Best Overall: Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel
Courtesy of Wine.com
Region: California | ABV: 13% | Tasting Notes: Black fruits, Pepper, Blueberries
The boxed wine to reign over all other boxed wines with its enchanting flavor is the Old Vine Zinfandel from Bota Box.
Proudly produced from California grapes, this wine is very agreeable on the palate and proves boxed wine is a force to be reckoned with. Bold with balanced acidity and notes of black cherry, black plum, pepper spice and blueberry. This dark and jammy wine pairs well with barbecue and grilled meats.
Woodbridge By Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon
Just missing out on the top three is Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine had a full body and we loved the smell of the wine as it was opening up in the glass. The wine featured notes like dark caramel and berries without being overly fruity. We enjoyed this by itself and didnt feel the need to have any food with it to help cut the acidity as we did with some of the other wines we tasted. We spotted it at Kroger for $22.99.
Black Box Wines Introduces Savvy Man National Media Campaign Starring Adam Scott And Launches Two New Line Extensions
E & J. Gallo Winery continues to democratize wine with a strong commitment to the perennial leader in the growing premium three-liter box wine category
MODESTO, Calif., March 16, 2022 The most celebrated premium three-liter boxed wine producer, Black Box Wines, is poised once again to redefine the category. In addition to the introduction of their new Savvy Man spokesperson, portrayed by actor Adam Scott in a new national media campaign, Black Box is launching six new Taste-Forward and Brilliant Collection wines to their diverse and expansive portfolio. Acquired by E. & J. Gallo Winery in 2021, these Black Box initiatives reflect Gallos spirit of innovation and ability to respond quickly to consumer tastes.
Everything we do at Black Box is grounded in our continued commitment to bring quality and sophistication to the premium boxed wine category, says Stephanie Gallo, Chief Marketing Officer for E. & J. Gallo Winery. We are also enthusiastic in how Black Box is helping Gallo fulfill our longstanding goal of making wine accessible to all. Our Savvy Man campaign and these new, innovative additions to the portfolio will help reach new and existing consumers and invite them into the category by delivering the tastes, packaging, quality, value and messages that meet their needs. To the savvy wine drinker, Black Box provides an appealing, convenient and elegant choice in wine.
About Black Box Wine
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Best Budget: Franzia Sunset Blush Pink Wine
Courtesy of Walmart.com
Region: California | ABV: 9% | Tasting Notes: Strawberry, Ripe peach, Grapefruit
No proper boxed wine list is complete without an appearance by Franzia. Founded in 1906, Franzia is one of the worlds most popular wines. Its been known to invade your grandmothers fridge and college dinner parties. The label likes to have a little fun and shouldnt all wine do that? Their Sunset Blush Rosé is as fun as it gets from the perfect pink color to the medium-sweet notes of strawberry, peach and grapefruit. Easily accessible and highly recognizable, this is also one of the most economical selections on our list.
Firstleaf Delivery And Packaging
Firstleaf ships everywhere in the U.S. except for Utah, Mississippi, and Rhode Island due to state regulations. First orders typically arrive a couple days after theyre placed. When I opened my box, it was extremely secure with thick cardboard dividers, almost like an egg carton, nesting each bottle to avoid breakage. The packaging was also easy to disassemble and recycle. Deliveries occur once a month and dont require any refrigeration, although Id recommend placing white wines in the fridge an hour before consumption for a better tasting experience.
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Best Red Blend: Black Box Red Blend
Courtesy of Drizly.com
Region: California | ABV: 14% | Tasting Notes: Mineral, Blueberries, Red berries
Black Box strikes again with this impressive and delicious blend of their pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon varieties sourced from California, Argentina, and Chile. Mildly sweet with notes of cherry, raspberry, earth and blueberry. Looking for a red that can stand on its own? This velvety smooth blend fits the bill.
How To Find The Best Bottles Of Low
There are a few key specifications you can look for to identify low-carb wine.
- Alcohol by volume : The alcohol level is required to be listed, and can be found on the bottle as ABV,or alcohol by volume. For a low-carb wine, aim for 13 percent or less.
- Residual sugars: Low-sugar wines are naturally low in carbs because sugar is a type of carb. Finding residual sugars can be a bit more challenging to decipher compared to ABV. The metric most likely will be listed on a wines website on the tech sheet . Low-carb wines will have less than 10 grams per liter .
- Dry taste: Even if you cant find the exact amount of residual sugars, you can use your taste buds as a guide to find low-carb wines. Wines range from bone dry to very sweet, and those on the drier end naturally contain less sugar.
The drier the wine, the lower the sugar content. Varieties like Champagne, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and Malbec generally contain somewhere between 2 to 4 grams of carbs per 5-ounce glass, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, founder of NutritionStarringYOU.com and author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club.
