Today in Gear: April 28, 2017 Great Slip-On Shoes for Summer The Best Watches to Take into the Backcountry The Right Fixed Blade Knife Your 7 Essential Apps of 2017 Between the empty Franzia bags and torn up cardboard boxes, box wine loses face. College kills its cred. And then, we all graduate, both academically and, so we assume, viticulturally. We start looking to take our vino from more sophisticated encasements, like screw-top bottles. But box wine, like us, has done some growing up. And, we’re glad to report, it’s become deliciously palatable. We conducted a blind tasting of 16 of the best available boxed wine (8 white, 8 red). A few tasted like our worst box wine memories of yore: fermented juice boxes gone bad. But another few hinted at that 92-point bottle we keep stowed away in the cellar. Not bad for a drink that’s also cheap, portable, and stores for 45 days after opening. Bandit hails from the West Coast wine heartland of St. Helena, CA.

They source California grapes, age the cab in French and American oak, and cold ferment the pinot grigio to retain its fruity flavors. The Tetra Pak packaging is light, easily portable and recyclable; the wine contained within competes with the best mid-market bottled wine. Tasting Notes: Crowned king of both the reds and the whites in our blind testing, Bandit wines tickled the palate and delivered complex aromas, flavors and finishes. The cab had ample mouthfeel and complex flavors, mixing fruitiness with an oaky complexity. The pinot delivered a touch of citrus tart to balance out the fruit. Bring Bandit to the party and you won’t disappoint. Bota’s big on the green packaging: they use soy-based inks print on recycled, unbleached Kraft paper, and the whole thing is held together with cornstarch rather than glue. The wine, sourced both locally (in California) and internationally, offers a medium-body, drinkable experience for clear, crisp flavors that pair nicely with the clean conscience.

Tasting Notes: The pinot noir came in strong on the nose, then mellowed nicely on the palate. The pinot grigio registered the opposite, leaving with a strong lingering finish that inspired another sip. Both wines were balanced and complex but not overpowering. From organic grapes in Italy, the Fuoristrada wines capitalize on fair farming practices and the distinctiveness of Italian vines. Sicilian and Tuscan grapes both create their own distinctive full flavors, giving a palate experience that’s bright and full mouth. Tasting Notes: The grillo lands with ample mouthfeel and a crisp, citrus zest. It lingered longer than most, in a pleasant finish. The sangiovese had equal body, and a complex flavor profile that rolled through the palate. Both wines competed with the Bota Box and Bandit wines as our favorites. Heavy-hitter winemaker George Bursick, whose 1985 Chardonnay was crowned the “#1 Wine in the World” by Wine Spectator, takes his skills to the vines of Vinium.

The grapes come from the wine regions of Northern California, and give distinctive California flavors. Tasting Notes: The chardonnay was the better wine, offering a full body mouthfeel with subtle, light notes of citrus fruit. It exited quietly, but still retained a respectable drinking experience. famous quotes about wine and friendsThe cab landed light on the palate, without the complexity and depth expected, and with excessive sweetness.buy italian wine in the uk The backyard of Big House Winery is the Soledad State Correctional Facility, in Monterey, CA. best wine bottle photographyBut its wines are a clean break from any hard time, drinkable and easily paired, made from grapes grown in California.best of musical and wine 2015

Tasting Notes: The pinot grigio led with a light aroma, but then came in big with flavor and finish. The Zin became one of the favorites of the reds, with an enticing nose, full mouthfeel, and a balance of flavor. Both are tasty but mild — middle-of-the-road wines.best wine for cocktail Made with organic grapes from North and Central California, CalNaturale aims for wine that’s as drinkable as it is sustainable. wine bar dc chinatownHeather Pyle, formerly at Napa’s Opus One, is creating wines that don’t aim to polarize (like Opus One’s $200 bottles can), but rather to please most palates. Tasting Notes: The chardonnay earned the closest comparison to a juice box, with light and sweet flavors that didn’t have good complexity or mouth feel. The cabernet faired better, but was divided on reception. A few judges enjoyed the drinkability, but the majority had little enthusiasm, noting a single note of flavor and a thin body for both wines.

