#ManicMondays with The Chucker!

#ManicMonday is here and so is Chuck!  Back with his monthly post for Amusée, the Chucker gives us another reason to drink more BOX WINE!

Everyone needs a safety net! 

I am always making the statement that Minnesotans’ are not FRUGAL it’s more that Minnesotans’ are NOT WASTEFUL. There is a big difference between the two ideas. We often times feel bad when things go to waste. That’s why I’m a huge fan of box wines.

Let me paint a picture…

It’s Monday night and you’re home for dinner. Husband is out of town till Thursday. You have takeout and working on emails. You may say an entire bottle is too much (it is Monday) so you skipped the wine. 

Thursday night and you just got home from the Gophers hockey game. You really just want one glass but nothing is open, so you skip it. 

You have friends over and you just finished the bottle. Your friends still have a half glass but the bottle’s empty. You skip the second bottle.

I could go on and on painting these pictures but I think you get the idea.

This is what box wines are for!!! 

Box wines have come a long way in the last decade or so. They used to be non-vintage blends that were not given much love in the winery. Today we have many options both domestic and import of the highest quality. Most times the same varietal or blend you purchased in bottle form is the exact same juice placed in the box.

The savings is really shocking when you do the math. A bottle costing $8.99 from Italy is going to retail for $23.99 in the 3.0L package. That’s four bottles at an average of about six bucks a bottle. The savings is often times in the package: no glass, no cork, or no label to adhere. The other big savings is in the shipping. Shippers charge by weight so something arriving from over seas will carry about half the cost compared to the bottle version. Basically the oversea producers can ship two cases of 3.0L box wine for the same cost as a conventional case of twelve bottles.

The quality is the same.  The juice has NO IDEA if it’s in a glass bottle of box!

And if you have a decanter at home your dinner guests will have no idea either. I often suggest box wines for larger parties or gatherings. The image of a bunch of boxes may not be want you’re looking for so invest in some nice glass decanters.

The value really helps your budget. Most retailers will count the box purchase as four bottles so getting to that magical case of twelve for the case discount is easy.

Some of my favorite box wines are from Spain & Portugal…

Vina Borgia Garnacha, Irreverente, and Shania Monastrell

From a domestic producer you can never go wrong with McManis Family Vineyards. They produce a bevy of single vineyard wines and for their box wine line they produce a blend…

Jack Tone Red & Jack Tone White

 All of these box wines are between $22 – $24 dollars. They will be fresh and stay drinkable for over a month. Not that you’ll need that much time. Once you taste them you’ll know what I mean.

So don’t be frugal, don’t be wasteful…be smart.

Buy a box!

Peace, Chuck