Great Box Wines!

Thinking you might have read that wrong? Maybe an oxymoron?

No—You read it right! Box wines have evolved to the point where many now contain fairly decent wines at a modestly low price. Sure, there still the ones out there that cost the equivalent of $2-3 a bottle but are hardly anything memorable (except maybe as a lesson that you sometimes get just what you paid for). But there are other options.

We have recently been introduced to several 3 liter Spanish and Chilean box wines that are outstanding quality for any winery, not just for box wines. Five of the six Spanish box wines are made and “bottled” by Wineintube in Tarragona, Spain. They offer Merlot, Tempranillo, Tempranillo-Syrah blend, Rosado, and Blanco (white blend) for $24.99, which is the equivalent $6.25 for a 750 ml bottle of wine. They also have a great Sangria wine for $23.99, or the equivalent of a $6.00 bottle.

We also have a really good Grenache for the equivalent of $5.00 a bottle from another Spanish winery, as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile—all in boxes.

Besides the great wine value, there's the convenience of being able to store the wine at room temperature for 2 or more months. The whites can be chilled to serving temperature and then returned to room temperature for storage. How do they do this? Simple. The design prevents air from touching the wine, as the box has an inner bag that collapses as the wine is consumed.

No longer can box wines be considered inferior quality. These eight examples in our inventory are proof that, indeed, some box wines do present good quality at reasonable prices.

That is our recent experience with box wines—what have you found?

Ralph Taylor
For Winedog Fine Wine & Fine Art