There was a time when the great argue about wine packaging came down to corks versus screw caps. These days, even so, both winemakers and consumers are start to think "within the box."

Boxed wine, or more specifically, "bagged wine" (due to the plastic bladder inside the box that actually contains the wine) was beginning introduced by Australian winemakers in the mid-60s. The results can be summed by Monty Python's "Australian Tabular array Wines" sketch: "This is not a vino for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding."

The world of boxed wines has since inverse considerably, thanks to dramatic improvements in packaging and the proliferation of quality winemaking.

"The difference between the 2 simply comes in the form of the way the vino is packaged," says Kim Moore, Director of Marketing for Black Box Wines. The company has proffered premium wines in vacuum-sealed bags rigged with a spout, and placed in boxes since 2003. Since then, growth has been exponential.

"The brand initially launched with a planned 6,000 example production in select regional markets," says Moore. "More than ten years subsequently, nosotros are looking at four meg cases distributed nationally." Credit consumer acceptance of the packaging and increased recognition of value with the rising of the six-sided tsunami.

Critics have also noticed the trend. Whereas a decade agone, a premium quality, vintage-dated, varietally-specific boxed vino was not bachelor to the American consumer, now they're receiving accolades at wine competitions.

The stage for such box-born-bows was set 4 years ago at the Seattle Wine Awards, where the Brown Box Wines Riesling took the contest's highest honor, the Double Golden Medal in the Riesling, besting 15 traditionally bottled entries.

Journalist and sommelier Christopher Sawyer, a estimate for Sunset Magazine'southward 2014 Dusk International Wine Competition, points out that many wine competitive tastings are bullheaded. "We don't know where our glass came from,' he says. "Nosotros merely know that it's a wine that we need to judge. In some cases, there are boxed wines that come out and win silver and gold medals along with all the bottled wines."

Black Box's Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from Chilean grapes, ranked a silver in its division (New Globe Whites, Dry out Sauvignon Blanc, 2013) and a Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel scored a bronze (New World Reds, Zinfandel, 2012).

Moore concurs that tasting is believing. "Nosotros've received countless stories and photos from consumers who have hosted their own vino tastings and surprised guests when revealing that they're drinking premium vino from a box," she says.

If you're still squeamish on the concept of tapping the box the next time your glass is empty, North Carolina-based Boxxle produces a patent-awaiting, three-liter dispenser for boxed vino that finer camouflages the corrugated cube every bit high-terminate kitchen hardware.

To operate, simply gut a box of wine, remove the bladder and place into the device, then insert your glass and press a button. The spigot is located above the glass (which is better than risking one's stemware at a hard counter border) and the wine purse is automatically compressed like a toothpaste tube, guaranteeing yous get every final driblet.

Whether you're a jug or box human being, Doug Frost, a Primary Sommelier and Master of Vino based in Kansas City, points out that, of the ii, bag-in-a-box packaging is also more eco-friendly. "Bagged wines are lighter to ship than glass bottles and therefore accept less touch on on the environs," he says. Naturally, both the cardboard box and its plastic innards are recyclable.

Bota Box, whose wine regularly score in the 80s on wine magazine and marketer Vino Enthusiast's 100 point scale, takes the eco-packaging a few more than steps by using soy-based inks and recycled, unbleached paper-thin paper products, and forgoes industrial glues for a cornstarch adhesive to keep it all together.

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Ultimately, the biggest advantage of boxed wines is their value. A three-liter box can hold the equivalent of four bottle of vino and run virtually $25. That'south the equivalent of $6.25 per canteen. For those considering a smaller investment for their offset foray into the box, in that location's a 500 milliliter and single liter sized Bandit Wines Pinot Grigio, which took the Double Gilt and All-time of Class accolades at the 2015 Jerry Mead International Wine Competition, for under vi bucks.

Certain, it's non as low priced every bit Three Buck Chuck, only then information technology'due south besides not Three Buck Chuck. Also, the wine volition remain quaffable for half dozen weeks, which is convenient for those who only occasionally require social lube from the cube.

And if you're not ready to make the plunge into box vino withal, you can notwithstanding find some delicious bargains. Here are The 16 Best Wines for Less than $16.