Breaking Into The Box - The Best Boxed Wines

[UPDATE: Find all of our most recent picks for the best box wines HERE!]

At last, our long awaited series on box wine is here! Over the last several weeks we've been hard at work tasting every imaginable box wine we could find, ranging in price from $10 to $50+ and coming in a wide assortment of unique and engaging packages, to bring you the very best of the bunch. Once hidden away from judging eyes behind coffee machines or cookie jars or stashed deep inside refrigerators, box wines have begun to come of age and can represent the ultimate value for wine drinkers. The only problem is winnowing the wheat from the chaff because as we found first hand -- there's still a whole lot of boxed plonk out there.

Why box wine?

• Convenience is a major factor. The typical box is three liters (3L), which is the equivalent of 4 bottles. Boxes are easy to buy, easy to transport from the store (seriously, try carrying 8 bottles of wine in your arms and then compare that to just two boxes), easy to use (no corkscrew necessary), and always on hand and ready to please whether you just want a smidge or you need to (discreetly) fill your Starbucks Trenta cup.
• Cost! Not only do you generally save purely because you are buying in bulk, but bag in box packaging costs a fraction of traditional glass bottlings for the same amount of wine. In addition, with the the box packaging itself weighing about the same as a single glass bottle there are massive savings in shipping costs which in theory get passed on to you.
• It stays fresh for 4-6 weeks. Even the best preservation methods for a bottle of wine will only save it for a few days, but with the vacuum sealed pouches used today your wine stays as good as new for weeks after you pour the first glass.
• And last but not least, box wine puts an end to worries about cork taint which affects a surprising number of bottles. (Probably unknowingly to most consumers -- they just assume the wine was no good and don't buy it again.)

Because of these advantages it's no surprise that sales of box wines are increasing year over year at a double digit rate (10+%) in the USA. Even with this increase however, adoptance in the U.S. is still quite low at less than 5% of sales. In Europe, on the other hand, box wines make up about 20% of wine sales and in Australia, the land of the screw cap, it's an astounding 50%!

In tasting all these boxes, they seemed to divide generally into two camps -- those that focus on keeping the wine as cheap as possible (which are not always the brands you would expect) while still producing something relatively good versus those that are focused more on the quality of the wine but turn to the box for convenience or because of environmental concerns. (The carbon footprint for box wine is less than half that of the equivalent bottles.) As you might guess the quality of wine is significantly better in the second group.

It's also interesting to note that while the trend in bottled wines has been to higher alcohol reds, very few of these boxes cross the 13% alcohol level. My guess is that this is simply another cost saving measure, as the excise tax for wine increases once alcohol level hits 14%. This does raise some concerns as it could mean producers are putting too much focus on their costs rather than on quality -- i.e. are they sacrificing the quality of the wine to keep the alcohol percentage artificially low? I have my suspicions, although no definitive answers, but it's certainly something to watch for in this growing segment.

The wines tasted for this series are listed below. As is our custom, we won't spend time reviewing the wines that don't garner a recommended rating, but keep in mind because of the extremely low cost on these boxes, most end up with a Cost Rating of a 10 (the equivalent of a $5.99 or less bottle). Because our unique rating system factors in cost -- the more expensive a bottle the better it must taste to get a good ranking -- many of these boxes only need to score a Taste Rating of 6 to be recommended. (The majority of our normal reviews are for wines $6 and up which need to score at least a 7 to get a recommended buy rating.)

Box Wines tasted for this series. (Update: And the results are in! Hyperlinks have been added to the wines we recommend, click on the wine name to see the full review or browse all of our recommended boxes, including many not on this list, here.)

• Alain Jaume & Fils Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone Reserve. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Almaden Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bandit Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bandit Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Big House Cardinal Zin. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Big House Pinot Evil. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Big House Red Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Big House White Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Black Box Platinum Series Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Black Box Merlot. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Black Box Pinot Noir. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bota Box Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bota Box Malbec. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bota Box Pinot Noir. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Bota Box Redvolution. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Brown Box Merlot. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Corbett Canyon Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Cuboid Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Duca del Frassino Cabernet Sauvignon/Corvina. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Duca del Frassino Garganega/Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Duca del Frassino Pinot Noir/Merlot. See a listing of local retailers selling this winehere.
• Esporao Alandra Red. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Esporao Alandra White. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Fish Eye Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Fish Eye Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Fuori Strada Off Road Grillo. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Fuori Strada Off Road Sangiovese. See a listing of local retailers selling this winehere.
• Franzia Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Franzia Chillable Red. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Franzia Sunset Blush. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Original Red Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Riesling. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• House Wine Sauvignon Blanc. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Jack Tone Vineyards Red. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Jack Tone Vineyards White. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Jewel Box Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Jewel Box Garnet Red Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Jewel Box Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• La Petite Frog Picpoul de Pinet. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• La Vieille Ferme Vin Rouge. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Lieb Cellars Bridge Lane Red Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Lieb Cellars Bridge Lane White Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Naked Grape Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Naked Grape Moscato. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Naked Grape Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Naked Grape Pinot Noir. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Pepperwood Grove Big Green Box Pinot Grigio. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Pepperwood Grove Big Green Box Pinot Noir. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Public House Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Public House Sauvignon Blanc. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Ste Chapelle Cabernet Saubvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Ste Chapelle Chardonnay. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Ste Chapelle Riesling. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Ste Chapelle Winemakers Red Blend. See a listing of local retailers selling this winehere.
• Target Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon. See a listing of local retailers selling this winehere.
• Target Wine Cube Pink Moscato. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Target Wine Cube Pinot Noir. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Target Wine Cube Riesling. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Target Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc. See a listing of local retailers selling this winehere.
• Trader Joe's Block Shiraz. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Viama Rosso. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Vina Borgia Garnacha. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Vina Borgia Macabeo. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Vinchio-Vaglio Serra Barbera Piemonte. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• VRAC Cotes du Rhone Red. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
• Wineberry Domaine de Garrigon Cotes du Rhone. See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

So sit back, open up that spigot and fill your glass as we spend the next few weeks exploring the big, beautiful world of box wines!

You may also want to bookmark our continually updated list of recommended box wines, just click the photo below to get there!