***

The Wine Pocket is the solution to taking boxed wine anywhere, anytime while maintaining the temperature up to eight hours. We all know that keeping our wine at the right temperature is crucial to the taste. The Wine Pocket offers many benefits to wine drinkers:

• Convenient
• Lightweight
• Adjustable strap for carrying ease
• Extra pocket for essentials
• Soft sided for easy storage
• Non-sweating ice brick

It all began on a hot sunny summer day on the boat. I like white wine in the summer and to keep it chilled I had taken the bag out of the box and put it in the cooler. While cutting veggies, fruit and cheese the knife fell into the cooler and put a hole in the bag. Needless to say there was a lot of wine that went to waste that day. I knew there had to be a way to prevent that from happening again. My idea started that day and it has been quite an adventure seeing it go from paper to product.

The first design was for the five-liter box. I was fortunate to find a local manufacturer that was able to bring my dream to life. I made sure that I had everything covered for maximum convenience. I now have a smaller version for the three-liter box such as Black Box Wine, and have two colors: wine and navy.

Please visit our web site at thewinepocket.com to order your Wine Pocket today!

–Dianne

***

Do you have an interesting product for the boxed wine market? Send us an e-mail and tell us about it!

Cheers,

The ABW.com team

A recent article in The Modesto Bee recommends a few boxed wine labels. These labels included:

• Fish Eye’s red varietals
• Herding Cats Merlot-Pinotage
• Target’s Wine Cube Pinot Grigio

You can find other great boxed wine to serve with Thanksgiving dinner here.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Read the Modesto Bee’s full article: http://www.modbee.com/business/story/933308.html

Got some extra time? Watch Top Chef’s very own Fabio Viviani make an Itialian-inspired stuffing!

Check out this video for step-by-step directions.

Don’t know which boxed wine to serve? Check out our list of box wines!

Happy Halloween!!!

The article mentions the increasing growth and popularity of boxed wines amongst consumers. Some of the reasons they site for consumer’s change in attitudes towards boxed wines include; wineries putting better quality wine in bag-in-box, boxed wines’ value, and the ability to keep wine fresher longer.

Here is Wine Spectator’s list of top rated boxed wines and their accompanying scores:

Top 5 Boxed Red Wines

87 points Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 2006

87 points Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007

87 points Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz California 2007

85 points Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007

84 points Carlo Rossi Cabernet Sauvignon California Reserve NV

Top 5 Boxed White Wines

88 points Wine Cube Chardonnay California 2007

87 points Black Box Chardonnay Monterey County 2008

87 points Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc California 2007

86 points Bota Box Pinot Grigio California 2007

86 points Killer Juice Chardonnay California Angel Juice 2007

Visit Wine Spectator’s official page to see the complete list of review boxed wines: www.winespectator.com

Fox Valley Wines

Fox Valley Wines in Oswego, Illinois, has five colorfully decorated three-liter boxed wines on their website at www.foxvalleywinery.com. Their off-dry Riesling at $26 is a best seller. They also sell Old Glory Red for $28, made of sweet Concord Grapes, White and Red Sangria for $26, and a dry 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon for $36. The Faltz family has two tasting rooms both on Route 34, one at the winery in Oswego and the second at JJJitters Coffee Studio in Sandwich, Illinois. Tours are offered on weekends.

Where to buy Fox Valley Wines

Fenn Valley Vineyards

Western Michigan wine country is known for its famous lake effect from Lake Michigan. Fenn Valley Vineyards (www.fennvalley.com) in Fennville benefits from its moderating influences. The winery produces a variety of one-and-one-half-liter and three-liter boxes sold in their two tasting rooms, one at the winery and the other in Saugatuck, as well as through select retailers in the state. Lakeshore Demi-Sec is their most popular wine, made in a “German style” that has floral and apple fruit character. The wine is available for $17 for the one-and-one-half-liter box or $20 for the three-liter box.

The Fenn Valley 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling takes its inspiration from the wines of Germany’s northern Rhine River valley with ripe, apple-like fruit impressions. The winery’s 2008 Pinot Grigio is a classic dry wine with nuances of mango, peach notes, and flavors of ripe pear. Their boxed red wine is Capriccio, a dry blend of mostly Chambourcin with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week as we head to Illinois to discover more of America’s best boxed wines! –Cheers

Where To Buy Fenn Valley Wines

Review Fenn Valley wine on AboutBoxedWine.com!

More Tastings From the Boxed Wine Road:

Go to Week 1 – Tamanend Winery

Go to Week 2 – Terrapin Station Winery

Go to Week 3 – Breitenbach Winery

© Hanna-Barbera

Recently the San Francisco Chronicle published an article entitled “Have a Picnic With These Wines.” This article focused heavily on wines packaged in alternative formats i.e. bag-in-box, PET bottles and Tetra Paks. They mentioned that box wine is great to bring along to a picnic because of transportation conveniences and the ability for wines to be kept fresher longer.

