# Why is boxed wine looked down on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [April 19, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806 "2017-04-19T19:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/21 "2017-04-20T00:59:00Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Ideally, the wine you have should compliment the foods you have with it. “Oh, I can see through the glass that the steak is grilled to absolute perfection, and the potato has the most exquisite topping. And I just LOVE those asparagus tips.” (It’s compl **e** ment.) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/22 "2017-04-20T02:05:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Right now there is a Black Box Pinot Noir and a Fish Eye Sauvignon Blanc open. I may give those a try. Anyone else have any recommendations for boxed wines that they like? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/23 "2017-04-20T02:09:25Z")
**House Wine** has some pretty good wines out there. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/24 "2017-04-20T07:24:21Z")
I can vouch that chateaux around Bordeaux fill their BIBs from the same vat as their bottles. The former is arguably even more “pure” as there is no automated production line involved. In case it’s not clear, the point is not the cardboard box, but the plastic bag inside. That thing is _very_ robust – you can jump on it without breaking it. There are lots of decorative cases where you can place the bag in that look like little wooden kegs or metal casks. The reason why it’s still looked down upon by certain snobs has been mentioned – you’re buying a large quantity of one product whereas you’re supposed to drink a different wine for every meal, course, time of day, … ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/25 "2017-04-20T11:16:05Z")
I don’t know about the US, but definitely for the UK, if someone is drinking a Southern Hemisphere wine, or a Spanish one, odds are high even if you’re drinking from a bottle now, that wine spent all its travel time in the[bulk equivalent](http://static.beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/images/w/800/Logistics_Of_Bulk_Wine.jpg) of a wine box anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/26 "2017-04-20T12:30:41Z")
There are few things more snobby than the world of wine appreciation. Most of it is an imaginary bunch of hooey, which just makes it all the more irritating. Having said that, I am a “Coke is better in glass bottles” believer, probably not a dissimilar thought to “wine ought to be in bottles”. ---
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/27 "2017-04-20T12:53:26Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I may give those a try. Anyone else have any recommendations for boxed wines that they like? I almost always keep a Bota Box or two handy(either Grigio or Cabernet). Black box is fine as well and really the only one I would suggest to stay away from is Franzia. I find that brand nasty. I usually have a several bottles on hand as well. If I feel like a glass of wine with dinner but may limit it to one(yeah, right) then I’ll use the boxed wine. However, if company should stop by with no/little notice I will almost always open a bottle. Not that there is anything wrong with boxed wine but for me there is something about uncorking a bottle that adds to experience of sharing a bottle of wine with others. Also, If I spring for some good steaks to grill up will also usually pick up a more expensive\* bottle of wine to go with it. \*$30.00 is pretty much my idea of a ‘top shelf’ wine. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/28 "2017-04-20T13:19:16Z")
Seems like a great deal to me. Wine that stays fresh in the bag. Afterwards you have a great source for homemade condoms. A win all the way around. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/29 "2017-04-20T13:49:24Z")
As I understand it you can get the box in a variety of sizes all the way down to single serving. The idea that you want different wine throughout the evening makes me think the box would have an advantage since you needn’t empty a whole bottle at each course. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/30 "2017-04-20T15:41:57Z")
Maybe with the rise of screw tops, consumers will start to accept even more rational containers like cans and bags. But we still see lots of beer in bottles even though getting beer to the end user is better in pretty much every possible way using cans instead of bottles. So I think it will take a while. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/31 "2017-04-20T15:52:58Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > As I understand it you can get the box in a variety of sizes all the way down to single serving. Yeah, at the local stores here, it seems like the 1.5L (two bottle) is the most common size. There is also the big 5L of Franzia and probably some other brands I never noticed, as well as the .5L boxes. Not sure if they have anything smaller than that, but .5L is close enough to ‘single serving’ for me. (For me, a single serving would be half the bottle if I’m splitting it for dinner.) As for the whole wine pairing stuff–do people really care about it that much? When I lived in a wine drinking country (though not one of the big ones–Hungary), it didn’t seem like anybody really cared all that much at a family dinner. There’d be a red and a white and you just drank whatever was around. That’s pretty much how I drink wine, and I must have drunk over a thousand bottles when I was living out there. I mean, yeah, for a nice steak dinner I might go for a heavy red, but, dammit, I like a nice refreshing grüner with it too, if I’m in the mood. And yeah, with cheese, I tend to like whites or dessert wines, rather than reds, but sometimes, a red really does taste nice with cheese. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/32 "2017-04-20T16:08:47Z")
The book _Catch 22_ was originally written about boxed wine. Heller’s publisher thought it would sell better if it was a story about the military, and the rest is history! ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/33 "2017-04-20T20:04:06Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > You have never played Wheel of Goon?:D:D:D:D Nope. After looking it up on wikipedia however I may just introduce this at my year end darts league party…When I was still YAD (young and dumb) we did play the Smurfs drinking game, whereupon we would skip classes in the afternoon and drink a shot every time the word Smurf was said on the show. The episode which had the Smurf who Smurfs Smurf was…unfortunate. We usually would just empty the bag and play pig badminton with it…net and rules optional. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/34 "2017-04-20T20:19:23Z")
It’s not “boxed wine.” It’s “Cardbordeaux.” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/35 "2017-04-20T20:20:19Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It is also a bulk thing. Even in a box, wine goes bad after a couple few weeks, and you are buying 5 liters at a time. That’s a bunch of wine to drink in that amount of time. This is interesting. I wonder if this is related to the fact that the better quality boxes seem to be limited to three liters. Still, assuming the wine stays good, or what passes for good, for two weeks even a five-liter box shouldn’t be that hard to finish. The amount works out to 6.66 bottles. The If two adults in the household each take one good sized glass per evening they will finish each “bottle” in about two days, and in a couple of weeks will have finished the entire box. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/36 "2017-04-20T20:23:45Z")
I would guess that expensive wine packaged in 5 liter boxes would be prohibitively expensive and fill a very small niche in the market that isn’t worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/37 "2017-04-20T20:34:15Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I would guess that expensive wine packaged in 5 liter boxes would be prohibitively expensive and fill a very small niche in the market that isn’t worth the effort. Except they’re not all sold in 5L boxes. Like I said, 1.5L and .5L are also common. The only boxed wine I’ve ever bought has been of those sizes. Looking at my local wine megastore, it seems that actually the 3L boxes are the most commons size, with the 5L boxes being pretty much reserved for Franzia. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/38 "2017-04-20T20:50:33Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > It’s not “boxed wine.” > > It’s “Cardbordeaux.” Thumbs up. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/39 "2017-04-20T21:18:06Z")
Because it’s too heavy to store on the higher shelves? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806/40 "2017-04-20T21:48:15Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Maybe with the rise of screw tops, consumers will start to accept even more rational containers like cans and bags. But we still see lots of beer in bottles even though getting beer to the end user is better in pretty much every possible way using cans instead of bottles. So I think it will take a while. I am seeing a lot more “micro” brews selling their products in cans, which I love seeing (I put “micro” in quotes because a lot of them are in no way micro any longer). They are so much more handy for camping, taking one to drink at the top of a mountain hike, etc. They used to charge an oddly high price for the “luxury” of buying the same beer in cans but that drastic price difference is going away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boxed-wine-looked-down-on/784806.md?page=3)