower end of the market.

Sharron Marco-Thyse of the SA Wine Industry Council said: "We have to be realistic about this. This [the ban] is not going to reduce alcohol abuse or deal with the legacy that the industry has around how the product is being consumed.

"However we are also saying that the industry has a responsibility towards its consumers and towards communities that are at risk."

Kader Asmal, the chairman of the SA Wine Industry Council, said the organisation proposed the bag-in-the-box packaging or high quality plastic bottles.

Business Report - Wine player challenges calls for papsak ban

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, bag-in-box, papsak, South Africa

The Seattle Times Wine Advisor - Think Inside the Box

Paul Gregutt writes the weekly wine column in the Seattle Times. Last March he took a look at boxed wine in general, and tried several wines, a number of which were in 3 liter bag-in-box packaging. Not much in the way of very specific reviews here, but some general recommendations.

Go ahead — think inside the box
By Paul Gregutt
Special to the Seattle Times

Just two years ago, when I first wrote about box (or cask) wines, they were a curiosity at best.

There were very few available, and only the early innovators among the wine-drinking crowd bothered to give them a look. Like screwcaps, which were also being introduced at the time, box wines suffered from a decades-long history of ill repute. Only cheap, generic plonk came in such packaging, scoffed serious wine drinkers. And with good reason.

But this is no longer true. Yes, you still can find jug wines in screwcaps, some decent, some not so good. And yes, there are still the big (5-liter) boxes, filled with that same, bland brand of Chateau Fermented Whatever from the Central Valley's sea of vineyards. But the new generation of boxes, many in a more convenient 3-liter (four-bottle) size, hold vintage-dated, premium varietal wines.

There are many advantages to purchasing your everyday wines in this format.

Convenience is a big factor. Boxes are the perfect solution for boats, campers or virtually any outdoor setting. They are disposable; unbreakable; easy to stack, store and carry; and they require no corkscrew to open. Once chilled, they hold their temperature longer than bottles and offer extra protection from the damaging rays of the sun.

Most boxes are stamped with a "packaged on" or "drink by" date, a useful guarantee of freshness. They have explicit instructions (on the bottom of the box) for opening, and there is nothing cheap or cheesy about the functionality of the airtight bag or the dripless spout. Because the bag collapses as it is emptied, the wine is never exposed to air. Freshness is guaranteed for a month or more. You can enjoy a small glass with dinner, and it will be as fresh on day 30 as it was on day one.

Because they may be recycled, boxes are easy on the environment. The wineries also make a convincing claim that far less fuel is consumed during shipping because box wines weigh far less than comparable quantities of bottles.

Best of all, you can now find both white and red box wines from all over the world, many quite pleasantly drinkable, and costing just $3-$4 for the equivalent of a regular bottle.

Along with the standard 3-liter boxes, smaller packages (called Tetrapaks) are becoming more widely available. Most of these hold 1 liter (an extra third of a regular bottle) and are shaped like a juice carton, complete with a plastic screwcap. Unlike the bigger boxes, they do not have a self-collapsing inner pouch; however, if you want just a glass of wine, you can (very carefully!) squeeze the air out of your Tetrapak, and it will keep the wine reasonably well for several days.

Box wines and wines in Tetrapaks are sold mostly in supermarkets rather than dedicated wine shops and have particular appeal to women and younger consumers who are less interested in stodgy "tradition" and more willing to try something new. Along those lines, wineries keep looking for the perfect single-serving package, trying everything from tiny little bottles to cans to cartons.

An Italian brand, Tavernello, is offering two of its wines in 250-ml cartons, which are sold three to a package (one brick-sized package equals a regular bottle of wine). Tavernello claims to be the world's fourth best-selling table-wine brand but has not been seen in the U.S. until very recently. It offers pinot grigio and merlot in the single-serving size, and adds trebbiano, sangiovese and Nero d'Avola to its 1-liter lineup. Warning: The little boxes open with a foil pull-tab that is a bit tricky. I suggest you open your first box or two over the sink, just to be safe.