Plus, if you and your picnic pals can’t quite polish off a box in the park, you can bring it home and it will be good for another couple of weeks!

Here are their top boxed wine picks:

2008 Black Box Wines Columbia Valley Riesling

2007 Bota Box California Cabernet Sauvignon

2008 La Petite Frog Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet

2007 Red Truck California Red Wine

Learn More:

Read the San Francisco Chronicle’s full article here.

Rate and review these boxed wines and more on AboutBoxedWine.com!

Located in the rolling hills of Ohio’s Amish countryside, the turreted castle of Breitenbach Wine Cellars, Der Marketplatz, and Café in Dover sell three lightly sweet one-and-one-half-liter boxed wines for $20: Frost Fire, First Crush, and Road House Red. A dessert wine that is only available in a box called Three Berry Blend sells for $22. The wines can be ordered at www.breitenbachwine.com or by calling (330) 343-3603.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week as we head to Illinois to discover more of America’s best boxed wines! –Cheers

Breitenbach Official Site

Where To Buy Breitenbach Wines

More Tastings From the Boxed Wine Road:

Go to Week 1 – Tamanend Winery

Go to Week 2 – Terrapin Station Winery

Terrapin Station in Germantown, Maryland, has a line of eight 1 and 1.5 L boxed wines in bright colors sporting a Diamondback Terrapin, a turtle native to Chesapeake Bay. A mix of varietal and hybrid grapes, the winery currently offers 2006 Cecil White, 2007 Semi-Sweet Vidal Blanc, 2007 Dry Vidal Blanc, 2007 Cayuga, 2007 Traminette, a non-vintage Merlot; a 2005 Shiraz, and a non-vintage Syrah.

Owners Morris and Janet Zwick donate a portion of sales to the Terrapin Institute towards saving this endangered reptile. “The Diamondback Terrapin, a native of the Chesapeake Bay, is the Maryland state reptile. Once plentiful in number, the Terrapin is facing tremendous pressures on its environment that threaten its very existence. We think fighting for the Terrapin is a good way to give back for the blessings bestowed upon us by the beauty of the Bay. A portion of our sales will be donated to the Terrapin Institute to help save the Terrapin.” –TerrapinStationWinery.com

The University of Maryland’s UMTV recently profiled Terrapin Station and their eco-sensitve products.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week as we head to Ohio to discover more of America’s best boxed wines! –Cheers

Terrapin Station Official Site

Terrapin Station on Facebook

Rate and Review Terrapin Station Wines on AboutBoxedWine.com

Where To Buy Terrapin Station Wines

More Tastings From the Boxed Wine Road:

Go to Week 1 – Tamanend Winery

Go to Week 3 – Breitenbach Winery

To begin our journey on the Boxed Wine Road, first stop is Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tamanend Winery makes a series of boxed wines that have a refreshing sweetness. One with a delicate pink hue, a nose of honeysuckle and roses, and followed by flavors of peaches and strawberries is their Wild Wine Ladyslipper Pink.

Tamanend also produces a dry red blend called Cardinalis, and three other three-liter boxed wines, also named after Pennsylvania wildflowers, called Mountain Laurel, Queen, and Honeysuckle. The wines are available for $30 for a three-liter box or for $20 for a one-and-one-half-liter box at the Red Rose Tasting Room in the Hager Arcade in Lancaster or at the winery by calling (717) 560-9463.

Visit the Tamanend Winery Official Website

Find Other Wines on AboutBoxedWine.com

Go to Original Story

More Tastings From the Boxed Wine Road:

Go to Week 2 – Terrapin Station Winery

The most well-known boxed wines are available nationally, including Black Box, Bota Box, Fish Eye, Trove, Boho, Killer Juice, Corbett Canyon, and Target’s Wine Cube. They offer the popular varietals such as Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, and Zinfandel. Prices range from under $10 for a one-and-one-half-liter boxed wine to up to $25 for some three-liter boxed wines.

Boxed wines sales increased almost 33% in the 52 weeks ending February 22, 2009, according to IRI. Amidst the current recession this news that hasn’t gone unnoticed by wineries looking for new ways to market and sell their wines. Boxed wines – also known as bag-in-box and wine casks – offer a way to serve affordable, fresh wine for up to six weeks or more, and pouring a glass is as easy as pushing a tap.

For the next few weeks, we are going to be discovering wineries in Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Maryland. By sampling these boxed wines, one can get a real sense of the wine-making talent that exists throughout the country.

If you want more info on any of these wineries, simply leave a comment and we’ll get right back to you.

…Cheers!

Week 1 – Tamanend Winery in Pennsylvania

Week 2 – Terrapin Station Winery in Maryland

Week 3 – Breitenbach Winery in Ohio