There is no doubt about it: Boxed wine has a bad reputation. Some might even characterize bag-in-box wine as “fast, cheap, easy, and fake” which is definitely not a compliment when it comes from foodies or wine snobs.

Is box wine “fast”?

Is box wine “cheap”?

Is box wine “easy”?

Is box wine “fake”?

Box wine is fast, cheap (mostly), and easy, but it is definitely real. And it's here to stay. Indeed, wine-in-a-box has been garnering increasing attention as environmental issues and carbon concerns become more visible. And there are several good reasons to (re)consider box wine—including that it can actually be good!

A quick google search reveals a number of recent articles featuring box wine buying guides; see, for example, the New York Times’ “10 Boxed Wines That Are Really Good, Seriously” and Decanter’s bag-in-box must-try list, which is the result of blind-tasting 70 different varieties available in the UK. Tasting Table goes so far as to name “11 Boxed Wine You Should Always Buy,” which is saying something considering the top two boxed wines on their list come from Franzia.

Despite its (bad) reputation, Franzia is incredibly popular (in terms of retail sales) and, rightfully, touts the environmental benefits of consuming their wine over the bottled kind. On the “green practices” page of their website, they note: “When you walk out of the store with a box of Franzia, there’s a noticeable spring in your step. Why? Because your carbon footprint is suddenly a whole lot lighter…” However, while the carbon savings may be real, the production specifics of the wine are notoriously opaque, so it is hard to tell what other environmental impacts may be hiding behind the packaging.

Mass produced wines, like those sold by Franzia, require a large production model to achieve an economy of scale, which makes the price so palatable that the actual taste (whether good or bad) ceases to matter. And/but, based on sales, people do like it. Franzia recently launched a new marketing blitz titled, “Franz for life” which seems to be trying to curate, or at least play into, the kind of cult following enjoyed by the producers of another mass-produced wine, “Two Buck Chuck” (whose creator, interestingly, was also the initial founder of Franzia, though the brand was ultimately sold to Coca Cola).

In other words, whether Franzia is quality wine or not, it is popular, and the benefits of box wine are numerous.

Consider its:

The winery in the United States that is best known for breaking out of the box—ironically, by jumping into it—is Tablas Creek Vineyard. In 2022, the company diverted 100 cases of their premium rosé to 3L (bag-in-)boxes. Priced at nearly $100 a piece, Tablas Creek took a leap of faith and quickly found they could fly: The first 352 boxes, their initial foray into the bag-in-box format, sold out in just four hours. Based on that initial release, and the ones that have followed after, Tablas Creek is credited with proving that fine boxed wine can be marketed and, importantly, sold at fine wine price points. Bag-in-box wine is widely accepted in certain locales, and proprietors like Tablas Creek are demonstrating the model can work here as well.

If you need (or want) to taste to believe, as of this writing, you can still grab a 3L box of Tablas Creek’s well regarded Rhone-style red, though I wouldn’t count on it being available for long (as the rosé and white blend have already sold out). (I admit that this suggestion is in conflict with the advice I offered a few weeks ago re: thinking out-of the-box for gifts this holiday season…) If you can get your hands on some, I, for one, won’t judge whether you give it to a friend or save it for yourself.