Decent box wine?

[FlyingMonkey]

He can use my stiff leather boot as a couch protector, permanently.

I like how we all know he's a complete troll but are humoring him because it's moderately funny and we all like some good forum drama.

You are right. But I just can't get the image of him walking up to a camp & sitting his bare ass on their couch out of my head. I guess it’s kinda funny if it’s not your couch......Nah, it's still isn’t. What has happened to naked etiquette?

[maladroit]

Call me old fashioned, but if someone walks into my private camp living area and sits down without asking they already have a few points against them, regardless of whether they're packing a poop crayon.

[fresh]

Got black box sav blanc. Will have to wait until playa to tast, but everything tastes better out there! Also one bottle of riesling for m&g. Leaving the reds at home....

[theCryptofishist]

Apokalyptika will create more reds all over the playa as we discuss the exploitation of couches and boxes!
Long live the proletariat!

[Elliot]

All right.... I bought Bota Box Chardonnay at BevMo. A couple bucks under 20. One buck less than Black Box. So we can call both of these averaging 20 dollars for 3 Liters. That's 5 bucks for a regular bottle size, so that's cheap. (The $10 for 5 Liters are awful.)

This Bota Box Chardonnay is fuller-bodied ("thicker", to my mind) and a little bitter, compared with the Black Box Chardonnay. (Mind you, I'm no wine expert!) So I prefer the Black Box as a more refreshing drink for casual visitors to my camp. (Perhaps serious wine people would prefer the Bota as more interesting.)

Thanks for all the help, folks!

[FlyingMonkey]

Let the fun begin.
(Raising glass of box wine)
Cheers!

[Patsh]

Said by Bubba J, one of Jeff Dunham's characters,

the nice thing about boxed wine is that
when you're finished drinking it,
you have something to throw up in!

[Elliot]

Said by Bubba J, one of Jeff Dunham's characters,

the nice thing about boxed wine is that
when you're finished drinking it,
you have something to throw up in!

That just might apply to the 10-dollars-for-5-Liters products like Franzia.

[Elliot]

Post burn report:

Serving beer and wine to bicycle repair customers went very well. If you came by and was not offered any -- well, we had to ration the supply.

A couple of ladies tried both chardonnays and the Black Box brand won.

[mudpuppy000]

I wandered into a backstreet bar one night being hosted by some friendly canadians. They offered me some boxed burgundy and remembering this thread gladly accepted, for science. It was actually quite good. I think it might have been franzia or something like that.

[MacGlenver]

I wandered into a backstreet bar one night being hosted by some friendly canadians. They offered me some boxed burgundy and remembering this thread gladly accepted, for science. It was actually quite good. I think it might have been franzia or something like that.

We served Bota Box Chardonnay, Pino Grigio, Zinfandel and Cabernet at our Toga Party on Thursday. People very much enjoyed. Amazingly most people went for the red instead of the chilled white. It was a little pricey at $18.99 for 3 liters versus like $10 for 5 liters of Franzia, but people really seemed to enjoy it (I know I did). I think the old vine Zin was my favorite, but most people wanted Cab (guess cause it was a Roman Toga party). Will have to do a Franzia taste test next time to see if it cuts the mustard.

[marcgorcey]

I wandered into a backstreet bar one night being hosted by some friendly canadians. They offered me some boxed burgundy and remembering this thread gladly accepted, for science. It was actually quite good. I think it might have been franzia or something like that.

Sounds like The Lost Penguin and yes we serve that brand of wine.

[mudpuppy000]

I wandered into a backstreet bar one night being hosted by some friendly canadians. They offered me some boxed burgundy and remembering this thread gladly accepted, for science. It was actually quite good. I think it might have been franzia or something like that.

Sounds like The Lost Penguin and yes we serve that brand of wine.

Yes, I think it was you!

[Elliot]

And here we are a year later.

I'm a big fan of Consumer Union and long time subscriber to their publication Consumer Reports. Recently they sampled some wines, and Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Chardonnay scored high at three bucks a bottle. (Two Buck Chuck -- now three bucks.) That would be a worthwhile saving over Bota and Black.

Then something strange happened: Our own MyDearFriend wants to carry a 5 Liter wine box on her bicycle, so I bought a Franzia to make sure the bicycle basket will fit. This one is called Crisp White. And ya know what?!.... It ain't bad. Too sweet, but as a snack on the Playa, might be just fine. The price is around $1.67 per bottle (750 ml). So that may be what I'm pouring this year.

But a word of caution. I have also recently tasted Franzia's Chillable Red. At first it seemed very refreshing, but then my palate got over the shock. Gruesome. Worst wine I've ever tasted. So be aware.

