OT: I loved their 2004 vintage and raved about it to everyone. The Shiraz was even voted one of best values in the world at less than $4 a bottle in some places. But when I bought several bottles of their 2005 vintage it tasted like...well...cheap wine.

Target has those 4-pack wine cubes...not the best vino, but they fit in a cupholder.

we LOVE those target 'juice box' boxed wines...not as great wine, mind you, but as great kitsch, groovy packaging and perfectly fine vino. there's a preference in my house for the pinot grigio and the cab-shiraz. (the merlot...not so much.) my husband keeps threatening to sneak 'em into the movies to go with his popcorn, and it's great for a picnic--no worries about breakage and it's the perfect size. it's only a pity they don't come with straws.

i think the 'juice box' is a brilliant idea, but i'm just waiting for the lawyers to get hold of it. seriously, i'm expecting some weird lawsuit about kids drinking mommy's stuff, so i'm stocking up.

Or the fact they aren't very recognizable (mix in well with other beverage packaging).

exactly. which is, of course, part of why we like them.

Hard to imagine Cole Porter finding inspiration over a chilled box of Sancerre.

Tried the Bandit cabernet last night and was disappointed after such an impressive pinot grigio.

Mrs BamaVol and I did get a chuckle out of the 2002 vintage stamped on the juicebox. Certainly the oldest juice box contents we've ever consumed.

De Bortoli makes wine in several different ranges. Some of it is
pretty good. Today for lunch I had a box Merlot from Domaine
Grollet near Angouleme, and it was great with bacon butties.

Just tried the 2005 Bandit pinot grigio and it was awful; the worst wine I've had in years. Lots of cheaper wines are a lot better than that one. I do like the packaging, but their wine is surprisingly poor.

In the US, Kendall-Jackson does a nice box.

More 411 on the name of the white Burgundy, please? Many thanks!

Sorry--question already posed in previous post.

Yesterday someone plopped a box of Alamaden boxed white wine on the counter at a parish luncheon. Hideous is about the best description I can offer...especially at room temperature.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

The easiest way to make poor wine taste better is to chill it. Cold eliminates the more volatile components of the smell, which tend to be the worse features of a wine. It even works for red wine (bad red wine straight from the fridge can be enjoyable sometimes). Works particularly well in Florida.

Almaden is an interesting case study of how brands evolve. Almaden was one of the first box wines in the US (20 years ago? I think it is circa 1985); they had "jug" wines in gallon bottles before then. Used to be quite good for the price. Over time the taste has gotten a lot sweeter and more fruity -- and worse. Seems like a business decision, or response to perceived market demand. They definitely changed the style to be more "soft drink" inspired (taste like Sprite).

Well, keep in mind I was using the term impressive more to describe value (@ $6 a liter) than taste, but I cannot say it was the worst I've tasted all month, let alone years. To each his own. Anyone else dare to try it?