I can't remember what year the Banrock I had. I have tasted several different ones from the box and I was pleasantly suprised!

I agree, box wine has gotten a bad wrap, but I happen to think it tastes the same as those average priced wines that come in bottles. I wonder why, people have a hard time going with the boxed option. I guess we're all used to the bottle and the satisfying feeling of perfectly unscrewing the cork, its part of the experience of enjoying a nice glass of wine. Opening up a box, isn't as gratifying.

[QUOTE=world_citizen] I wonder why, people have a hard time going with the boxed option. QUOTE]


Because some things are just not done.

You must be quite the wine drinker-huh?

Or a James Bond fan. Possibly both. Cheers!

Grandma, Grandma? Is that you? They told me you were... :eek:

On a more serious note, anyone from Ontario know of any recommendable 'alternative packaging' wines available throught the LCBO?

Peller Estates French Cross is quite good, available in 5 or 6 different varietals/blends. The best is their "Dry Red" which is a soft red which is remarkable for a bulk wine (and cheap, something like CAD 12 for 4L, but I only get to the LCBO a couple of times a year). A great example of how price and quality in wine is only loosely coupled, and some cheap wines can be quite good.

Is this stuff sourced from Canadian vineyards or is it one of the "made in Canada" wines where the grapes can (and often do) come from all over the world? Nothing wrong with that at th equivalent of C$2.25/bottle.

I used to love Banrock Station Shiraz and Cab in boxes in Hong Kong but here in the US their box wines are just drinkable. Don't know why.

Peller mostly makes high-end wines (>$10/bottle), and does have their own vineyards in Niagara for those. The box wines are labeled "cellared by" which normally allows 70% non-Ontario wines in the blend, but in 2005 there was an emergency allowance of 99% imported wine due to a shortage of grapes in Ontario. So I'm sure the majority of the wine came from the California central valley grape glut. It is a nice soft red, like a beaujolais (zero aging potential).

Different wine (deliberately so). I hate this practice by some of the larger companies, using the same brand name and labeling for a deliberately different tasting product. Part of their global brand strategy. The theory is to cater to local tastes but have a global brand. Just tastes different wherever you go.

It could be that the wines are made in such great volumes that they're made in several different batches and hence taste different. A few years ago, my friend was raving about a Wynns entry-level cabernet sauvignon that he had in Sydney. I managed to acquire a bottle of the same vintage that was purchased in Perth. I tried the wine and was very disappointed. A few weeks later, he returned home to Perth and bought a local bottle and was similarly disappointed. I think he found out that that particular vintage and label were made in at least 4 batches.

They sell these wines in 1l bottles (advertised as a free 33% more) in B.C. but the bottles I've had are regrettably quite poor in quality.

Oh, I am quite aware of Peller (which also makes Okanagan wines, or wine with grapes from the Okanagan). I was curious if they make boxed Niagara wines (which isn't really available in B.C.). There is one vineyard in B.C. that sells (or used to sell) Okanagan wines in boxes. They couldn't labelled VQA (vintners quality assurance) as the wines weren't bottled but would be VQA-eligible otherwise.