Tavernello and the other European box wines I've tasted remind me (in a good way) of the simple wines you will find served by the carafe in little bistros or tavernas around the continent. Fresh, young and bracing, they generally have around 12 percent alcohol, fairly austere tannins (in the reds) and are made to be drunk chilled and with food.

If you are looking for more ripe, round, slightly sweet wines, you will want to explore the offerings from California and Australia.

Here's a roundup of some of the best box and Tetrapak wines now available:

Italy, France

Tavernello: The trebbiano, though quite light, outshone the rather watery pinot grigio. I liked it for its delicate flavors of grapefruit and its finishing hint of almond. All three Tavernello reds were pleasant drinking. The Nero d'Avola had more earth, tannin and berry flavors, with a tongue-drying finish. In the 1-liter packages, these wines sell for $7-$8; the three-packs of the smaller cartons sell for $6-$7.

French Rabbit: Also packaged in a 1-liter size, these wines from the south of France are classic bistro beverages. Get yourself a simple glass carafe (or pichet) and serve them that way along with a picnic spread of cheeses, smoked meats and olives; you can pretend for an hour or so that you are vacationing in Provence. The chardonnay is crisp, lively and shows refreshing citrus and melon flavors. The merlot is insubstantial, but the cabernet sauvignon seems like an honest, no-frills, lightly herbal, very French style of farmer's market red. There is also a pinot noir, which I have not tasted. All four sell for $9 -$10.

Chateau des Alouettes: It's a bit startling to see a box with a Chateau labeling, but this rustic, substantial red from the south of France will please those who are fond of rough-and-ready syrah/grenache blends. It's got more going on than most box wines, with scents that offer floral, mineral and spicy notes. It sells for around $20 in the 3-liter package.

California, Washington

Delicato: It's popular "Bota Box" ($17) comes in five varietals: pinot grigio, chardonnay, merlot, cabernet and shiraz. Sweet, simple and fruity, they are about as quaffable as wines can be.

Black Box: Two different chardonnays, two merlots, a cabernet and a shiraz, packaged in an easy-to-spot (you guessed it!) black box and selling for $20-$25: a bit higher than the competition but still in the five-buck-chuck category (OK, I made that category up). The extra flavor justifies the extra cost.

Avery Lane: A 3-liter Washington chardonnay that tastes the way you would hope, with plenty of spicy fruit flavors of pineapple, citrus, peaches and apples. It sells for $18.

Australia

Hardys: This brand leader does chardonnay, merlot, cabernet and, of course, shiraz in the box, all selling for around $17. Forward, grapey reds and soft, sweet, tropical chardonnay make this a surefire choice for parties.

Tindindi: Next month, Tindindi will offer a tropical, minty chardonnay and a grapey young shiraz in cask packaging. A cabernet sauvignon, cabernet-merlot and a rosé are also in the works.

Pick of the week
Casarsa 2004 Pinot Grigio/Pinot Blanc; $10 (for 3-liter cask).

This well-known Italian brand offers both a merlot and a pinot grigio/pinot blanc in the 3-liter cask. The white blend is particularly nice, soft and delicate, with a hint of almond. At $10 (for four bottles' worth of wine!), it is a fine value. (Young's Columbia).

The Seattle Times: Food & wine: Go ahead — think inside the box

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine

Boxed Wine Skepticism

Thursday's Tahlequah Daily Press featured an article about the boxed wine phenomenon. Good article, but I am surprised that someone who works in a liquor store is so poorly informed as to subscribe to the myth that a bottle of red wine will "breathe" if you simply pull the cork.

The fact is, exposing less than one square inch of wine surface in the neck of the bottle accomplishes next to nothing. As I have said before, (in the Breathe Easy post) this is what decanters are for. Let it breathe in the glass, or let it breathe in a decanter. But breathe in the bottle? Sorry, just ain't happening. Anyway, it is a good article, so read on!

Wine aficionados skeptical about boxed concoction

By Teddye Snell
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS (TAHLEQUAH, Okla.)

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — So you think you’re a wine connoisseur?

