As children we were taught not to judge a book by its cover. The adult version of the lesson applies to wine. Boxed wine gets a bad rap because it comes it cardboard. But why, if what’s inside it is as good as what is inside any glass bottle? “With any wine, whether packaged in box or bottle, it all begins in the vineyard with quality fruit,” says Kim Moore, the director of marketing for Constellation Brands, which owns multiple wine companies, some of which offer boxed wine. “Once we secure quality fruit, the process of converting the grapes into wine juice via fermentation and aging appropriately in stainless steel or with oak, is exactly the same as it would be for any bottle counterpart,” she assures. “The difference between the two simply comes in the form of the way the wine is packaged.” Obviously, boxed wine is not the type of wine you buy and age, unlike bottles. But that is the only way the box will affect the wine. Granted, not every boxed wine is a prize but not every bottle is either.

Why hate on something that’s cheap, delicious and makes you feel spectacular? Plus, swapping the glass with the box is good for the environment. So, let’s make a toast to the best boxed wines out there: Available in 1 liter and ml sizes, these Tetra Packs are eco-friendly. The company claims that what they save on packaging, they spend on quality wine production, and we believe them. Bandit pinot grigio has won multiple awards, but they also make merlot, chardonnay, cabernet and a red wine blend. The chic package that this silky smooth beverage comes in is one of the most green options out there, and it isn’t just because yellow and blue make green. Not only do they package in Tetra Packs, their shipping and production methods are eco-friendly because they eliminate excess packaging and purchase offsets from Renewable Choice Energy, making Y+B the only 100 percent carbon neutral company in the wine business. And good news for you healthy wine drinkers (whatever that means): it’s organic!

France is the wine capital of the world, and if they are willing to put their wine in a box, it clearly can’t be that detrimental of a decision. French Rabbit’s wines are sourced sustainably from the Pays d’Oc region of Southern France. Their pinot noir is a crowd favorite. If a large company that owns multiple vineyards and bottled-wine brands decides to add a boxed-wine brand to their repertoire, it has to be good. Constellation Brands put their reputation for quality wine on the line by introducing Black Box Wines, and it was a genius move. Black Box Wines has won many awards for the company, with 48 Gold Medals and 27 “Best Buys” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. The sleek black box will make a classy addition to any bar and the smooth wines pair well with gourmet dishes. If you aren’t ready to go from glass to cardboard, ease into the idea with wood. Wineberry’s boxed wine comes in avant-garde wooden boxes and multiple varietals. Don’t worry, the taste isn’t too woody.

Bota Box is also owned by a much larger wine company, Delicato Family Vineyards. best wine cocktailsDFV owns 15 brands, most of which come in a bottle, using grapes from Napa, Lodi, Monterey and Sonoma. new world wine regionsOne complaint about boxed wines is that they don’t last but Bota Box uses FlexTap technology, which makes it possible to keep premium wine fresh for more than a month after opening with no exposure to light and air.food and wine best vegetable side dishesTime was, box wines were bypassed by bargain-hunting wine lovers. best wine for turkeyA new and improved breed of box wines is offering crowd-pleasing wines that are luring young wine lovers with a trifecta of good quality, great value and eco-friendly packaging.wine sale online nz

“The younger generation isn’t stuck on having a cork,” says Gregg Lamer of Boxx Cellars, a California-based company that distributes box wines from around the world. best place to drink wine in europeThe increasingly important and wine-enthusiastic Millennial market is more open to packaging alternatives like bag-in-box, Tetra Paks, aluminum cans and kegs, which all also happen to be more beach- pool- and park-friendly than glass bottles. best wine not too dry“Let’s step up our tailgating program,” Lamer enthuses.best wine shops california Value, tied to quality, is the key factor driving the recent surge in box-wine sales and production. how much does a glass of wine cost at a bar

“[Wine lovers] want a wine that will overdeliver for the price,” says Nick Banuelos, marketing director for Delicato Family Vineyards' Bota Box. “Glass, corks, capsules and labels are expensive and can be a sizable cost increase versus our bag-in-a-box package.” A 3-liter box contains the equivalent of four 750ml bottles of wine, meaning a $20 box equates to $5 a bottle. And producers are putting better quality in the box, as illustrated by recent Wine Spectator blind tastings of box wines from California. Of 44 bag-in-box and Tetra Pak wines reviewed along with their peers bottled in glass, 15 rated "very good," or 85 to 89 points on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale. An additional 26 rated "good," or 80 to 84 points. Quality was split down the middle among whites and reds, although vintage wines performed slightly better than non-vintage "boxings," backed by California's generally strong 2015 and 2014 vintages. Leading the way in California is Loft's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, and Gallo’s The Naked Grape Pinot Noir is a serious bargain for a varietal that typically commands higher prices.

Large, established brands like Bota Box and Black Box are expanding their lineups, banking on the popularity of red blends, and also offering smaller containers such as 1.5-liter boxes and Tetra Paks, a compressed cardboard carton with a foil liner popular among juice and coconut water brands. Bandit winemaker Joel Gott, one of the partners behind the Three Thieves wine company, was an early adopter of Tetra Pak technology. Like many box-wine producers, Gott aims for easygoing wines that are soft in texture, with gentle tannins in his reds and juicy whites. It shows in the bright and fragrant Bandit Pinot Grigio. The upswing in quality can be partly credited to a greater emphasis on production standards. “We source from prestigious appellations and create on a smaller production scale, using sophisticated cool-temperature winemaking techniques,” says Loft winemaker Denise Worden. Most box wines carry the broad California appellation, typically including grapes from regions such as Lodi, Monterey and the Central Coast.

