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Boxed wine ???????????????


plumeria

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I read that some have purchased boxed wine for their cruise; my husband wondered what winery has decent boxed wine? Most of the ones we have tried were awful, of course we are from Sonoma County Ca. so we might be spoiled, but has anyone sampled a great one?

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Rest assured Plumeria that no self respecting wine maker would put decent wine in a box (or a "cask" as we call boxed wine downunder), so your quest for a great wine in a box would seem to be destined to failure. I must concede you have some nice wines originating from California, like we do in Australia and New Zealand. When it comes to value for money we certainly have it all over the European wines.

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I read that some have purchased boxed wine for their cruise; my husband wondered what winery has decent boxed wine? Most of the ones we have tried were awful, of course we are from Sonoma County Ca. so we might be spoiled, but has anyone sampled a great one?
I've only had one "box wine" that I thought was worth drinking -- it was a "Claret" that a friend of mine in the U.K. served once.

 

First, the wine you take with you is technically supposed to be consumed in the dining rooms. IF, and this seems rare, but we've heard it here, they choose to take it from you upon boarding and provide it to you in the dining room... well, you can see where that goes. Heaven knows how they'd handle the corkage charge on something like that!

 

You'll likely need to bring a carry-on of some sort for each of you if for no other reason than the morning of disembarkation. It's also useful if you fly in the day ahead. Put your few clothes into one of them, and save the 2nd one for your wine. There are lots of safe ways to pack it, but if nothing else, a sweat sock over the bottle one way, and another the other way, and you have a cushion plenty good enough to protect it in carry-on luggage.

 

Here's my 'monthly' cut and paste on the rest of the subject:

 

As for taking wine aboard -- no problem. We took 8 bottles along for our recent 11 nt. trip on the Summit for 4, and half a dozen on our April Constellation trip. We’ve taken something special with us on each cruise. As reported, there's a $15 corkage charge, clearly signaling Celebrity’s intent, but it is expected that wine will be consumed in the dining room. That said, I’ve heard of corkscrews being delivered to cabins, too.

 

Rather than having you ambling into the restaurant with bottles under your arms, the "correct" procedure is to write your cabin and table number on the bottles, and hand them over to your cabin steward for delivery to the dining room. The wine steward will assure that it is held at an appropriate temperature until dinner. Since this typically means an extra run to the restaurant for your assistant cabin steward, be a sport and check the dinner menu early and give them your bottles as early as you are able. I liked to try to assure they had them by 5:00 so as not to interrupt them while they were working over the cabins of those at early seating.

 

Note about wine on Celebrity M-Class ships. Do NOT be bashful about asking to see and order from the specialty restaurant wine list when seated in the main dining room. It's a more complete list with some interesting selections that you won't be seeing on the regular dining room wine list. It's nice if you can let the wine steward know the day ahead, though, if you know the entree schedule. Saves them a run down to the other restaurant.

 

Another nice feature -- if you don't finish a bottle (yours or theirs) at dinner, and it's got the wherewithal to spend an overnight, your wine steward will be happy to store it for you until dinner the next evening. I've even had a few somewhat raw cabernets that actually benefited from the experience.

 

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Assuming that we all know you aren't going to get 'Great' wine in a box, I do, from time to time, carry a box on to be able to have a glass or two in the afternoon. I like to order the fruit and cheese plate from room service and relax with that and some wine.

 

I first tried Hardy's because the shape on the box and the easy use spout is the best I've found to pack. It's a neat little square box that fits in one of the extra large zip locks so I don't have to worry about spillage and it can be packed in checked luggage.

 

I like the White the best but the Shiraz is not bad.

 

Yes, I do enjoy 'good' wine, but heck, I can drink this stuff, too!

