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!

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, boxxo, box o' wine

Gravel Mine Pinot Noir 3 Liter Box

Another Washington State Pinot Noir addition to the list of bag-in-box wines:

Gravel Mine Pinot Noir
From English Estate Winery
US, Washington, Clark County
3 liter box, vintage dated (also available in bottle)
About $87

3L BIBB 2002 Gravel Mine Pinot Noir. A clean, fresh wine with great tannin that balances the underlying cherry, strawberry and rosey character. This wine displays the characteristics we expect from our Gravel Mine Vineyards, but it also reflects the extremely long, 5 month, drought we experienced in the summer of 2002, stressing the vines and concentrating the flavors.

3L BIBB 2002 Gravel Mine Pinot Noir

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, Pinot, Noir, English Estate Winery

Thanksgiving Is Pinot Noir Season

With Thanksgiving approaching, Pinot Noir is on my mind. For me, it has always been the perfect classic choice to complement the traditional American Thanksgiving feast. And with a good sized crowd gathering, I think a box (or two or three) is just the answer. Red boxed wine is not just about Cab, Merlot, and Burgundy. There is actually very fine Pinot Noir in a 3 liter cask (some of it even way to "fine" for my limited budget) from English Estate Winery (Washington). Not too easy to find, but available by internet order. If I don't get around to ordering a box of Pinot Noir, I can always fall back on a Syrah. There are now a number of premium 3 liter Shiraz boxed wines with broad availability around the country. Brands that come to mind are Black Box, Delicato, Wine Cube, Hardy's Stamp, Fish Eye, Corbett Canyon, and Banrock Station.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will concentrate on adding some more of these wines to my big list of boxed wines (well, it's not exactly big yet, but it keeps growing).

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, red, syrah, shiraz, pinot, noir, Thanksgiving

El Paseo Valencia Red 3 Liter Box

A Spanish addition to the Boxed Wine Spot list of boxed wines:


El Paseo Valencia Red
El Paseo Winery (Precept Brands)
Spain, Valencia
3 liter box, (also available in bottle vintage dated)
About $16

Vintage Note
Vinters throughout Spain enjoyed an excellent harvest in 2004. The vintage was marked by grapes with deep color, excellent aromatics and concentrated flavors. A spring frost and hot summer temperatures ripened fruit to perfection. A reduced crop size with ideal autumn weather conditions gives the wines intensity and richness.

Tasting Note
Deep purple red in color with an intense nose of strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, spice and resin. The palate is clean and fruity with a feel of tannins and a long, wide finish.

Variety Blend: 100% Tempranillo
Bottling
TA: 3.1%
Ph: 3.67
Alc: 13.5%
Available sizes: 750ml bottle, 3L cask

2004 Valencia Red | El Paseo | ¡Savor Life!

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, El Paseo, winery, Valencia, red, Spain

2005 La Petite Frog, Picpoul de Pinet, 3 Liter Box

From France and available in the US thanks to Kysela Pere et Fils, here's another very interesting addition to the list of bag-in-box wines. I just posted this yesterday on this wine, as it is Denver Post's Wine of the Week, so here are the particulars:

2005 La Petite Frog, Picpoul de Pinet
From Hugues Beaulieu, Cave de Pomerols
France, Pomerol
3 liter box, vintage dated
100% Picpoul (aka Folle Blanche)
Wine Spectator 87
About $34

100% Picpoul, aka Folle Blanche. Pale yellow color with green tints. Fresh and fine aromas of grapefruit and exotic fruit. Lime flavors, with typical focusing acidity, are hallmarks of Picpoul. Our best value, this wine impresses novices and hardened geeks equally. Known as “the Muscadet of the South” in France, this is to the Mediterranean coast of France what Albariño is to northwest Spain…the default wine for fresh shellfish & seafood.

"Fresh and crisp white with citrus, apple and Asian pear flavors. Well-balanced and structured, with hints of spice on the finish. Fine match for shellfish. Drink now." —K.M., Wine Spectator (August 31, 2006), 87 pts - BEST VALUE

Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd.: Cave de Pomérols

Interesting to note that, if you go to the Cave de Pomerols website, the 2005 Picpoul de Pinet is shown in 3L and 5L BiB packaging, but not under the name "La Petite Frog". It would appear that the label was created especially for the US market, to appeal to our affection for "critter wines". I can't help thinking though, that it is a strange choice of critters, as the French word for frog is actually grenouille, and "frog" is also a derogatory term for a French person.

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, white, wine, Picpoul, Piquepoul, de Pinet, French, Pomerol, France

Twelve Boxed Wine Favorites

Three food writers, and over 40 boxes of wine. Eating Well has recently been "Thinking Inside the Box". Sounds like fun!

In the not-too-distant past, box and screwtop wines held roughly the same ranking in the wine pantheon as barely drinkable jug brands—the perfect choice for college kids. Screwtops have already made the leap to respectability—plenty of high-end vintners have forgone natural cork in favor of screwtops that assure predictable quality. But is box wine really ready to undergo a similar Cinderella transformation? The answer is unequivocally “yes”—and the revolution has already begun.

Thinking Inside the Box - Eating Well

So what were those 12 favorites? Six Chardonnays (ho hum) and six reds, mostly Cab and Merlot.