Glass bottles remain the standard, but boxes and Tetra Paks are taking a bigger piece of the pie in the U.S. market. According to marketing group Nielsen, the value share of 3-liter boxes grew 94 percent over five years, from 1.7 percent in 2010 to 3.3 percent in 2015. That year the category increased 12.3 percent by volume, while in comparison, 750ml bottles only grew 2.8 percent. That steady growth comes as longtime box-wine buyers trade up in price and down in volume from bulk 5-liter boxes to 3-liter containers, with higher quality wine inside. “There is no doubt that there is greater consumer acceptance of boxed wine,” says Bota Box's Banuelos. The brand grew 28 percent in 2015, to the equivalent of 4 million 9-liter cases, according to Wine Spectator sister publication Market Watch. Banuelos says that Millennials—mainly the older portion of the generation—make up the majority of new buyers and now account for 25 to 30 percent of Bota Box’s customers; that number continues to grow.

Millennials are also the key demographic behind the explosion of wine in aluminum cans, which outpaced both 3-liter boxes and Tetra Paks in growth in 2015 by a wide margin, with 60 percent growth by value and 129 percent growth by volume. How does wine in a can stack up? Our editors tasted nine canned wines from California to find out. Quality was hit or miss, with six of the wines rating from good to very good. The top wine, the Alloy Wine Works Pinot Noir Central Coast 2014, packed with vibrant berry, floral and savory flavors, shows the potential of this growing segment as an everyday value. “We make [canned wine] the same way we would a bottled wine,” says Andrew Jones of Alloy Wine Works in Paso Robles, who eschews oak in his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to emphasize the fruit flavors. He is testing the limits of this nascent category by aging some of his wines, arguing that cans protect against light and oxygen better than glass bottles and certainly more than boxes with semi-permeable bags that let in a small amount of air over time and limit their shelf life to about a year to 18 months.

As the alternative-packaging category grows, consumers may see more box and can wines appearing at venues and on restaurant wine lists: Burger chain Red Robin sells The Naked Grape by the glass for $4.50. But many consumers and industry professionals still view the category with skepticism. “Most people are waiting on the sideline to see what’s going to happen,” says Boxx Cellars' Lamer. He believes that if more producers decide to bottle their wine in boxes it will help push the category into the mainstream. “If you put the right wine in the box, [it] will sell.” The wines below were reviewed blind in Wine Spectator's Napa office, decanted into empty glass bottles to disguise their original packaging and tasted alongside wines originally bottled in glass. Note: Box wines are stored in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag that deflates as the wine is poured through a spigot, keeping oxygen out, so they don't have to be finished at once. Producers claim that an opened box will stay fresh for four to six weeks.

Follow-up Wine Spectator tastings, conducted weekly for a month following the initial blind tasting from which the scores are derived, found that the boxed wines tasted best within two to three weeks of opening. LOFT Cabernet Sauvignon California 2014 Score: 89 | A pleasant up-front push of dark berry, spice, vanilla bean and cedar flavors folds together. Ends with a strong woody presence and a finish that tails off. Complete and easy to enjoy. Drink now through 2021. BLACK BOX Chardonnay California 2015 Score: 88 | Clean, centered on ripe fig, tropical fruit and light cedary notes. Turns simpler on the aftertaste, but the flavors linger. BOTA BOX Cabernet Sauvignon California 2014 Score: 88 | A solid, chunky, extracted effort, centered on rich dark berry, mocha, savory herb and light cedar notes. Well-focused and persistent on the finish, ending chewy. WINE CUBE Chardonnay California 2014 Score: 88 | A stylish offering, focused on rich fruit, with tropical touches and light oak flavors.

Turns spicy and candied, but holds together well, finishing lively and clean. THE NAKED GRAPE Chardonnay California NV Score: 87 | Clean, fresh aromas highlight the ripe pear, melon and honeysuckle notes. Maintains vibrancy on the long, tight finish. THE NAKED GRAPE Pinot Noir California NV Score: 87 | Charming and simple, with candied plum and wild berry flavors; works well as a quaffer. ALLOY WINE WORKS Pinot Noir Central Coast 2014 Score: 87 | Intense and vibrant, with a taut core of cranberry, huckleberry and raspberry flavors, marked by floral, woody, savory and loamy earth accents. More a solid red than a pure Pinot, this is a tasty mouthful. Retails for $30 for four cans. Drink now through 2020. VIN VAULT Cabernet Sauvignon California NV Score: 87 | Creamy, vanilla-scented oak is at the core of this medium-weight effort, with spicy dried dark berry and woody flavors, accented by notes of herb and sage. ALLOY WINE WORKS Chardonnay Central Coast 2015 Score: 86 |

Not shy on savory cedar flavors, with a touch of smoke adding dimension to the rustic, pithy core of green apple and citrus. BANDIT Pinot Grigio California NV Score: 86 | Bright and fragrant, with a lip-smacking mix of green apple and lime flavors. Crisp acidity and peach blossom notes emerge on the finish. BIG HOUSE Chardonnay California Bootleggers Series 2014 Score: 86 | Trim and well-focused, this is successful in an understated style, where the lemon-citrus flavors join ripe pear and melon notes. BOTA BOX Sauvignon Blanc California 2015 Score: 86 | Light and crisp, with vibrant notes of Key lime, honeydew melon and grass, balanced by fresh acidity. BOTA BOX Shiraz California 2014 Score: 86 | Straightforward and juicy, with modest blackberry and cracked pepper flavors. LOFT Chardonnay California 2014 Score: 86 | Delivers a subtle mix of light citrus, tropical fruit and pineapple flavors. More exciting up front, as this fades on the finish.