Box-O-Wine

[Debe7ing]

It sounds as tho this thread has LOTS of box wine experts...so maybe you can help.

 

Honestly, the only box wines I have tried before were AWFUL!!! So, hoping you can help change my mind about them....we enjoy the Cab blends, J Lohr, Smoking Loon and Bohemian Highway, Koonunga Hill.

 

Having said that, does ANYONE know a box wine we might try that might fall into that range????

 

Appreciate the help...HATE the thought of buying boxes upon boxes of something we would not like trying to find one we do.

Thanks in advance!!!!

[bjkTX]

One of the boxed wines that was highly recommended to us was Black Box Wine - and they have a cab. You might want to check out their website at:

 

http://www.blackboxwines.com/

 

They have a place where you can order online or check for a store near you. DW is not a fan of cabernet (I am) so we didn't try it. Good luck!

[Victress2007]

Black Box chardonnay has won some awards, their Merlot is just ok to me. I did try the Trove merlot, and thought that one was very drinkable. Delicato Shiraz has also won awards, I think it rated a 90 in some rating group. I've had their Merlot, and wasn't all that impressed. There is also a French red in a box, Chateau Dauphin is in the name, but I don't speak french so I can't remember the whole thing! After spending some time in Europe, I developed a tasted for chilled reds - and I really like that one, but can't find it here right now.

 

If anyone has more suggestions I'd love to hear them, while I don't think I'd bring a box to the dining room, I'd sure enjoy having it in the stateroom.

[Porkys2]

Corkage is just for not opening the wine, it is for serving it and the use of their glassware..

 

Actually, the corkage charge has nothing to do with opening the bottle or using the glassware. It's simply imposed because restaurants rely on the profits they make from alcohol sales, and if they can't discourage you from bringing your own, they at least want to make their cut.

[shepp]

It sounds as tho this thread has LOTS of box wine experts...so maybe you can help.

 

Honestly, the only box wines I have tried before were AWFUL!!! So, hoping you can help change my mind about them....we enjoy the Cab blends, J Lohr, Smoking Loon and Bohemian Highway, Koonunga Hill.

 

Try Delicato Shiraz...keeps winning gold and silver medals, IMO is a perfect everyday wine, and is...whoa...as little as $15 for 3 liters. I would have planned to bring a couple of boxes onboard, but when I checked directly with Princess, they reiterated the 750ml per pax thing, so rather than risk having the whole supply confiscated, I went out and bought some on-sale (but more expensive per unit, and of course heavier and more perishable) bottles of the stuff. Probably a mistake, huh?

 

As far as the "looks cheap" thing.... Can anybody say "book by its cover"? A lox in a tuxedo is still a lox, and let's face it, some of the people on a cruise have a sense of snobbery that's considerably better developed than their wine palates.

[KKB]

As far as the "looks cheap" thing.... Can anybody say "book by its cover"? A lox in a tuxedo is still a lox, and let's face it, some of the people on a cruise have a sense of snobbery that's considerably better developed than their wine palates.

 

Gosh, you are SO right...kinda reminds me of the thread about "appropriate formal wear". I love how some will lead cruising virgins to believe that if you are not decked out to the hilt you will be banned to eat the buffet or room service!

 

My theory is if you want EVERYONE to dress a certain way, or drink a certain way, maybe you should try a more expensive line. You still won't find everyone who follows "the rules", but you may find more.

 

What a SCARY world we would live in if we all did...

[KruisingKaren]

The Princess website says we're allowed to bring 1 bottle per person of wine or Champagne on board "to celebrate a special occaision". Do they enforce this?

[pnjkeith]

Want to have some fun. Put on your best jeans, fine t shirt and carry that box of wine to dinner on formal nite. Bet you get lots of laughs and stares. And to top it off, you will get in. Have fun, remember that why we cruise!

[spongerob]

Want to have some fun. Put on your best jeans, fine t shirt and carry that box of wine to dinner on formal nite. Bet you get lots of laughs and stares. And to top it off, you will get in. Have fun, remember that why we cruise!

Stick a bendy straw in the top of your box-o-wine to complete the effect. :p

 

If you want to take me up on my offer, go down to Byron's Liquors on 23rd St. They have drinkin' boxes and cans of wine complete with straw, just like little kids' juice boxes and sodas. I am NOT making this up! :)

[sultan_sfo]

Spoken like a TRUE Carnival Cruiser!

 

Want to have some fun. Put on your best jeans, fine t shirt and carry that box of wine to dinner on formal nite. Bet you get lots of laughs and stares. And to top it off, you will get in. Have fun, remember that why we cruise!

[coiran]

Princess uses boxes, why not pax??

On the Regal in February while attending the most traveled cocktail party I saw an attendant filling a wine bottle from a 5 litre box - it was the $20 per box stuff though. So, get an empty bottle and cork and refill as necessary.

 

Ron

[dforeigner]

One advantage to boxed wine is that it has less contact with Oxygen than an opened bottled of wine. Therefore, the boxed wine will last longer than a re-corked bottle of wine. Do not get me wrong, for dinner, I prefer a bottle to a box. There is too much wine in a box to be finished by two people in one seating.

[pnjkeith]

Kinda tacky don't you think? Corkage is just for not opening the wine, it is for serving it and the use of their glassware.. Keep the box in your room and buy wine from the wine list. Good question though... As for corkage. I will say 4 nights worth as the box holds the equivalent of 4 bottles.

 

 

Thats not Tacky! BOx of Wine is Great. Good for laughs too!

[the_dylaness]

IMHO... boxed wine is a GOOD THING. I am a big fan of the Black Box, Trove, and Delicato wines, all which have been previously mentioned on this thread. The Black Box Shiraz, which I just bought for the first time last week, is the current "house wine" of my house, and I think it's even better than their cab sauv.

 

That being said, as much as I am truly in love with boxed wine for the convenience, price, freshness and 1-glass-at-a-time factors, I think the best thing about it is that it makes drinking wine at home a little easier and cheaper. It's not something that I would serve my dinner guests, nor bring in a cruise ship dining room, simply because of the fact that many people still consider it gauche. And I'd feel a little silly with a big cardboard box on my dinner table. For the cabin... I'm bringing some with me in March.

 

You might say that this makes me too concerned with what other people may think, but I think we all find that we do things/avoid doing things because they are/are not socially acceptable, and at least in the area where I live, I feel pretty sure that boxed wine as a BYOB (even w/ corkage fee) is not such.

[coiran]

Princess uses Black Box Wine for their house wine at parties. I saw them pouring from a box into a bottle.

 

Ron