I discovered boxed wine in a round-about way. My journey started at one of our Wine Club meetings where we tasted Chardonnay. Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of Chardonnay but the wine club is so much fun it’s hard not to embrace the wine of the moment.
To be honest, as a group we felt we wouldn’t learn anything new about this wine … I mean it’s Chardonnay for heaven’s sake. However, we were pleasantly surprised.
We had a flight of Chardonnay’s representing several regions and countries. At the top of the price range was a Cake Bread Chardonnay, which runs about $65.00 a bottle. Mid-range prices ran about $12.00 to $25.00 a bottle for bottles.
My assignment for this tasting was an Australian Chardonnay. I chose a bottle of Lindeman’s at $7.99 a bottle. This was the ‘cheapest’ wine at our Tasting.
Short story long …. The Lindeman’s Chardonnay was a hands down, run-away winner among a flight of 7 wines. This wine has become my ‘go-to’ summer white wine and I always have a box in the fridge ready to serve by the glass or as mixer, say a White Wine Spritzer, if friends stop by.
This is why we have so much fun and learn so much at our wine tastings. When you discover that a $7.99 bottle of wine can can push a bottle costing $65.00 to the back of the line that’s a tip you can bring to the bank … and the table.
And then one day while perusing the shelves of a local package store, I discovered this wine comes in a Box. I know, the horror!
I actually like the idea of a boxed wine for practical and economic reasons. The vacuum sealed bladder is a perfect vessel for wine; keeping the air out prevents oxidation and preserves the freshness of the wine and extends the shelf life. One box of wine replaces 3-4 bottles saving space.
And buying it by the box makes it an even better bargain: where I shop in Massachusetts a box of Lindeman’s Chardonnay, which equals 4 bottles of wine, is $17.99. That’s $4.50 a bottle! For good wine!
To be honest boxed wines I’ve tried in the past were awful but knowing that this was a wine I liked made it a no-brainer to grab the box.
Boxed wines are still preferred by producers of less expensive wines because it is cheaper than glass bottles. This has created the perception that these wines are inferior and in the past they have been. But if you do a Google search on ‘boxed wines’ you’ll find there are many good boxed wines being produced today.
The take-away here is that I would not have jumped on the boxed wine bandwagon if I hadn’t first discovered that a wine I liked also came in a box. And that would have been a loss for me.
Now I’m ready to try more.
In fact, for my next Wine Club meeting I’m going to do a Boxed Wine tasting. I think it’s time to find a good Red-in-a-Box.
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Update: 1.14.17 – One of my astute readers from Michigan contacted me recently advising that her local store was no longer carrying this wine and informed her that the distributor said it was not longer available. I went to my local merchant and he had the same news. I have reached out to Lindeman’s directly for the scoop and await a response.
If true, I will be so bummed out … this was my summer G0-To wine.