[PhoenixFemmeFatale]

I have zero experience with boxed wine... Whenever we backpack, we pour the bottles we know and love into bladders and squeeze out as much air as possible. But, I remembered reading an article in my Food and Wine magazine about best boxed value wines.... Here's the link:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-box-wine-bonus

[PhoenixFemmeFatale]

CRAP! Just realized this thread was started last year! Oh well....

[Elliot]

That may be why I wrote "And here we are a year later." when I resurrected this thread yesterday.

It's all right, Ms. Fatale! The information is timeless. I appreciate your input.

For my purpose, I'm sticking with white wines to be served cold in the scorching daytime. But I was glad to see that decent red wines are available in 3-Liter boxes for $19.-.

Now let's sample some more flavors.

[graidawg]

And here we are a year later.

I'm a big fan of Consumer Union and long time subscriber to their publication Consumer Reports. Recently they sampled some wines, and Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Chardonnay scored high at three bucks a bottle. (Two Buck Chuck -- now three bucks.) That would be a worthwhile saving over Bota and Black.

Then something strange happened: Our own MyDearFriend wants to carry a 5 Liter wine box on her bicycle, so I bought a Franzia to make sure the bicycle basket will fit. This one is called Crisp White. And ya know what?!.... It ain't bad. Too sweet, but as a snack on the Playa, might be just fine. The price is around $1.67 per bottle (750 ml). So that may be what I'm pouring this year.

But a word of caution. I have also recently tasted Franzia's Chillable Red. At first it seemed very refreshing, but then my palate got over the shock. Gruesome. Worst wine I've ever tasted. So be aware.

that should of been the warning on its own.......
one of the frustrating things i have found about my transatlantic journeys is the way names and descriptions change, I have found though Gallio wines to be reasonable and they do those in boxes over here, do you guys get boxed (hard) cider? that is so good on a hot day

[theCryptofishist]

I dunno, grai, maybe you should stop expecting the comforts of home when you travel...

[mudpuppy000]

Cider is starting to get more popular here, but I've only seen it in bottles. We're going to have a LOT of homebrew cider in our pub this year at Orphan/Endorphin. Come on by for some!

We will have Radlers, Shandy's, and Berlinerweisse (with syrup) for the hot days too.

[Elliot]

Now, if you want something really tasty, try to get a sip of Ygmir's homemade mead!

[theCryptofishist]

Personally, I like my box wines to be flirtatiously indecent.

[MyDearFriend]

Personally, I like my box wines to be flirtatiously indecent.

That's what I am going for with the Franzia.

Actually, we are doing the "Tour de Franzia" out of Barbie Death Camp this year, TWICE (geez) an actual bicycle rally where the object is not to get somewhere first but to see who can empty the wine box fastest. You can see how giving it away by the glass would be much more useful than trying to drink it all while biking. So THANK YOU (((((((((((((((((ELLIOT)))))))))))))))))) for finding a moderately drinkable Franzia white! And a bicycle I can dispense it from.

[Elorrum]

one word for this race: tricycle. why let balance be a detractor?
plus three words: roving finish line.

[MacGlenver]

We'll be serving Bailey's this year, since we're doing a tribute to Old Gregg. We've thought about trying to make it ourselves to save money, but havent yet decided since it would be somewhat less sterile and may spoil or something...

Not to get too far off topic, but our concern w/ Bailey's is how it will fare in the heat. It is normally not refrigerated until opened, but I dont think they intended it to be out in 105 degree heat. We'll keep it shaded, if nothing else.

Anyway, back to wine! Franzia sounds too risky for my personal boxed wine this year. I'll either do Bota again, unless i can find a slightly less expensive competitor.

[mudpuppy000]

Not to get too far off topic, but our concern w/ Bailey's is how it will fare in the heat. It is normally not refrigerated until opened, but I dont think they intended it to be out in 105 degree heat. We'll keep it shaded, if nothing else.

I've seen the real baileys go bad in an unopened bottle, but it was sitting in the back of my parents liquor cabinet for who knows how long. (years?)

[DrYes]

One downside of box wine that my wife and I discovered was that if you're used to bottles, you lack a way to know how much you've had.

We arrived on the playa last year on the Saturday before, pulled up to camp about 8 pm, and our campmates were having dinner. We joined right in, and started drinking wine.

The next morning was really horrible. The wife threw up, while I just felt like I was going to. After checking the box, we realized that we'd almost polished off the whole thing (4 bottles!). We never drink that much (ok, almost never) if it's in bottles. Not an ideal way to start BM!

[Elliot]

Been there, done that. Same with keg beer. (urrp)

[mudpuppy000]

Hmmmm, maybe someone needs to invent "Session Wine"

[Savannah]

4 bottles! You poor things.