The Bottom Line

We tasted over 40 wines in several tasting sessions and have selected our Top 12 favorites from the group. All our picks in the white category were Chardonnays, which was primarily a function of availablility; of the 17 whites we found, five were blends, two were Pinot Grigios and the rest were Chardonnays. There were more varietals available in the red category. While we are not ready to give up bottled wines, there are some eye-opening discoveries to be made in boxes. The joy of uncorking a nice bottle of wine is deeply ingrained in many of us, but the days of judging a wine by its cap or container are clearly numbered.

Top Whites

Delicato, Chardonnay (California) 2004 $16 This rich Chardonnay is full of tart apples and pineapple mellowed in young wood with a hint of vanilla.

Carmenet, Chardonnay (California) 2004 $17 Tropical fruit, bananas, vanilla and a bit of oak burst from this golden-colored wine. Light bitter and sour tastes balance out the big Chardonnay flavors.

Stonehaven, Chardonnay (Australia) NV $17 Butter-yellow-colored wine, with soft oak and warm Golden Delicious apple scents. This smooth wine is medium-bodied with just a hint of acidity for balance.

Hardy’s, Chardonnay (Australia) 2005 $18 Straw-colored with a heady aroma of gardenia, melon and fig, this full-bodied and syrupy wine bursts from its box to fill the glass with heavy tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and mango. A rather hot finish.

Black Box Wines, Chardonnay (California) 2004 $22 Pale color and a rather delicate aroma characterize this crisp, clean Chardonnay with just a subtle suggestion of oak. It has a sweetscent of honeysuckle and sun-warmed fruit with nicely balanced splashes of golden apple and pear.

DTOUR, Chardonnay (France) 2004 $37 We tried to stick with wines available nationwide but this one was so good we had to break the rules; it’s only in New Jersey, New York and Maryland stores to date, but distribution will be expanded across the U.S. in the next year. This light, crisp wine has green apple, mild vanilla and light yeasty flavors.

Top Reds

Delicato, Merlot (California) 2004 $16 Redolent with berry and dark plum, this deep-colored wine smells like a bowl of fruit, rounded out with light oaky notes.

Carmenet, Merlot (California) 2002 $17 The rich garnet color foreshadows its deep fruit tones of raisin, black cherry and blackberry with hints of roasted coffee, clove and cedar. Fruit and spice play off one another so surprisingly well, you’ll want to pour another glass.

Voyage by Origin, Cabernet Sauvignon (California) 2004 $20 Dry, but not dry enough to strip your mouth, this sophisticated wine has bright black-cherry flavors and a whiff of sea air.

Washington Hills, Rainier Red (Washington) NV $20 A red blend full of flavorful fruit balanced by powerful tannins and just the lightest hint of sweetness on the tip of the tongue.

Black Box Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon (California) 2003 $22 A robust-colored red with tastes of cherries and a touch of smokiness. This full-bodied wine has a pleasant lingering finish.

Black Box Wines, Merlot (California) 2003 $22 Bakery-aroma wine that entices you to enjoy it with crusty pizza or grilled vegetables. Surprisingly complex with a nice balance of berries and a touch of fresh herbs and green pepper.

Thinking Inside the Box - Eating Well

And what about 5 liter plonk? It was not excluded, and the result does not surprise me. Almaden actually produces the best wines in 5L box. The Almaden Cab is a fine choice for a big outdoor picnic, and is good for cooking.

To be fair, we did include some of the value wines in our tasting. (We were pleasantly surprised by the Almaden Cabernet Sauvignon in the 5-liter box, though it didn’t make our Top 12 ranking.)

Thinking Inside the Box - Eating Well

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

Provence, France Embraces the Box

In France boxed or cask wine is referred to as "outre a vin" (which actually means "wineskin") or just "BiB" (which stands for bag-in-box). Availability, variety, and acceptance all exceed what we find in the US. I recently read yet another article about boxed wine that expressed the mistaken assumption that the box concept is heretical to the French. In August of 2005 the Wine Terroirs blog showed us the comfortable place boxed wine actually holds in daily life in Provence.

8 pm, somewhere in Provence, the aperitif begins... Summer is BiB time . Warm and sunny days . Long evenings with friends and family . Preferably outside . Right time for aperitif, summer's N° 1 rosé wine festivity in Provence, is, say, 7.30 pm . I mean, the start of it : From then on, 2 hours at least of talk, jokes, to enjoy and relax in a cooler atmosphere as the sun slowly goes down . These lines are dedicated to the BiBs, our summer best friends . Here, straight from the refrigerator to the table outside, a 5 liter BiB of Rosé B_escfrom the Chateau de L'Escarelle, a 120 hectare Coteaux Varois estate located in La Celle, near Brignoles . Good value at about 13 Euro at the Domaine .

Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France: BiB means Summer

Three liter boxed wines can be bought directly from the neighborhood winery, or from the local supermarkets. This supermarket photo could be in my own southeast US neighborhood, except the boxed selection is far better, and the boxes are unabashadly displayed together instead of shyly tucked among the bottles.

This picture shows the BiB side of the wine section of a medium size supermarket near a provencal village . Most are 3 liter BiBs, with price per liter often higher than the ones from the family wineries I selected .

Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France: BiB means Summer

We Americans have a long way to go to buck the box stigma. Follow the link and check it out - pouring rose directly from the fridge, and pouring a Syrah-Grenache from the box into a bottle at the kitchen counter. The wine-insecurities of so many Americans cause them to look down on such a casual relationship with wine. People who can openly enjoy "everyday wine" are the people who will enjoy wine every day.

technorati tags: box, boxed, cask, wine, French, France, Provence