Box Wines
A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines

The New York Times quotes Bloomberg News in Italy Joins the Boxed Wine Rebellion by Mike Nizza:

Italy’s Agriculture Ministry said that some fine Italian wines that receive government quality guarantees will be allowed to be sold in boxes.

I find this encouraging, if a bit odd. When I was last in Italy, there seemed to be no regulation against some wine shops dispensing directly from a large stainless steel tank into a recycled 1.5 liter water bottle (or, presumably, any other container provided by the customer). That’s hardly ideal storage and preservation technology. Why the Italian government would worry about the well-proven performance of today’s boxed wine packaging isn’t clear.

In any case, this is one more indicator that box wines are moving upscale and becoming better accepted.

Price: $19
Maker: F.W. Langguth Erben GmbH & Co. KG
Varietal: Riesling
Packaging: 3-liter box, push-button spigot
Alcohol: 10.5%
Our Rating: 8.2 out of 10

It’s taken us quite a while to get around to tasting Blue Nun Riesling, a non-vintage German wine that has been marketed in the U.S. for decades. This was in part because I tend to lean toward red wines, and in part because I’ve avoided man of the ever-present supermarket boxed wine. This Riesling has pear and pineapple flavors, with a hint of citrus in the finish. It’s relatively sweet and simple, and lacks the crisp, acidic finish that might tone down the sweetness.

This wine will appeal quite readily to those who aren’t regular wine drinkers - its fruity sweetness won’t offend at all. In fact, “inoffensive” is a good way to characterize Blue Nun Riesling. As such, it might be a good choice for a picnic white or similar uses.

We tasted Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and liked the wine. We were also impressed by Killer Juice’s use of the packaging to enhance the shelf appeal of the wine.

In a typical supermarket or wine shop, the customer is presented with a staggering array of wines. Boxed wines in particular may be a challenge, since many consumers associate the concept with ultra-cheap product from brands like Franzia. Killer Juice does several things to stand out beyond the wine’s attractive black packaging.

Their first step is far from unique - they put a big gold emblem on the box to promote the Cab’s winning a gold medal at the 2007 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. Other wineries do that, but most don’t. Particularly for a boxed wine, a prestigious-looking award is a vote of confidence that could turn an uncertain wine shopper into a buyer.

The second thing Killer Juice does is even more clever. Many wine shoppers may have difficulty assessing the value of a box of wine. For one, boxes are deceptively compact - a three-liter box doesn’t look like it holds the same amount of wine as four 750ml bottles, even though it does. Many box wine makers print the equivalent number of bottles, or even use little bottle pictures to illustrate the capacity of the box. Killer Juice goes a step farther, and prints “Contains 4 Bottles of Killer $10 Wine” on three sides of the box.

This message communicates more than quantity. It says something about quality to the consumer - a $10 bottle value suggests wine that is better than plonk, and might actually be pretty good. In one fell swoop, Killer Juice establishes an equivalent bottle value, and highlights the big savings their package offers.

Will these small enhancements make Killer Juice boxed red wines fly off the shelves? Probably not. But they will help, and as the glassy-eyed wine buyers stares at the shelf laden with boxwines, they could tip the balance.

Price: $19
Maker: Killer Juice Vineyards, Ripon, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 3-liter box, twist spigot
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

It’s been two years since we tried Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2006 vintage of this boxed Cab is a more than worthy successor. The nose was mild, with ripe berry and woody notes. This Cab had a big, rounded cherry flavor with oak and black pepper in the finish. Crisp tannins contributed to a nice balance overall.

At the 2008 Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience, Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 took the “Best Value Cabernet Sauvignon” award. That may be a bigger accomplishment that it might seem to be at first glance - the other varietal winners of value awards were all bottled wines. I’m sure the Killer Juice makers were very pleased by this result.

This wine hasn’t received a lot of blog attention, but How I Eat gave it high marks for everyday drinkability. The Wineauxs declared the 2005 vintage “simple and inoffensive - great for burgers and pizza.” We go along with these reviews - if you are looking for a very drinkable boxed red wine that you can put on your counter and enjoy every day, Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is a fine choice.

(Our previous tasting: Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon 2003.)

Price: $22
Maker: Boho Vineyards, Ripon, California
Varietal: Merlot
Packaging: 3-liter box, twist spigot
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Boho Central Coast Merlot 2006 may well be the nicest boxed Merlot we’ve tried. It has blackberry, clove, and leather aromas. On the palate, it offers juicy cherries and chocolate notes, leading into a long oaky finish with chewy tannins.

Boho seems to be a young brand with an environmentally conscious personality. The packaging is a natural brown cardboard box, and there are a host of slogans proclaiming the winery’s green orientation: “Protect The Wine, Protect The World;” “Better Wine - Better Value - Better Environment;” “Respect for the Earth - Passion for Handcrafted Wines - Value for Money.” Some might say this is sloganeering overkill, but this Merlot speaks for itself. I think that the packaging may appear a bit downscale to some buyers, but most who take a minute to study the box will no doubt get what Boho is trying to say.

