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See the original image at nytimes.com —

Drink Outside the Box

nytimes.com — Wine in a box makes sense environmentally and economically. Vintners in the United States would be wise to embrace the trend that is slowly gaining acceptance worldwide.

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  • skewl, on 08/18/2008, -5/+25The main obstacle to a smaller carbon footprint for wine is the frequently abysmal quality of wine put in boxes.
    • antechinus, on 08/19/2008, -7/+3I don't get the abysmal quality bit. The quality of food in the US is generally abysmal, surely box wine would be a good match.
    • nikdahl, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3Box wine is not necessarily abysmal quality. There are several great wines that come from a box. Black Box varietals are good, for example.

      You are thinking of Franzia and the like.. which are, and always will be, crap.
    • Thuktun, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2Boxed wine has a limited shelf life. They're not going to put a really good quality wine in a box where, if it doesn't get sold, it goes bad in a month.
  • acmaurer, on 08/18/2008, -2/+13I agree - while I'm not above boxed wine, there is a stigma that it is of a lesser quality :-/
    • mike17032, on 08/19/2008, -3/+2It might have something to do with it being in a ***** cardboard box.

      Hell the cheap ass 5th of Ron Rico that I carry around for a night even comes in glass.
  • silverzone, on 08/18/2008, -1/+31It looks so cool in the kitchen to have a rack with lots of neat looking bottles.
  • BCCStu, on 08/18/2008, -5/+3Box of Wine FTW!
  • 7mph, on 08/18/2008, -2/+7Box of wine...puts me right out
  • wazzu07, on 08/18/2008, -1/+17box 'o wine is always classy! especially when drank from keg cups.
    • spkrcity, on 08/19/2008, -0/+8Or straight from the spigot.
    • silence7, on 08/19/2008, -1/+12I always just poke my straw through the top of the box....
      • cdigioia, on 08/19/2008, -1/+9I use to do that, but the straws I steal from McDonalds just aren't long enough.
  • lebreezy, on 08/19/2008, -1/+3Ill be all for a "box of beer", but I don't drink enough wine for this to make a difference to me personally.
    • silence7, on 08/19/2008, -0/+4They had the Beer Ball or "Party Ball" which was something like 3 gallons of beer, in a plastic ball.
  • kcstamey, on 08/19/2008, -1/+6my kind of square meal
  • MsLainieP, on 08/19/2008, -1/+3Boxed wine is super convenient for cooking: You can take as much as you need and store the rest until you cook your next meal.
  • spookyttws, on 08/19/2008, -9/+4A box of wine will never grace my fridge. Period.
  • fudged71, on 08/19/2008, -5/+13Class: who needs it?
  • Br3ach, on 08/19/2008, -6/+3Drinking a box of wine just makes you look so, so ghetto though
    • brownspank, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3Shootin' mah nine, sippin on wine...
    • nikdahl, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1It's your preconceptions that were exactly the point of this article. Did you read it?
  • silence7, on 08/19/2008, -2/+11Believe me, wine makers would love nothing more than to be able to put expensive wine in boxes, 2 reason's they don't. Boxes don't last as long as bottles (Shelf Life) and the stigma that wine in boxes is inferior. Unless you drink a whole bottle in one sitting, a bottle of wine will start losing it's flavor quickly, while a box will be fresh til' it's empty, as the box has a bag inside that lets very little air come in contact with the wine. Whereas any wine you drink from a bottle is replaced entirely by air.

    I'll admit, showing up with a bottle of wine is a much more romanticized vision than showing up with a box.
    • megaton, on 08/19/2008, -1/+2You're aware that they use corks specifically to ALLOW the wine to breathe?
      • nikdahl, on 08/19/2008, -1/+7Sorry, but that is inaccurate. Winemakers don't want the wine to breathe while unopened. This would lead to reduction, and other problems. What cork DOES supply, is oxygen from itself (cork is 90% air), but does not allow external air through. But being an organic material, cork has it's own problems with contamination, and bottles of the same wine can have many different (unexpected and unwanted) flavors, due to the cork that is in that specific bottle. This is why bottlers are turning more to screw caps and synthetic corks.
  • Mnementh2230, on 08/19/2008, -1/+5While I understand the benifits to box-wine chemically, economically, and environmentally... I've NEVER had box-wine that I considered even passable. Now, maybe I've tried the wrong brands, but I've just never had wine from a box that quality. The whites were far too dry, or reminiscient of Boone's Farm. The reds were far too acidic, and tasted more like vinegar than a beverage - and while I like vinegar on my fish and chips, I don't like it straight.
    • FairDinkumMate, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3Aussies have been making boxed wine for over 30 years. Try some of the better Australian boxed wines(if you can get them) & you'll be pleasantly surprised at the quality.
    • nikdahl, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2Of course, stay away from the ***** Franzia.