Sweeter wines like port, moscato, plum, and other dessert wines will contain much more sugar, so if you are seeking a low-carb wine, those are probably not your best choices.
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Honorable Mention: Bota Box Dry Ros
Price: $18.99
Bota Box
Bota Box, you never let us down. This box was extremely well-balanced and we loved its subtle floral flavors.
This is a great middle ground, said one tester. Just sweet enough, but theres a little tang.
I love the hints of strawberry, said another.
While some people thought it was a bit too dry, we all agreed on one thing: We could drink a lot of this.
The Best Cardonnay In Box: California Botanist Chardonnay
Many weine in box stay for 30 days to six weeks after opening, which is great for all that drop to a casual glass at once without worrying about a bottle going wrong. Black box hits again with this stunning and delicious mix of so sort pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon from California, Argentina and Chile. Slightly sweet with cherry, celestial, earthy and blueberries. This wein was apparently qualified after a printed medaille in the box as brand of the best-tasting boxed weine. That was the worst wein in a box we drank not only by white wines, but also red wines. This proved to be the lotion of browns and penance.
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Best For Red Wine Fanatics: Black Box Red Blend
Taste of Home
Crowd-pleasing picks aside, the red wine-lovers in our tasting group preferred this blend from Black Box. Pouring ourselves a small sample, we picked up on an assertive aroma. A wine with a bold bouquet certainly had to have an impactful taste, right?
Absolutely right! Taking a sip of Black Boxs red blend, we found it to be pleasantly powerful. Considering the spectrum of sweet to dry, this wine was right in the middle, making it a joy to sip on its own. While sampling, we all commented on how this wine was a bit more complex than the others we tried. It took us some time to parse out the individual flavors, but in the end, we picked up notes of plum, berries, vanilla and a little spice . The finish of this wine was long allowing us to savor those subtle flavors.
- Price of a 3L box : $15.99
- Cost per glass: $0.80
How To Shop For Boxed Wine
Even if youre unable to find one of our recommended picks in your area, you can still find a perfectly delicious boxed wine in your local wine shop: Smaller winemakers that sell only within a particular region can offer spectacular wines that arent available nationally.
Find the right shop. Find a retailer that focuses on wine, Leon says. It helps with the quality of whats being offered. Small shops that focus on beverages, specificallyrather than, say, a grocery store or a big-box storeare going to pay more careful attention to what they stock, he says, so youre more likely to be able to trust whatever you pull from the shelf.
Pay attention to what the box says, too. Leon says that the more specific the information, the better the wine youre probably getting. If the label states where the wine is coming from, and exactly what grapes are in the wine, you are already way ahead of the game, he says. For example, on the Wineberry Beaujolais, you can find the appellation, or the official region where the grapes are grown the winery that made the wine and where the wine was packaged. These are all indicators that a wine is at least decent, if not better, quality.
Like all CR evaluations of products and services, our Outside the Labs reviews are independent and free from advertising. If youd like to learn more about the criteria for our lab testing, please go to the Research & Testing page on our website.
Angela Lashbrook
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We Tried 7 Boxed Red Wines And This Is The Best
Boxed wine has been around since the 1980s, but has spiked in popularity over the past few years as people look for easier ways to store and drink wine, as well as be more eco-conscious. In fact, more people are turning to boxed wine after realizing the quality of wine is the same as whats in the bottles, and its way easier to let family and friends pour themselves a glass right out of the fridge without the need for a corkscrew.
In the name of science, we tried seven different boxed wines to see which one is the best. To start, I narrowed down this search for boxed wine to only include red wine, which is consistently the most Googled wine across the United States, according to a Google Trends search. Then, once I was at the liquor store, I tried to pick options that I knew would be readily available in most grocery stores. After gathering a few friendsbecause who wants to drink aloneI broke open the boxes and we started tasting.
This is the official ranking of seven of the most popular boxed red wines. If you prefer a canned wine, weve got a list of the 17 best canned-wine brands that you should try. Cheers!
La Nevera Seleccon Especial Rosado
Its rosé season, so before loading up the camper or raft, I recommend seeking out a box or two of La Nevera Seleccíon Especial Rosado as a perfect companion for outdoor summer fun! The wine is made from 100% Garnacha grapes that are grown in the heart of Northern Spain at 350m above the Ebro river, which adds freshness and vibrancy to the delicate, yet fruity Provençal-style wine. Only 1,500 cases are made a year of this affordable super value of a treat, so seek some out now before its too late! Max Kuller, Managing Partner & Sommelier, Estadio
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Best Pinot Grigio: Bandit Pinot Grigio
Courtesy of Minibar
Region: California | ABV: 14% | Tasting Notes: Lemon peel, Apples, Stone fruit
Founded by vintners Joel Gott, Charles Bieler, and Roger Scommegna, Bandit is committed to making delicious wine while preserving the National Parks system.