You subscribe to “Wine Spectator,” you have tasting parties and you certainly know a Merlot from a Pinot Noir. But do you buy boxed wines?

Stop laughing. Some of the best-selling wines no longer come with corks. They come with spigots and plastic bladders.

Boxed wine has been around for years, but traditionally it was synonymous with sticky sweetness, cheap thrills and bad hangovers.

According to a report in the Detroit News, the latest “bag in a box” wines – so-called because of the wine-filled bladder that comes inside a box – have come a long way. They’re not the sweet pink mystery wines Americans are conditioned to seeing in a box.

In fact, they aren’t even called box wines anymore. The preferred name is “cask” wines. Cask wines are being made by top producers, with premium grape varieties – including Syrah and Pinot Grigio – and are vintage-dated.

Ryan Lester, clerk at Mary’s Liquors, has reservations about the trend.

“If you’ll look, all boxed wines come with dates on them,” said Lester. “Franzia has dates on its boxes, but it’s certainly not a vintage date. Others, such as Black Box and Corbett Canyon, have vintage dates.”

The plastic bladders and spigots boxed wines feature keep air out, which prevents oxidation and extends the shelf life. That’s great, if you enjoy Chablis and Blush wines.

“With the plastic liner [which holds the product in a casked wine], red wine fans can’t open a bottle and let it breathe properly,” Lester said. “I personally prefer red wines, and you can’t tell me a plastic liner allows that part of the process [breathing] to happen.”

Connie Jolliff, co-owner of J&J Liquors, said the industry has a recommendation for red wine fans. “I understand you’re to pour a glass of red casked wine and let it breathe from the glass,” said Jolliff. “Of course, the proper glass is required.”

Each wine, be it Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot or Chablis, has a different glass assigned to it. According to Jolliff, the size of the mouth of the glass is very important, as it allows the wine to hit the tongue in different ways.

An ACNielsen report indicated sales of premium-priced, 3-liter boxed wines are increasing faster than any other segment in the industry. Jon Fredrikson, a San Francisco Bay area consultant, told the Associated Press convenience for a fast-paced lifestyle may have something to do with boxed wine’s growth in popularity.

“The advantage of boxed wines is just one of extreme convenience,” said Fredrikson. “Once they’re open, it’s just so easy to draw a nice glass of wine. It’s ideal for working couples, people who are kind of passing in the night.”

Could this be the death of the temperature-controlled wine cellar whose owners treat each bottle like a newborn child?

That’s certainly not yet the case in the United States, but looking at European countries and Australia, you might say the future is now. According to the United Kingdom’s Decanter magazine, Norway’s boxed wine sales now exceed 40 percent of its total wine sales; Sweden is experiencing 22 percent annual growth in boxed wine sales, with 65 percent of all wines sold in the summer packaged in boxes. In Australia, 52 percent of the wine sold is in boxes.

“Cask wines are the hottest trend in Australia and the U.K.,” said Marc Jonna, national wine buyer for Whole Foods Market, with 145 stores in the United States and one in Canada.

While it may be a growing trend in other parts of the country, Okies still seem to like their wines bottled.

“We haven’t had any requests for the casked wines just yet,” said Jolliff. “I suppose mostly because people are slow to change, that and the casked wines are more costly. Customers see boxed wine and expect it to come with the older, lesser-quality wine price. That said, I do see them [casked wines] becoming the latest trend in the industry.”

A customer in Jolliff’s store let her purchases speak for themselves. She had brought several bottles of wine – the kind with corks – to the counter.

When asked if she’d ever purchase a boxed wine, her response was a vehement, “Never.”

Mary’s carries a variety of casked wines, including Black Box, Corbett Canyon, Delicato and Franzia.

“Black Box is probably the most well-known upscale boxed wine,” said Lester. “It’s even had a rating in ‘Wine Spectator,’ which says something. I’m just not completely convinced.”

Teddye Snell writes for the Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.

The Edmond Sun, Edmond, OK - Wine aficionados skeptical about boxed concoction

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine