October 26, 2023
I knew it’d happen one of these days, and by golly the future is finally here. While boxed wines have long been a clever invention for those of us bottle commitment-phobes, they don’t often get the best reputation for delivering a whole lot of nuance or dimension. But boxed wine has gone way beyond all the ones you likely cracked into during those nights (or afternoons) of “slapping the bag” at a college rager.
As a former bartender and wine-buyer myself, serving up kegged wines over the bottles we had on hand was one of my favorite tasks. I’d watch the surprise of folks drinking a plummy Argentinian Malbec that came right out of a tap, as they all slowly turned into card-carrying members of Team Boxed Wine.
Personally, I think of enjoying boxed wine in the same way I think about reading books; much like you might enjoy audiobooks, e-readers, hard covers, or paperback, there’s still plenty of fun to be had, no matter the vehicle. The same is true of wine. Amongst all the canned, keg, or, of course, traditional bottles of wine, boxed wines are just one of the many ways we can imbibe. Plus, boxed wine is way better for the environment, as the vacuum-sealed bags of wine stay fresh between 45 to 60 days. Of course, they’re plenty delicious, too.
All in all, I sampled 17 boxes of wine (I could basically build a boxed wine fort), and these are the seven I’ll gladly crack into again.
Best Rosé: Nomadica Rosé
I love when wine nerds get into the boxed wine game, because we all win. Nomadica’s boxed and canned wines could totally take the world series of wine. So it’s no surprise that this rosé — started by sommelier Kristin Olszewski — is just another jewel in Nomadica’s crown (err, ring).
The blend of Grenache, Gamay, and Merlot grapes yields an herbal, peppy wine that tastes like an overflowing summer farmers market basket in a glass. If you bring this box to a friend’s party, heed my warning: You will not be getting it back! It will disappear immediately — just completely slurped down in a cartoonish fashion.
How I Tested Boxed Wines
In all cases, I tasted these boxed wines in hopes that they’d match or even out-test their bottled counterparts. I focused primarily on complexity and depth of flavor across the varietals.
- Complexity: Does the body, dryness, and alcohol level match what you’d find in a bottled version of the same varietal?
- Depth of flavor: Did it taste “boxed” (i.e., overly sweet, flat, artificially flavored) in any way? If this was poured into a glass, would anyone be able to tell it came from a box? “No, and no.” Then, it’s a hard “yes” for me.
- Varietals: Sadly, there’s not a boxed version of all the fun varietals out there (still holding out for Malvasia, Vouvray, and Nero d’Avola), nor will you find something delicate like a sparkling wine, so I focused on varietals that had plentiful options found in most major grocery or online retailers (like rosé, red and red blends, orange, and whites).
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