Not only does Bandit make a tasty pinot grigio, but their packaging makes it easier to have wine-on-the-go, optimal for camping trips and long mountain hikes. And once you reach the summit, youll be hit with creamy aromas of peach, apple, pear and lemon. This is semi-dry with a citrus finish. Bring along an almond-rich trail mix for an out-of-this-world pairing.
Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon
Price- $17.98
Cabernet Sauvignon is the worlds most famous red wine. It is a full-bodied wine with aromas of toasty oak, black currant and a hint of vanilla. It has varied flavors with dark fruit flavors and savory tastes from bell pepper and black pepper.
Food Pairing-
Cabernet is one of the most complex wines out there and can be paired with basically all types of foods. However, it did exceptionally well with food high in fat and braised short ribs and stroganoff and mushrooms.
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Best White: Frontera Sauvignon Blanc
courtesy of Marketview Liquors
Region: Chile | ABV: 12.5% | Tasting Notes: Lemon peel, Tropical fruit, Green apple
Bright, young, and fresh, this summery Sav Blanc has its zippy roots in Chiles Central Valley, where the grapes have a mineral exuberance. Its a crisp sip with citrusy, snappy appeal, hints of tropical fruit, and a clean finish that makes it a match for all sorts of light picnic foods. This ones a refreshing bargain.
Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon Honest Review: I Tried Every Boxed Wine So You Dont Have To
Posted on Last updated:
My honest review of Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is a series of posts designed to help you choose the right boxed wine for you. No one would ever pay me to write about this, so you can rest assured my opinions are unbiased.
Overall value of the wine is primarily graded by taste and the number of ice cubes needed to make it drinkable. Wines are rated on a grading scale of F to A+.
So join me as I suffer through three liters of every Black Box, Bota, Barefoot, etc and take myself way too seriously.
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Best Ros: Le Vieille Ferme
Courtesy of Amazon
Region: France | ABV: 12.5% | Tasting Notes: Floral, Citrus, Peach
Brown calls this wine produced by the Southern Rhônes famed Perrin family one of the best wine values of the wine world.
A blend of syrah, grenache, and cinsault, its a consistent gem thats 100 percent crushable, she says, with a red-fruit palate and touches of citrus, peach flesh, and white flowers.
It’s a perfect match poolside with friends, for those regular Tuesday nights with leftover Chinese food, or while simply Netflix and chilling, folding laundry. Nadine Brown, wine consultant and former wine director of Charlie Palmer Steak in DC
And A Few Disadvantages
Boxed wine has a sell-by date. While bag-in-box wine has an impressive shelf life after it has been opened, its longevity is limited before opening. The big issue with bag-in-box wine is that as a container, it doesnt keep oxygen out as well as glass bottles, says Andrew Waterhouse, PhD, a wine chemist and the director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis. The plastic is designed to absorb oxygen, but that only lasts for a few months. Basically, after six months, the wine will start oxidizing pretty quickly. Youll know its oxidized if the wine has a distinctly nutty flavor, rather like sherry, he says.
Dont plan to age your boxed wine, Waterhouse advises, and check the sell-by date when you purchase.
Forget about boxed Champagne. Most champagnes and other traditional sparkling wines, like cava and prosecco, require strong packaging that can handle the pressure of carbonization. You cant do sparkling wine in a box, Waterhouse says. No way could those bags hold the pressure. Very lightly fizzy wines, like some moscatos, may work in a bag, he says. Otherwise, this is a category thats best in a bottle or a can.
This doesnt mean you cant get boxed wine in a richer style. Case in point, the malbec we evaluated and enjoyed. Its just less common, so youll have to look harder for the good stuff.
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Qunita Da Espiga Vino Tinto
This red wine from Espiga is great for heartier cold-weather fare and barbecue. While a bit heavy in terms of mouthfeel, theres obvious red and black fruit and a bit of leather and spice. Its good enough to be the house red at many restaurants, at least during happy hour. And if winter drags, use it as a great base for mulled wine.
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Which Months Is The Wine Season In Chile
The Chilean wine season falls between March and May.
These are the best months to visit the region, as the Central Valley and all of its beauty is truly exhibited. It is also when the major wine events, festivals and celebrations take place all across the valley.
These regions of Chile offer some truly spectacular travel adventures, traditional cuisine options and some truly welcoming residents.
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Where In Chile Is The Central Valley Located
The Central Valley is precisely in the middle of Chile.
The Central Valley is located directly across one of Chiles other key wine regions, Mendoza. The Central Valley includes four important wine regions, including Maipo Valley, Rapel, Curico and Maule Valley.
It is these regions that are able to produce iconic Bordeaux varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, along with Syrah and Chardonnay. Interestingly, the cooler areas of the Central Valley are used to grow varieties that are often seen in Germany, like Riesling and Gewürztraminer.
