Box Star Shiraz
Price: $14
Maker: Imported by International Cellars, Madera, California
Varietal: Shiraz
Packaging: 3 liter box, push-button spigot
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10
A new arrival in several local wine shops was the non-vintage Box Star Shiraz. The first wine that we’ve tried from this brand - they have a Chardonnay, a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon in the series. The nose has spice, licorice, and weak berry notes. The flavor starts with juicy cherries and currants, chocolate, and slides smoothly into a spicy finish with a tannin bite. All in all, this is a respectable enough wine for everyday drinking or low-key party use.
We weren’t able to learn much about the background of this wine. It’s imported by International Cellars of Madera, CA. The wine itself is from Australia. There’s no website listed on the packaging, and none of the International Cellars we located on the Web seemed to be the one offering Box Star wines. Distribution for the product seems to be ramping up, though, so we expect to see more of this brand in the future. It’s nice to see a new brand of box wine pop up from nowhere, and we’ll report on some of the other wines from Box Star soon.
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June 7th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
They bill themselves on shelf “talkers” as “from the makers of Black Box”. So maybe they are from Black Box, although you won’t find Box Star on the Black Box web site either.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Hmmm, that’s interesting, Chazz. I guess that would help explain their simultaneous appearance in multiple outlets.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
I love Box Star! I can’t find it near my house though, so I hope they start distributing it more widely.
September 14th, 2007 at 9:06 am
how many carbohydrates in box star chardonnay
September 14th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I don’t know, Nikki - winemakers almost never include nutrition info on their packaging, or even on their website. In general, dry whites like Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc are quite low in carbs. I’ve seen numbers in the 1 - 3 grams per 5 oz. glass. Dry reds like Cabs, Shiraz, etc. run in the 4 gram range. If you are counting carbs, stay away from sweeter wines. Dessert wines can run in the 12 - 20 gram range.
May 10th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Box Star is Rad. It takes the blood/plasma bag to a new level, destroying pablo vella, and all other box wine dandys to date. Do not chill the chard to low or it will destroy the flavor. Guaranteed headache in the manana just like you’d expect from fine cheap wine standards.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
We were impressed with the Box Star 2007 Chardonnay. When we removed the bag to finish the last of it, we found chewed candy & a lollypop stick in the bottom of the box - ugh!
Just thought you should know, someone must have a sweet tooth in production or lacking quality check in packaging.
If it helps… the bar code number is:
0_81434_00025_5
Thank you.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
After living in Western Australia for a few months and enjoying Australian wine.Yesterday I purchased a wine box, I tried it last evening..it was a Riesling,I do prefer red’s but I recognized the name..”.Hardys..”. well I discovered this evening after being gone all day…it dripped all over my fridge..so much for the wine staying fresh for weeks after opening….it was all over my fridge! I did enjoy it last evening however!
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I have had the same thing happen with Hardy’s 2005 Shiraz Grenache, only I caught it. Guess that’s why it was at Big Lots for $5 a box. I really liked the taste though, great summer wine over ice with some lime and orange squeezed in it.