# anyone encounter a good wine..in a box?



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 2, 2013)

hahah..

simmmer down you wine snobs.

in a lot of ways, a box wine makes sense. for me, especially a white wine that i use more often for cooking. i've been buying a few. i had a few decent ones i got in a boutique wine shop in Denver..we took the bags out and backpacked them in..in the wild, with a campfire, totally exhausted, i think ANY wine is a good wine. i havent found one yet in the Bay Area, CA.

long shot?


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## stereo.pete (Aug 2, 2013)

boomchakabowwow said:


> hahah..
> 
> simmmer down you wine snobs.
> 
> ...




Mmmm, the joys of space bags, oh what fun we had in college.


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

With 25 years in the Napa Valley wine industry, I have *serious* doubts you'll find anything worth drinking in a box. That said, I can't recommend cause I've never tried it, but you might start here, ya never know...and let us know if it's worth a crap:

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/the-time-for-fine-box-wine-has-come/Content?oid=1278900


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## gic (Aug 2, 2013)

Depends on what you mean by good, for parties the target whites in a box are OK for example, but even as an amateur home cook, I probably wouldn't serve them with a good meal I had worked hard to prepare :- )


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## Brad Gibson (Aug 2, 2013)

The wine that comes from a box can be used for cooking. It's pretty reasonable, but I would never drink it.


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

Yeah, you should probably leave Robert Parker off your guest list. ;-)


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## tripleq (Aug 2, 2013)

After the first couple of glasses its all good to me!!


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

Brad Gibson said:


> The wine that comes from a box can be used for cooking. It's pretty reasonable, but I would never drink it.



I guess you don't go along with the old saw....never cook with wine that you wouldn't drink.


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## Justin0505 (Aug 2, 2013)

"good" is even more subjective than "value"

Where box wine is competitive is when comparing it to other cheap wines. I've had stuff out of a box that is just as "ok" as stuff from a <$10 bottle and the price per unit is lower in the box. Especially in the summer when i just want something light and inoffensive, I'll keep a back box pino gri or something similar in the fridge. Sometimes kinda crappy is kinda good.

Also, I have a shrimp dish that uses white wine that I've been making for years and with all different wines and the best by far is franzia white zin (the nati' ice of box wines).


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Aug 2, 2013)

I am a snob of so many things, but wine is not one of them. The problem with wine is the difference between an (subjective) affordable wine and a truly exquisite wine is a lot of money. Once you drink it, there is no tangible evidence other than the bottle. I'd rather buy a nice bottle of rum for $40 than a similar priced bottle of wine. Of course if I were rich I would probably be saying the opposite.

The point is there are some decent boxed wines out there, if you don't have a snobbish palet (not a knock on the wine snobs, I understand the snobbish view in other things). Black box and Bota box are decent in some varieties. 

Above all, even heard a somelier or two say this, is drink whatever you like and don't pay attention to the ratings (they are mostly paid for anyways).


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## Justin0505 (Aug 2, 2013)

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> Above all, even heard a somelier or two say this, is drink whatever you like and don't pay attention to the ratings (they are mostly paid for anyways).




+1 so true.
A good friend and somelier (did the work never took the test) and expert bartender (probably close to 40yrs exp) would daily have people sit down at his bar and ask "what's a good drink?" to which his first response was always "what do you like?"


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

Well, don't get too high on your horses. There is a great difference between wines and some folks are rather good at differentiating between. It's all well and good to say....just drink what you like. I couldn't agree more. But when someone likes something which tastes like horse piss, I can't help but object to their good taste. ;-)


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## boomchakabowwow (Aug 2, 2013)

i have friends in the wine biz..i asked them the same question. not so sure they are still talking to me  

backpacking, no wine is going with me in a bottle. not gonna happen. too heavy. 

cooking? i can be perfectly happy with a non-crap wine..i dont need to build a pan sauce on a GREAT wine. i would go as far as to say..i refuse to dump a GREAT wine into food. i'd rather drink it. i quit drinking heavily, so i have quite the stash of GREAT wines in my wine fridge.

thanks...i am still looking.


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

boomchakabowwow said:


> backpacking, no wine is going with me in a bottle. not gonna happen. too heavy.
> .



No reason too. Buy some wine you know is decent/to your taste, from previous experience, and put it in something which won't break. The box wines are in plastic after all. Shrug


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## Crothcipt (Aug 2, 2013)

The funny thing about wine in a box, is most places that make a sauce from wine is from a box. Very cost effective and has decent taste, easy to store too.


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## mr drinky (Aug 2, 2013)

I'm not sure what the problem is; I drink wine from a box all the time. Sometimes the boxes are cardboard but other times they are made out of wood and the bottles inside come nicely wrapped in paper. Those wood box wines are usually pretty amazing 

k.


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## bikehunter (Aug 2, 2013)

mr drinky said:


> I'm not sure what the problem is; I drink wine from a box all the time. Sometimes the boxes are cardboard but other times they are made out of wood and the bottles inside come nicely wrapped in paper. Those wood box wines are usually pretty amazing
> 
> k.



No...No...you should have wrapped those in Saran wrap before pics. Box wine must be in plastic.


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## apicius9 (Aug 2, 2013)




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## EdipisReks (Aug 3, 2013)

Trader Joe's has an extremely cheap boxed wine for $10 for 3L. They have a red and a white. I use them mostly for cooking, but they are also pretty darn quaffable. If I were served a glass of either at a restaurant, I would think that they were regular $10-15 retail bottles of wine. Is it '82 Chateau Cos D'Estournel? No. Do I happily play the "1 for you, 4 for me" game when I make coq au vin? Absolutely.


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## JohnnyChance (Aug 4, 2013)

Buy what you want in bottles and bag it yourself!

http://www.sorbentsystems.com/spoutpak.html


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## la2tokyo (Aug 5, 2013)

Ye of little faith - Enough with all the snide remarks! There is excellent wine in boxes these days! Between boxes and wine kegs there is a surprising amount of good wine drinkable without worrying about opening and wasting half-empty bottles. Unfortunately I know this because I drink away a ridiculous amount of my salary. Ask and you shall receive:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/dining/reviews/boxed-wines-review.html?pagewanted=all


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## bikehunter (Aug 5, 2013)

la2tokyo said:


> Ye of little faith - Enough with all the snide remarks! There is excellent wine in boxes these days! Between boxes and wine kegs there is a surprising amount of good wine drinkable without worrying about opening and wasting half-empty bottles. Unfortunately I know this because I drink away a ridiculous amount of my salary. Ask and you shall receive:
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/dining/reviews/boxed-wines-review.html?pagewanted=all



Yeah, well. Believe what you will. If selecting and drinking wine one bottle at a time, based on what I'm eating that evening....... makes me a snob....so be it. ;-)


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## toddnmd (Aug 6, 2013)

One good thing about box wine is that you can drink it slowly--I think they keep for several weeks to a month after opening. Makes it easier to have a single glass when you want.


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