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Assuming that we all know you aren't going to get 'Great' wine in a box, I do, from time to time, carry a box on to be able to have a glass or two in the afternoon.
Not that the fridges in the cabins are usually any great shakes, but how do you handle keeping a box that size cool? Does it fit? I have to empty the things out and move the shelf around just to get in a few regular bottles.
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After the CS empties the fridge, I can fit in, on it's back, on the bottom shelf. The spout really seals well so no leakage. That's why this brand is good, the box is a different shape from some of the other one. I don't think they would fit. And if you take red it's not a problem anyway.

 

JoAn, who has been on several of my cruises, always threatens to take one to the dining room. I told her they would probably charge her 'spoutage'. LOL!

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I like Hardy's Merlot but I got a new one for my last trip. I think it was called Vantage, and it was Austrailian Shiraz. It was quite good. I don't know enough about wine to order something special, but I thought this one was fine. On the ship I don't order any expensive wines, but I enjoy what I purchase.

 

Katie

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Delicato, IMO, is very light. The Vendage is quite good for a less expensive wine. They have recently come out with a plastic carton shaped like a mile carton. They are either 250 or 500 ml. I forget which. The whites are quite good and they have a large variety.

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I recently returned from a Century cruise and was almost going to purchase boxed wine for in-suite consumption. However, I just couldn't bring myself to pouring wine from a spout on a box. I bought a few bottles of good wine and a few good Tupperware leak-proof containers and had no problem. Looked much better in frig too !!

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Oh my, boxed wine? Be careful. You might be leaving yourself open to the same kind of ridicule the poor person who asked about Buffalo wings got! :D

 

 

Black Box Wines - Chardonnays

 

 

 

Our Chardonnays that are sophisticated yet well suited to accompany your everyday meals. They're silky, not buttery. They have hints of oak, but they’re subtle. What you get are very drinkable Chardonnays with fresh complex flavors that complement food rather than overpower it.

 

2003 Monterey County Chardonnay

 

Rated Top 100 - Best Buy - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Rated 87 Points - Wilfred Wong

 

Our Monterey Chardonnay displays fresh aromas of citrus with notes of pineapple. The palate is rich, with full entry and flavors of tropical mango and green grape. It finishes long and warm with ripe flavors returning.

 

 

2003 Napa Valley Chardonnay

 

Gold Medal Winner - 2004 California State Fair

Silver Medal Winner - 2003 & 2004 San Francisco

Chronicle Wine Competition

 

This is our best Chardonnay. Crafted from selected lots from Napa Valley it displays aromas of spicy cinnamon toast, apple pie crust and ripe honeydew melon. The palate is medium bodied with apple flavors surrounded by toffee yeast. It finishes with balanced acidity that maintains lively flavor notes.

 

 

This doesn't sound to bad LOL

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I read an article recently on boxed wines that rated a company called "Black Box" as the highest quality on the market recently of what was tested. A company called Delicato was also ranked second best.

 

 

Black Box crafts the world's finest boxed wines. Their vintage wines come in an environmentally friendly bag-in-box package that cost's you less and keeps ...

http://www.blackboxwines.com

 

We our going to SF for family reuion in Aug so we will pick some up and give a report, the web site says you can only purchase in Calif

 

Plumeria

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I may have an answer,This question was brought up on a different board years ago. The poster was asking about wine that can be purchased an put into carry-on "boxes" for travel. If you have cruised Princess or HAL you may have seen these boxes going off the ship from their wine tasting sales. We have used these carry ons to take wine with us. A note about reds a nice red does not travel we as it gets quite a shaking!

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Black Box crafts the world's finest boxed wines. Their vintage wines come in an environmentally friendly bag-in-box package that cost's you less and keeps ...

www.blackboxwines.com

 

Plumeria

 

I've tried the Black Box Chard and found it thin and sharp, not sure what taste they were going for. There are excellent "quaffing" wines that are boxed in the Burgundy and Rhone areas of France - but none are imported to the US, unfortunately.

 

What I'd really like to find is a way to "home box" wines - create your own 3 - 5 liter collapsable bag...

