Wine

[senormechanico]

I've got a neighbor who retired from a wine distributorship.
He is of course, very knowledgeable about wines.
He invited me over one evening and we opened up a very old bottle of his favorite wine which he had been saving for a special occasion (the completion of his new house).
It was very good, but tasted a lot like an old cork.

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

It was very good, but tasted a lot like an old cork.

Some kind of contradiction here no?
tasting like old cork , is not very good...
Should have let the bottle opened for half an hour, to let the wine breathe or even put it in a decanter and let it breathe for a while....

Seems to me that sailor are quite good with rum and not so with wine....

[SV Liberty]

Originally Posted by Hud3

So, what are some of the better box wine brands and varieties these days?

I think the last time I tried box wine was when I was in graduate school, over 40 years ago. I didn't really like it, but it was cheap, and we were poor!

On Liberty (and even back at home before cruising) we drink a lot of Black Box cab and shiraz. We're not merlot drinkers but the Black Box merlot we tried once was good. Black Box goes for around $18 at Sam's/WalMart/discount outlets, up to $22 or $23 at liquor stores, grocery stores, etc.

We also like Fisheye shiraz, about $14-17.

Each box holds 4 750 ml bottles worth, so thats $5 a bottle for Black Box, less than $4 for Fisheye.

Back when I had a full time income, we had gotten up to drinking a lot of $10 wine, although I was always on the hunt for $10 wines that drank more like $20 wines (and the occasional $20 wine than drank like $50, and they are out there). I was an avid reader of Wine Spectator's good buys, 20 under $20, things like that. I enjoy an Opus One as much as the next guy, but really, Black Box is more in our budget.

There are other good boxed wines. Some of the Hardy's out of Australia are good. There's no such thing as a really good pinot grigio, or a really bad one either - they are decent enough in a box.

Avoid Almaden, Franzia, and definitely Oak something or other, WalMart's boxed (and bottled) "wine", at least if looking for "decent" boxed wine.

Frequently the quality of boxed wine tracks price (as in many things in life).

But at the end of the day, and the end of this post, the consistently best boxed wine, and the one that makes up much of Liberty's stores, is Black Box.

We also carry quite a few bottles, most in socks, and none have ever broken. That was another thread, I think. And for glassware, we use big lexan bordeaux style "glasses" (drinking from "plastics" just sounds bad -
"hey, can I have a plastic of wine?").

Black Box. And I don't work for them.

[S/V Antares]

" Just my point: I used to drink wine having stayed in its bottle for years , decades even....
So you see how bad are the boxes and plastic..."


Wine in a box has its place. Some of us have to balance quantity and quality especially when our fellow cruisers come over for a long night!

I have 2 bottles 0f 78' Lafite Rothschild left in the house cellar. One has a bad cork. That will likely hurt worse than 8 boxes of cheap Chard. I prefer bottles but will accept a glass from a box from my friends.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Alecadi

Some kind of contradiction here no?
tasting like old cork , is not very good...
Should have let the bottle opened for half an hour, to let the wine breathe or even put it in a decanter and let it breathe for a while....

Seems to me that sailor are quite good with rum and not so with wine....

I should have said, "It obviously HAD BEEN a good wine, but now it tasted like an old cork."

His wife agreed. She likes the new plastic corks.

[Alecadi]

Question: why do we have this debate on wine.. I've not seen a thread about putting rum in boxes... or did I miss it?

And there is rum in every boat.....

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

" Just my point: I used to drink wine having stayed in its bottle for years , decades even....
So you see how bad are the boxes and plastic..."

Wine in a box has its place. Some of us have to balance quantity and quality especially when our fellow cruisers come over for a long night!

I have 2 bottles of 78' Lafite Rothschild left in the house cellar. One has a bad cork. That will likely hurt worse than 8 boxes of cheap Chard. I prefer bottles but will accept a glass from a box from my friends.

Don't take it so seriously.. Can we have a little fun here? I don't think the subject is so serious.. I'm having fun with all those post don't you see.
I'm coming from a culture where wine is something quite serious. For example we seldom have wine alone, only with meals..
And there is vineyards in the family (several generations...)
So I find it funny to see people having that kind of conversation so seriously
That's some difference of culture and it's funny.. so let me have my fun for a while.

You can drink whatever you want in whatever recipient , do as you please..
A votre sante!!

I'll be glad by the way to share your Lafitte Rothschild, even if I prefer Graves to Pauillac.

[DiverChick71]

Maybe this has been suggested before...but I will admit I'm lazy and not going to read 51 posts. I did skim, however, and have to shout out a resounding "YES" to Black Box! I love their Cab Sauvingnon. I'll try the Merlot. I enjoy your Sauvingnon Blanc as well. Also Bota Box Old Vine Zin. Tasty and even cheaper...I think about $15 a box at Total Wines.

I love good wines...and in the good days we thought nothing of opening $40 and $50 dollar bottle of wines. Now that my tastes (and budget) are downscaling, I find I really enjoy a value. Of course it's amazing to open up a find bottle of our tried and true favorites on a special occasion...but for everyday dinner, or to relax with a good book whilst I settle down to sleep, nothing beats the value!

[Knowazark]

Its extremely important to let wine breathe once you've opened the bottle. To speed the process I prefer to administer mouth-to-mouth.

[mrohr]

Boxed is the way I go. when finished you can blow up the bladder for a pillow.

[DiverChick71]

Has anyone found it a worthwhile effort to remove the bladder from the box? Seems like they'd stack up pretty well that way! It was just a thought we had..currently still land-based and space not a problem.

[CAELESTIS]

How long before this turns into a wine/anchor war? My Rocna cabernet, and my CQR Chardonnay, are much better than my Manson Merlot . . . . .

[Cotemar]

DiverChick71,

Cardboard has no place on a boat. Always remove the blader ad dispose of the box.
The blader fits and conforms nicely to where ever you put it.

[Khagan1227]

Hmmm... wine snobs on CF...

Well, I am a rum snob and proud of it, but I'll drink wine (Rebecca makes it), I'll drink COLD beer (I brew it) and I'll drink Applejack (hard cider) (son brews it).

Oh, to keep this about sailing... Ok, to be honest, I'll drink just about anything in a bottle or a boxI'll drink just about anything in a bottle or a box on my boat (or yours).

[S/V Antares]

The thread is about boating! running out of wine or rum can ruin your day. The bladders store easily in small or shallow places. I wish I could buy rum in a bladder box! I have a buddy who uses 4 bladders as flotation on her Kayak.

"Whats the word?
Thunderbird
"Whats the price?"
30 twice
How is it served?"
on ice!
"How does it taste?"
Soooo nice