Nuvino’s coming at the box wine world in a totally new way. While it still ships in a box, it opens up to reveal single-serving pouches, the ultimate achievement in premium wine portability. For a few nips along the trail (or at the park, around the campfire, or in bed), its sturdy portability can’t be beat. Tasting Notes: The Nuvino wines all registered as middle of the road (except for one taster, who uncannily ranked both their white and reds with his highest marks). The flavors were mild, and sometimes odd. The Malbec was overly sweet, the red blend a touch bland. The chardonnay faired the best, offering a bright, drinkable flavor. NIAGARA UNCORKED: This Riesling is no Black Sheep NIAGARA UNCORKED: Big Head winery goes natural NIAGARA UNCORKED: Red Stone Merlot 2010 NIAGARA UNCORKED: TRIUS Showcase NIAGARA UNCORKED: Perfect pairings for a barbecue NIAGARA UNCORKED: Selecting Ontario's best wines NIAGARA UNCORKED: Causes of Red Wine Headache

NIAGARA UNCORKED: Wine and your waistline OK, I admit I have never bought a box wine. For me, they have been synonymous with sweet table wines that I would rather use in cooking than pour into a glass. But there is a change in the air, a change that is being embraced by the LCBO and should be better for all parties involved. Starting this year, the LCBO will begin bringing in some next level wines and a few VQA wines sold in a box. I think I just felt the earth shudder under me. Bag-in-box have been a large part of wine sales at the LCBO, making up roughly a third of all (non-vintages) Ontario wine sales. In fact, the LCBO has seen steady increases in sales for the past several years, selling just more than 16 million litres of bag-in-box wines. That’s more than what it would take to fill six Olympic-sized pools. While they are made by Canadian wineries, they are international Canadian blends (ICB’s) and would only require 25 per cent Ontario juice in the blend.

It was great to hear from Fielding Estate Winery winemaker Richie Roberts, a Niagara native, that it would be launching a VQA wine in the new format. Talking with Richie and winery co-owner Heidi Fielding, they said it is an opportunity they had to wait for to come up. “Previously there was never a VQA bag-in-box. This was a whole new category for the LCBO, and they were taking applications from VQA wineries,” said Fielding. “We thought what a great opportunity to expand the Long Weekend line, four VQA wines were accepted, and we were one of them. Which is so cool, because out of the VQA wineries we were the smallest amongst all the big brands.” Constellation Brands Open red and white wines along with Monarch Vidal from Pelee Island make up the other VQA wines being launched. Roberts said there is no difference from Long Weekend in the bottle format. “The other day we bottled a few hundred cases of boxes and a few hundred of bottles. It’s the exact same thing.”

Said Fielding, “When we boxed the wine, it was my first real bag-in-box experience, so we brought it home, and it’s actually really convenient, it’s environmentally friendly and there’s great value to the customers.” In fact, the Long Weekend bag-in-box retails for $44.95, and it’s the equivalent of four bottles of wine so the customer they’re getting quite a good discount, said Fielding. Roberts explained the convenience of the new three-litre format. “Everything in it is completely recyclable and in terms of packaging space it takes up so little space.” Added Fielding, “It’s cool for places that shouldn’t have glass, like pool areas or to take camping. Or for someone who only wants a glass a night and doesn’t want to open a whole bottle, it’s awesome.” Roberts said they’re keeping in mind that wine in a bottle would have a longer shelf-life. “With a bottle, the only weak point in terms of oxygen transmission is the screw cap or the closure.

But for a bag-in-box, it’s the entire bag. It has an oxygen transmission,” said Roberts. Packaging on all the boxed wines says they can last up to six weeks. “The first round that we did, I took one home and cracked it open, taking out a little every day just to see how it changes. It’s now almost a month ago, and it still tastes the same as when I opened it.” Roberts said Fielding Estate chose the blend of un-oaked Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio because the grape varieties do so well here, and they are two varieties that the Beamsville winery is known for. A younger, fresher wine from 2016, it’s very approachable for just about anybody, and at seven grams of residual sugar and 12.5 per cent alcohol, it’s not dry. It’s hitting more of a representation of what can be made in Niagara, Roberts suggested. “It’s wine that gets as just much thought and care as any other wines were making, it’s just reaching a different category.” I don’t think bag-in-box may ever win over the staunch, “it has to come from a bottle” wine drinkers, but it is convenient.