Thinking inside the box

posted by philip in Wine

For a long time viewed as the lowest form of wine, box wine is making a resurgence. Last year, sales of boxed wines grew 44% as better wines are now being packaged this way.

Best of all? Packaging wines like this might be the smartest way of all.

Wine degrades in air. This can take between 10 minutes and 5 days, depending on how fragile the wine is, but 2 days is common. This isn’t an issue if you finish the bottle in one sitting, but many people don’t, and end up resealing the bottle, hoping that it will last.

Boxed wine avoids this by putting the wine inside a collapsible bag inside the box. No air gets in as you pour, the wine doesn’t degrade, so you can enjoy it over a couple of weeks. The packaging is cheap, and you’re buying in volume. A smart decision all around. Just hide the box itself from any snobby guests.