We think Boho Central Coast Merlot 2006 is an example of what boxed wines can deliver - it’s juicy and flavorful, finishes well, and offers convenient packaging and a fine value. Now, if they could only get rid of the twist spigot… like most of these closures, it will release a drop or two shortly after pouring. Don’t let that discourage you from giving this Merlot a try.

NBC’s Today Show did a frothy piece on the increasing quality and acceptance of boxed wines today. Much of the segment involved a couple of the hosts trying to guess whether they were drinking box or bottle wine. They actually guessed correctly most of the time, but it was hardly scientific. Here’s the video:

Price: $19
Maker: Black Box Wines, Madera, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The last time we tried Black Box Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon (the 2005), we didn’t care for it much. Rating it only 7.5, we speculated that perhaps we had a bad box. Happily, the 2006 we tried is back to the level we saw in the 2004 version. Oaky berries feature in the mild aroma of this wine. It is medium-bodied and quite juicy, with plums and currants blending with cocoa notes and well-structured tannins.

This wine has restored our faith in Black Box as a purveyor of decent wines. Black Box Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 isn’t a great wine, but it’s pleasant and drinkable. One oddity we found was some sediment in the bottom of this box. That’s something we haven’t encountered in many box wines, which are usually young and clear. It didn’t affect the flavor at all, and we probably wouldn’t have notice had we not gone to extreme measures to drain the last glass from the box. The other oddity was that the usually reliable push-button spigot had a “dribble” problem. Twist spigots often show that issue, but this is one of the first push-buttons I’ve encountered that let go an extra drop or two after the glass was poured.

A key hurdle that box wine must overcome is that it is cheap plonk - many consumers will assume this until proven otherwise. Boxed wine makers who think, “Wait until they taste it - THAT will convince them!” are, unfortunately, hoping for too much. We’ve written about experiments which have shown that people subconsciously prefer wine that is more expensive, or that comes from a better region (see Neuromarketing for Why Expensive Wine Tastes Better and Wine: The Spillover Effect. In each case, wine that was actually identical produced different reactions in the wine drinker’s brain and/or unconscious behavior. It’s not a big stretch to assume that boxed wine, long a beverage of choice for hard-up college students and thrifty party-givers, would carry the same mental stigma as cheap bottled wine or wine from a region of uncertain quality.

The New York Times has picked up on this theme with My Cortex Made Me Buy It by M. P. Dunleavey. In that article, the author wrestles with the question of how much the perception of the wine was influenced by the fact that it was poured from a box:

When [the subjects] sampled the wines with lower prices, however, the subjects not only liked them less, their brains registered less pleasure from the experience. It seems that what these subjects really liked was the price tag, not the product.

APPARENTLY my brain had a similar reaction at the thought of drinking Blue Nun from a box, which costs about $20 for a container that packs the equivalent of four 750-milliliter bottles of wine. But why? Does the brain fire up at the sight of a higher price tag in any context?

A good question indeed, and one that box wine producers will have to address as they strive for greater acceptance of their products.

A Neuromarketing post, Wine Tasting Trickery, explains why wine tasters (even the Box Wines blog) don’t just follow their taste buds.

This illustrates the challenges that box wines have to overcome - even if they taste exactly the same as a wine in a bottle with a natural cork, they are likely to be downgraded if the tasting isn’t blind.

Price: $9
Maker: Heath Wines, Bowden, South Australia
Variety: Shiraz
Packaging: 1-liter Tetra Pak
Alcohol: 14%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Lizard Flat Shiraz 2004 comes in one of those 1-liter Tetra Pak that seems way too small to hold a third more wine than a 750 ml bottle. It has the typical screw cap closure, making it easy to open and reseal. This Shiraz has some licorice and vanilla in the nose, and is very juicy on the palate. Cherries and blackberries are the main notes, with some oak and rather light pepper. The wine isn’t too complex, but the finish lasts suprisingly well. At 14%, this Shiraz is at the high end of alcohol content for a Shiraz. Overall, Lizard Flat Shiraz is an accessible, fun wine that is well suited to its informal and convenient packaging. It’s a nice choice for picnics, outdoor entertaining, and home consumption.

Oddly, the Heath Wines website suggests, “Drink now or be rewarded by cellaring for up to 5 years.” We’ve got to admit that the idea of cellaring Tetra Paks is a bit foreign, but maybe we’re just old-fashioned. This is the first Heath wine that we’ve knowingly tasted, and we’re glad we tried it. We note they also offer several wines from “100 year old vines” which sound quite interesting, but haven’t appeared in the local market.