18th
Wine, Whine, Wine
The most-emailed story on NYTimes.com right now is “Drink Outside the Box.” (“Wine in a box makes sense environmentally and economically. Indeed, vintners in the United States would be wise to embrace the trend that is slowly gaining acceptance worldwide.”).
Funnily enough, The Times has been trying to get its readers to jump on the boxed wine train for 15 years! (Leave me alone, I’m watching the Olympics and felt like dorking out for a few minutes.)
1. Frank Prial, “WINE TALK; Cabernet on Tap (Not for Cork Sniffers)”, August 18, 1993
“There is little doubt among wine professionals that the recession has given the bag-in-the-box a boost. Indeed, there has been a minor revolution in the wine business as a hugh [sic] segment of the market discovered that wine does not have to be expensive to taste good.”
2. Frank Prial, Wine Talk, February 7, 1996
“Finally, for folks not terribly concerned with nuance, there is a very decent chardonnay to be found in, of all places, a box.”
3. Frank Prial, Wine Talk, Excellent Box, Sir, August 27, 2003
“For the culturally incurious, wine in a box is immensely popular depending on where you hang out.”
4. Amy Cortese, “SUNDAY MONEY: SPENDING: A Vintage for Today’s Oenophile: Tasty Without Being Costly,” April 25, 2004
“Wine in cartons is fairly common in Europe, but in the United States boxed wines mostly had been associated with lower-quality wine.”
5. Dana Bowen, “Boxed Wine in the Round, With a Spigot,” Nov. 9, 2005
“The idea came to Mr. Johnnes a few years ago, he said, when he was considering packaging like screw tops and plastic corks, and the popularity of high-quality boxed wine in Europe and Australia.
“It’s inevitable that it would catch on here,” he said.”
6. Brendan Koerner, “Thinking Outside the Cardboard,” Jan. 14, 2007
“Winemakers say that today’s boxed wines are markedly better than the thin, acidic plonk of yore. And American consumers seem to agree, judging by their growing thirst for merlots and chardonnays encased in cardboard.”
7. M.P. Dunleavey, “My Cortex Made Me Buy It,” Feb. 9, 2008
“If you’re not accustomed to hearing the words “box” and “wine” in the same sentence, the idea might sound unappealing. Perhaps even déclassé. Not that I wanted to admit these thoughts to my friend, but my exclamation — “Blue Nun? In a box?” — did make my skepticism rather clear.”
