Box Wines

I lived in Sweden for 20 years. There the government runs the alcohol business and ‘systembolaget’ is about the only place to purchase wine. One of the things I thought interesting, other than fairly good wine selection, good availability of high quality and really reasonable prices, was the large offering of drinkable box wines. When I moved back to the USA, I found that only bulk wine seemed to be available here in a box. In Sweden I got reasonable table wines for a reasonable price and they’d keep for weeks. I used to have a box of white in the fridge and a box of red on the kitchen shelf (away from the heat, thanks. It was Sweden after all). The boxes held 3 liters each.

I realize that in the USA box wines got a really bad name because of what was in them. But getting beyond that, having a plastic bladder that deflates as the wine is used, but keeps air out, for me was a reasonable way to store wine. If you go to Välkommen you can browse what is available there. Okay, it’s in Swedish, but you can read the labels.

Has anyone else had a pleasant experience with wine in a box?

When we go on vacation to either the beach or golf, I buy box wine for the house that we rent. I like Black Box wines, they’re perfectly fine ‘every day’ wines. Not gonna get any DRC or 1st growth taste there, but it does the job on vacation.

Pro tip: buy a boxed wine, pull out the stopper and pour wine down the drain. Fill bladder with your favorite wine. Replace stopper. Enjoy.

A few years back some mainly Australian lower end but drinkable wines came out in tetra packs which were very handy for stowing in a sail boat.

Kirk - funny you should mention it, as I was just talking about the Nordic countries affection for the BiB in another thread! Yes, I’m originally Swedish. Here’s the post:

Perhaps for another discussion, but Scandinavia’s obsession with BiB in general, is another thing that I think is a sign of things to come worldwide. They’re actually ahead in this regard. It went from a shameful, low end product (like it is still viewed in most other markets) full of stigma, but now with clever marketing and consumer molding it has become almost an environmental preference. The right thing to buy. Even “good” wine producers make BiB for the Scandi market. It has totally displaced mass produced bottle wines. Only perhaps the higher end producers still get traction from bottles - low to medium producers all cater to BiB. Which is very different from the US market where only the lowest of the low cater to this. And BiB carries significant stigma.

It’s easier to ship, saves weight, keeps air out, comes in more consumer friendly volumes, etc. I predict BiB will eventually conquer the world in most price brackets - Scandinavia just happens to be the battleground for it.

Here is a thread just for you… Make fun of box wines - Wine Pimps - WineBerserkers

[snort.gif] neener

Always like the Big House Wines. Have not had them in years however.

Oh, it’ll come here too, we’re just 20 years behind. It’ll catch up.

Big House or Black Box.

Had Black Box at the office for a happy hour … completely drinkable.

I’m Norwegian. More than fifty percent of the wine sold in Norway (by volume) is box wine. The wine snob in me dislikes it, and before I had kids, I almost never bought it, but now it is very nice to be able to have a glass or two when the kids are asleep without feeling that we have to finish a bottle. Yes, there’s a lot of bad wine boxes, but there is a lot of bad wine bottles as well, and in Norway there are quite a few decent daily drinkers available in box. My current weekday box is Vajra Langhe Rosso, a straightforward everyday wine.