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There's a review on sfgate dot com about boxed wines; I tend to agree with their rankings. The whites seem more successful than the reds to me, with the exception of syrah/shiraz, where I've tasted some pretty good candidates.

 

Oddly, the best consumer-marketed "cask system" wine I've tasted is from Target. They have a partnership with Andrea Immer-Robinson, and while most of the entrants are uninspired, I thought their pinot grigio was fantastic. Very quaffable. They also sell a very stylish insulated carrier for their 3L cask system.

 

The interesting piece is that there are some *REALLY GREAT* wines that are marketed for by-the-glass programs in 25L cask systems. Even some snotty boutique wineries are doing it.

 

My favorite change-in-the-wine-industry moment recently happened on Princess. I brought a few bottles of oddball whites (their list is very, very light on imported whites) and had one poor waiter nearly break his wine key trying to open a bottle of Caymus Conundrum. . .I should have mentioned it had a Stelvin closure (read: screwcap).

 

Eric

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Black Box crafts the world's finest boxed wines. Their vintage wines come in an environmentally friendly bag-in-box package that cost's you less and keeps ...

http://www.blackboxwines.com

 

We our going to SF for family reuion in Aug so we will pick some up and give a report, the web site says you can only purchase in Calif

 

Plumeria

 

 

I read you can purchase in 50 states now on web site

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There's a review on sfgate dot com about boxed wines; I tend to agree with their rankings. The whites seem more successful than the reds to me, with the exception of syrah/shiraz, where I've tasted some pretty good candidates.

 

Oddly, the best consumer-marketed "cask system" wine I've tasted is from Target. They have a partnership with Andrea Immer-Robinson, and while most of the entrants are uninspired, I thought their pinot grigio was fantastic. Very quaffable. They also sell a very stylish insulated carrier for their 3L cask system.

 

The interesting piece is that there are some *REALLY GREAT* wines that are marketed for by-the-glass programs in 25L cask systems. Even some snotty boutique wineries are doing it.

 

My favorite change-in-the-wine-industry moment recently happened on Princess. I brought a few bottles of oddball whites (their list is very, very light on imported whites) and had one poor waiter nearly break his wine key trying to open a bottle of Caymus Conundrum. . .I should have mentioned it had a Stelvin closure (read: screwcap).

 

Eric

 

I hear all wines are going to twist top as they are experiencing 10% spoilage with cork

 

Plumeria

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Vibeguy, that is a great story. Caymus Conundrum happens to be one of my favorite wines too.

 

Another funny story--We had some friends over for before dinner cocktails one night and served a bottle of the Caymus Conundrum. I did not bring the bottle over--just poured the wine because i knew they had the wine before and enjoyed it. Well the guy got a little prissy about the screwtop, though he didn't say anything (just kind of wrinkled his nose). So, I told him I was trying to find a wine as good as the Caymus and asked how he thought I had done. After listening to him critique for a couple of minutes, I brought the bottle over and handed it to him, screwtop and all. Thankfully they are good friends, so we all had a good laugh. He swears he is hanging up his wine critics badge forever.

 

Linda

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Previous post regarding being able to purchase wine in all states should be correct. The courts ruled today that attempts to ban interstate sales are unconstitutional.(and, rightfully so.)
Note, however, that this applies only where states were not being evenhanded about the shipments. Those that prohibit any direct sales may still do so -- so long as they ban both direct shipments from in and out of state. Many states work very hard to maintain their liquor lobbiests' three tier distribution system.
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I like Stonehaven Shiraz, a South Eastern Austrailian wine. Pennsylvania's liquor control system is getting better, but we can only buy in "State Store's" and a few grocery stores have a branch in them. So, finally, we can buy wine from noon to 5 on Sundays. And for the first time ever, they are going to be open during primary elections 5/17. Strange system. Love to travel to other states with better sales although we do have a pretty good selection. Have taken some boxes on previous cruises because travel so well. Since we are sailing from LA, maybe we'll bring an extra bag and buy when we get there. Still plenty of time to plan, but can't wait!

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