Since when did boxed wine become "My Thing"

I am kind of a wino. I gave up beer for a very long time ago (Though I will shortly be drinking homebrew beer starting when its carbed). Anyway, somewhere along the way I went from drinking good exotic wines, to more often than not drinking Almaden boxed wine (which really isn't all that bad). Anyway, wife calls me up tonight from Cost Plus World Market (home of awesome wines) and asks if I want anything. I had her pick up a bottle of OZV and as I am sitting here drinking it... I realize how absolutely delicious it is and how long it has been since I went buck wild and tried anything other than boxed Almaden cab. Kind of sad really. Sad face... see?

When did I become so lazy in my booze selection?

Nothin' wrong with it. I know alot of wine geeks that drink boxed stuff as their daily. I know $hit about wine, some I really like, some I don't, but I can say that I've never been offended by a boxed wine. Good call on the homebrew though, much better choice IMO.

NordeastBrewer77 said:

Nothin' wrong with it. I know alot of wine geeks that drink boxed stuff as their daily. I know $hit about wine, some I really like, some I don't, but I can say that I've never been offended by a boxed wine. Good call on the homebrew though, much better choice IMO.

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I should clarify because occasionally I get the "Black Box" of wine which is really very good wine. That is probably more what your wine geeks are drinking.

sonofgrok said:

I should clarify because occasionally I get the "Black Box" of wine which is really very good wine. That is probably more what your wine geeks are drinking.

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Nope, Franzia, grocery store stuff. Nicer stuff too, but the regulars. Like I said, I know nothing of wine, so yeah when a wine drinking friend is like "I drink a lot of box wine and like it", I assume they're at least sometimes getting the best d@mn box wine they can.
So, side note... my wife's a casual wino but steers away from the black box wines (even though she'll buy Franzia and stuff). Is it good? It looks like it could be, it's always stocked right next to the wines we buy (Yellow Tail, Barefoot, stuff like that). Worth it?

Absolutely worth it. It is very good wine. Then again though I can't stand Yellow Tail or Barefoot

I would consider Barefoot actually one of the worst wines I have ever have. Lol Sorry! I know some like it.

sonofgrok said:

Absolutely worth it. It is very good wine. Then again though I can't stand Yellow Tail or Barefoot

I would consider Barefoot actually one of the worst wines I have ever have. Lol Sorry!

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Really? I like the YT shiraz or shiraz/merlot. Barefoot is meh, but she likes it. I drink wine 2 or 3 times a year. I'll tell her to check it out.
So as for the cheap ones, what's your choice? I've been known to enjoy too many glasses of Franzia and not feel like my palate was offended. :cross:

Franzia merlot really isn't all that bad. Cheap ones? Honestly most of the Gallo wines are very cheap and really not that bad (Although my mothers cousin runs their vineyards in Sonoma so I am a little biased). OZV is fairly cheap and ind is an excellent Zin. I am actually drinking that right now.

Oh and most of trader joes "2 buck chucks" are ok too

And Robert Mondavi is ok. The problem I run into all too often with cheap wines is faked oak flavor (Barefoot is one of the biggest violators).

sonofgrok said:

And Robert Mondavi is ok. The problem I run into all too often with cheap wines is faked oak flavor (Barefoot is one of the biggest violators).

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Is that what that is? Huh.

fwiw, Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel is actually very, very good...box or no box.

And I've never had anything good with an Almaden label on it...

Cheers!

Big difference compared to the '80s. Back then, boxed wine was one baby-step above Mad Dog and Night Train.

Drinking boxed wine is akin to drinking beer from cans......

ingchr1 said:

Drinking boxed wine is akin to drinking beer from cans......

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Maybe in the 80's but not anymore.

ingchr1 said:

Drinking boxed wine is akin to drinking beer from cans......

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Your point being...?

Cheers!

[fwiw, there are microbrews that have gotten into cans of late. Expect more of that across the whole industry...]

ingchr1 said:

Drinking boxed wine is akin to drinking beer from cans......

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I hope you mean better and more convenient...

Well played. I think his point was "the vessel is less important than the cargo," but was purposely obtuse so as to cause a wee bit of drama

I'm pretty much at the same level as Nordeast, don't drink wine too often but have had some that I like better than others. Recently the MRS, who likes wine much more than I, brought home a couple of boxes from whole paycheck. One was a red wine, Vina Borgia Garnacha and a white wine, Bota Box Chardonnay. Both tasted pretty good to me but I am far from a wine critic. I like the convenience of these boxes though, I must admit.

CreamyGoodness said:

Well played. I think his point was "the vessel is less important than the cargo," but was purposely obtuse so as to cause a wee bit of drama

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Exactly, well read!

Finished that decent bottle and here I am drinking Almaden again. Pathetic.

I traveled to Napa valley last month and got to taste a lot of different wines. Funny I never liked the reds but figured out I was just drinking the nasty stuff. That being said I really couldnt tell the difference between the $20 bottle and the $60 bottle. I wish I could tell you witch was the best but after a day of tasting I really didnt even remember where I was.....

Since when did boxed wine become "My Thing"

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Since you became a divorced soccer mom.

McBrewskie said:

Since you became a divorced soccer mom.

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I can't believe I missed that... crap! I better go tell my wife so she can respond accordingly...

I don't drink wine much.. but port. Oh Port!

I wish more wines came in boxes. It seems silly in this day of inventive high-tech packaging to use a container that weighs as much as the liquid in it. Especially for wines that have a long way to travel. Fuel costs, yo! When I buy that $6.99 bottle of Chateau Amour Medoc at Trader Joe's (side note: it's freaking fantastic for a cheap French wine), I wonder how much I'm paying for the gas on the boat trip over here. I could be drinking twice as much wine on my $6.99 wine budget! Right now, I could be! This is a crisis, obviously.

BiB wine is actually much more popular in Europe than the US, due to the prevailing pejorative perception held in the States.

But you can bet just as beer will move inexorably towards cans, wine will move towards BiB packaging. Both are inevitable...

Cheers!