The Best Boxed Wines

It's time to party! You have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky? Do you, punk?

Just like Inspector Harry Callahan, boxed wines are a bit outside of the mainstream, are unorthodox, fresh, and get the job done. Sometimes they're messy and the results are less than entirely satisfactory. Other times, they are just fine, leaving you to smile with a satisfied smirk!

So what is the deal with boxed wines and, more largely, wines in bags (the box is just extra structural framework for the bags)? Unfortunately, the deal has generally been that producers put crappy wine into boxes, so the several attempts to put better wine in bags and boxes have been met with stiff resistance from consumers.

Wake up folks, there's no reason to shun wine in bags. In fact, we should all be supportive of this movement towards less wasteful containers that prevent a wine's degradation both in storage, albeit for a limited period of time, and once opened. Having a box of wine in the fridge, ready to go and remaining fresh for weeks, is a hugely appealing prospect.

Now if only the wine was worth drinking. It is the producers' turn to keep plugging away and filling your bags with better wines. Some producers are already doing a great job. Find out who in my roundup of bag-in-box wines. Some of these are actually delicious!

Click here for The Best Boxed Wines Slideshow.

— Gregory Dal Piaz, Snooth