      I suppose it depends on where you are shopping. You might not have much luck if you live in, say, rural kansas. But here in Seattle, we have some pretty terrific boxed wines available.
  • Akairenn, on 08/19/2008, -8/+1You may take my bottles of port and madeira when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

    WINE IS NOT TO BE BOXED.
  • krytz86, on 08/19/2008, -1/+8can't beat a classy night on the box
  • Ryanx0r, on 08/19/2008, -1/+2These things are great for family outings or BBQ's. It doesn't take up too much space, it's handy to carry around and you only need to fold up the box to fit it somewhere in a garbage bin.
    Ok, wine bottles look a hell of a lot better, but the quality is about the same.. I mean, you're not going to take your best wine's out to a picnic or something, those special wine's are saved for the special occasion.
  • Raian, on 08/19/2008, -0/+221: Cut a hole in a box
    2: Put your wine in that box
    3: Make her open the box
    And that's the way you do it

  • noisymime, on 08/19/2008, -1/+2Many wine makers are already moving away from the old bag in a box to the even better Tetrapak. Superior in *many* ways.
  • EmileVictor, on 08/19/2008, -3/+1The most classy way to drink "boxed wine" (pfft!! It's GOON, people!) is to remove the alfoil sack from inside and drink straight from it.

    Hence, goon sack. Goon of fortune (find a circular clothes-line or hillshoist and spin a goonsack on it).
  • Axeltw, on 08/19/2008, -1/+9I can't help but think this is the same short sighted environmentalism that brought us, plastic vs paper. Plastic has better short term environmental savings, but oh wait... It doesn't degrade.
    These boxes of wine are nothing but a plastic bladder with a plastic spout, surrounded by cardboard.
    • martin1981, on 08/19/2008, -2/+1Last I checked plastic was recyclable, so is cardboard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling
    • AmnioticEntity, on 08/19/2008, -0/+7i totally agree, though i'm pretty sure my local recycling facility does not accept plastic bags...especially those from inside a cardboard box...also don't think they accept plastic spiggets....but they do accept glass bottles and home cork boards are a cool and fun project.
    • MFoody, on 08/19/2008, -0/+0I can't help but think that producing/recycling the 3-5 wine bottles that hold the equivalent amount of wine as a box would require energy expenditure much greater than recycling the plastic and paper of a box of wine. Recylcing centers don't take plastic bags not because they are hard to recycle but because there is so little material that it isn't worth it to bother recycling. Aluminum is recycled everywhere because the ray material is very expensive to get out of the earth. It isn't recycled a lot because it is particularly good for the environment but because the metal is so valuable because it is fairly rare and hard to extract. Something being recyclable isn't this amazing gold star for it's environmental impact. A hummer is more recyclable than a prius.
    • jaffarabdul, on 08/21/2008, -0/+0Exactly! How the hell is the box with plastic inside green???? Glass was around for thousands of years and didn't cause any problems. I am fed up with all the crap greedy businesses push down our throats and for lack of better explanations they present their BS as GREEN!!! It might be green but it stinks like any BS.
  • Whitey07, on 08/19/2008, -2/+2Wine out of a bottle or box still tastes the same when your drunk, so whatever.
  • nfotxn, on 08/19/2008, -1/+8There's another awesome use for these: camping! Honestly if you like wine and camping they are a godsend. I like to drink outta mine with a crazy straw. Also they come in 1L size instead of 750ml like a standard bottle so you get an extra glass of wine. Also if you're a bar or restaurant serving glasses you can reseal easily.

