Box Wine Recommendations? Got Any?

[TheClares]

Personally, most of my box wine experiences have been pretty negative or bland at best. However, I recently bought the Target brand Cabernet/Shiraz Blend, and found it fairly decent, certainly better than Two Buck Chuck or other similar house cheap wines. I bought it originally for a holiday party in a suite in Vegas (who wants to hall 4 bottles through a casino?) and it worked well enough to try it again at home. There I usually enjoy a nice bottle first and then switch to the box (or open a cheaper bottle) after dinner if I want more.

I will probably bring a box or two in addition to our 2 cases of beer to extend our "reasonable alcohol allotment".

So, what experience, recommendation or warnings do you have with specific boxed wine(s)?

[seanyb]

Goon. Of. Fortune!!!!!!!!!!

[Devin the Dude]

fucking awesome game. totally going to be necessary in the campgrounds.

[M Sparks]

I am not a wine guy, but I have found the Wine Cubes you can get at Target to be pretty drinkable. Particularly surprising since they are called "Wine Cubes", and are sold at Target. The reds are better than the whites. I believe they also sell the same wine in pouches...almost like little juice boxes.

I'm sure someone will have a better answer, but as far as cheap stuff, you could do much worse.

EDIT- I'm an ass, telling you to try the thing you've already tried. Oh well, at least we have similar taste.

[justinaqui]

Killer Juice Cab

[donkey sex]

boxed wine? Got a throbbing headache hangover just reading that.

[alicide]

If you do the boxed wine, bring the aspirin...just imagine a wine hangover in the heat. Ugh. Or make a sangria...

[canexplain]

If you do the boxed wine, bring the aspirin...just imagine a wine hangover in the heat. Ugh. Or make a sangria...

I see where it says you are from canada, but do you think that people that live there don't drink cheap wine ever because of the heat? You are talking california dude. cr****

[TheClares]

I enjoy wine and beer, and expect to be drinking mostly beer, but if they allow cooking, I'll be kicking it up with some serious steaks, and that requires wine for me (besides the aforementioned extending the beer allowance).

EDIT- I'm an ass, telling you to try the thing you've already tried. Oh well, at least we have similar taste.

Affirmation is good.

Killer Juice Cab

Thanks, I did some research and this gets some good reviews. I will definitely be previewing this one beforehand.

[M Sparks]

TheClares, you should come by The Phoenix Thread...not that one, the other one.

[MaryS]

Pinot Evil Pinot Noir is pretty good for boxed wine...

Black Box Merlot is great for making tubs of sangria

[Devin the Dude]

Sangria is a much better idea. Not that I can't handle my shit--but reading those posts reminded me that it would totally be the worst thing ever to be hung over at the fields. Then again, take drugz. No hangover.

[TheClares]

1 drink of water per glass of wine almost always prevents hangovers for me. Not to mention I anticipate taking a couple of Ibuprofen and Tylenol nightly anyway.

[chiapet]

Interested to hear that the target boxed wine is not terrible. Have a feeling I'll be grabbing some of those if there is to be cooking at coachella.

[brfilora]

SLAAAPPP THE BBBBBAAAAAAGGGGG

[alicide]

I see where it says you are from canada, but do you think that people that live there don't drink cheap wine ever because of the heat? You are talking california dude. cr****

I'm not saying anyone can't drink the cheap wine in the heat. I am saying ugh.

[michaelmontanez]

top 11 list that has boxed Franzia red at the number 1 spot

[Johnnydont]

SLAAAPPP THE BBBBBAAAAAAGGGGG

HAHAHA!! Yes!! I wasnt too sure anyone else played this game. Take the industrial strength bag out of the box, take a drink, slap the bag. If your slap is anything short of an arrestable domestic dispute whallup, you need to drink and slap again.

Also, my buddy is all about shots of merlot. Order it at bars and you will get crazy looks. I promise you, once you get going, its the most social, entertaining, eyebrow raising experience you can have. The ladies love it.

www.shotsofmerlot.com

[Cammo]

Silver Oak makes a decent cab-in-a-box

[bezus]

me.

[TheClares]

me.

Bezus, FTW!

[lickety_spit]

can't you just put real wine in a grape juice bottle? also, vodka & gin look like water. whiskey looks like apple cider.

[chiapet]

The problem is glass containers. Alcohol is allowed, glass is not.

[sidsjiff]

As someone who recently had to purchase and consume a large quantity of boxed wine (smuggled into a DRY country via my luggage), I hope that I can shed some light on the question at hand. The stuff is not great, but for those who need that flavor, it's the only option. Also, most of the boxes are very convenient for serving large numbers of people (3 Liters in each and usually smaller than a small cereal box). Easiest place to buy them in CA: BevMo.

Best bet: Bota Box--> http://www.botabox.com/
Beats most others and the boxes are good too. The 2008 Cabernet is good, the 2007 is better if you can grab it. Shiraz, Merlot, Zinfandel aren't bad. Chardonnay is better than Pinot Grigio. Obviously, cold white might make sense for the desert.

Good bet: Black Box--> http://www.blackboxwines.com/
Pretty decent, especially the red varietals, however not as good as Bota. The Reserve Merlot is their best -- if you can find it.

If you can get it: there is a lot of specialty boxed wine that is occasionally available but I have not always had the luck to find these. A good number of Australian vineyards have boxed wine for years and they continue to do so. Some other notables: BOHO Chardonnay, Four Cabernet, Bandit Pinot Grigio -- these are sometimes available at Whole Foods. Since you have time before Coachella, you could use winelibrary.com and buy a whole incredible selection of boxed wine and run a tasting event. Hey - that might be pretty funny actually.

Please - try to stay away from the 5 Liter sized stuff (i.e. Franzia, etc).

[sidsjiff]

Actually,

http://prime.premiergroup.net/

has more than other sites.

[TheClares]

Pinot Evil Pinot Noir is pretty good for boxed wine...

Tried it this weekend, and it was fairly good. Somewhat on the bland side, but I've had worse, and a bargain for the price.