KDKA.com Consumer Web Extras
Jun 30, 2009 5:45 pm US/Eastern
Boxed Wine Not As Bad As It Sounds
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Boxed wine no longer has to be just for college students.
It's cheap, sure, but that doesn't mean it doesn't taste good. At least that's what Consumer Reports tells us.
Consumer Reports' Maxine Siegel said the shape of the container should not change the minds of regular wine drinkers.
"Some people might have to get past the image of wines coming from a box, because in our blind taste test we found some very tasty wines that come packaged that way," she said.
Consumer Reports commissioned wine experts to taste-test five boxed wines not knowing it came from a box. The tests included a number of chardonnays and merlots, with the chardonnays leading the way as far as the experts are concerned.
"The two merlots weren't very complex and they had a bit of overripe fruit, but for a casual party, they would fit the bill," Siegel said.
The best-tasting chardonnay, the Fish Eye 2007, also turned out to be the cheapest at $16 a box. It was followed closely by the $19 Banrock Station 2007 and the Black Box Monterey County 2007.
Flavor isn't the only advantage for boxed wine. Experts say the box shape doesn't turn the wine as quickly as it would in a bottle.
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