    These have been available in Canada for a year or so now. Local Niagara wineries in Ontario as well big wine producers. It ads more choice and is useful.
    • AlKo, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3I really enjoyed some of the local wines, I think as fuel costs stay high, I would love to seem more local wines come into their own by delivering good box table wine.
  • rsHoratio, on 08/19/2008, -1/+5Ah so the hobo I saw the other day was just ahead of the game...
  • Matt88, on 08/19/2008, -1/+3These were invented in Australia - been around for 40 years here. Some of them have good quality wines inside.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_wine
  • beedub86, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4Ahh the humble goon box.... has got many an Australian uni student through college.... 4 litres for 8-12 dollars.... and you can also blow up the silver plastic inner bladder and use it as a pillow for sleeping in the gutter and bushes when you don't make it home....
  • Avolin, on 08/19/2008, -3/+2The New York times also printed that false bit about rolling your car windows down being more destructive than using your AC along with some other skewed thinking. Treehugger breaks it down here:
    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/5-ways-nyt ...
  • mike17032, on 08/19/2008, -6/+1Not that I am a fan of wine, but this isnt gonna happen hippies. People dont like to drink ***** out of cardboard if they didnt have to buy it with food stamps.
    • dafragsta, on 08/19/2008, -1/+1Not that I agree with your retarded approach and belief that environmentalism is something that should be made fun of, (only ***** do that kind of thing) but I'll believe it when I see France and Spain bottling highly regarded wines in boxes.
  • occasus, on 08/19/2008, -4/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2pmVwFryV8&fmt=6

    I directed this and I'm not ashamed.
  • lozzobear, on 08/19/2008, -2/+1Viva la GOON BAG!
  • etx313, on 08/19/2008, -1/+2Man, I been hitting the box alllllllllll night.
  • Cyberdactyl, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4I've been drinking 'Black Box' Cabernet Sauvignon for almost a year now. It's consistently good quality that I would rate about 83-87.

    http://www.wine.com/aboutwine/picking/explained.as ...
    http://www.blackboxwines.com/
  • laughandsing, on 08/19/2008, -1/+1martini's in a box are awesome too!
  • VentedWidemouth, on 08/19/2008, -1/+1How about in a juice box! Fits nicely in your child's knapsack!
    • clownx, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1When I went to Italy, I visited the Vatican. There, they sold wine in juice boxes. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Actually, no, but it was close.
  • speel, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1What about decanting?
  • Buchscot, on 08/19/2008, -1/+0Wine is a romantic beverage and the ritual of the bottle, cork and imagery are part of why this category has gained such huge traction in the last ten years. Witness your ability today to get a 90-point or higher rated wine for $10 to $15. Incredible, especially when you look back at where the business came from: expensive, special occasion driven and the popular priced versions were simply awful. Carbon footprint aside, boxed wine suffers from an inherent image crisis, perhaps solved only by a vintner with credentials and credibility who produces a "green" line as a lifestyle statement alternative. Aside from this, the romance will outweigh the questionable, if somewhat thin green value and we will continue to enjoy the rituals of bottles, corks and pouring at the table...

    http://www.brandtrailblazers.com/blog
  • tastynuggets, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1Wine-in-a-box works for me. Then again, I'm a tightwad.
  • nikdahl, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2After going through and adding my replies, here is my comment.

    I have no problem with boxed wine, because:
    1) I don't have preconceptions of quality, or class
    2) You don't have to finish it in one sitting
    3) It stays fresh for weeks,
    4) It makes it super convenient to use in cooking
    5) It's cheaper (usually)
    6) There are some really good wines that come in a box
    7) No tools required to open it
    8) It's cheaper/easier to manufacture, ship, and store.
    9) Recyclable
    10) It's "greener" due to the above 2.

    Cons:
    1) If you want the wine to breath, you have to pour it into a decanter, or let each individual glass breathe before drinking
    2) Lack of variety
    3) I like Syrahs the most, and it's kinda hard to find a good Syrah in a box
    4) Plastic.
    5) The most common complaint: no romance.
  • Thuktun, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1This op-ed is pretty stupid, actually.

    First, it only considers the environmental costs of transporting the box versus the bottle, since the former is lighter than the latter. Wine in a box uses a bladder which is usually plastic. Plastics are made from fossil fuels and the bag form is generally non-recycleable and will end up in a landfill. Glass bottles are essentially melted sand, and is easily recycled.

    It's somewhat absurd to vote for the container that's lighter for transport, using less oil for fuel, but is then MADE OF OIL. Sheesh.

    Wines in a box have a much shorter shelf life, sometimes measured in weeks, where bottles of wine can sit in a rack for years without spoilage. Often, good wines *should* be aged for a decade or so before consuming them. Try that with a boxed wine.
  • jaffarabdul, on 08/21/2008, -0/+0I agree with Thuktun!!! This is plain bs! Wine in a box is crap. And not only from a image point of view but from a taste and health point of view too. Wine in plastic is a very bad idea since plastic slowly disolves. It is not like melting but molecules are going in the wine and then in your body. Doing things in the name of efficiency is not always the smartest idea. If the guys who like the wine in a box would stop breathing that would save save of oxigen on this planet! Maybe they should breathe in a plastic bag!
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