Inexpensive, mass produced box wines have filled retailers' shelves for many years. Labeled as varietal (e.g., Chardonnay, Merlot, White Zinfandel, etc.) and blends like Crisp White and Chillable Red, they've developed a loyal following, especially the 5 liter size.
Within the past several years, we've seen more, higher quality, but also higher priced, 3 liter box wines. And, thankfully, quality box wine is no longer an oxymoron. These 3 liter boxes contain the equivalent of 4 regular size 750ml bottles and are quite often nice, good value wines.
One producer, Delicato, has had success with their Bota Box line. Available in 3L recycled paper boxes, Bota Box wines are now available in at least six varietals including a new red Zinfandel.
A more recent development on the box wine scene is the Octavin Home Wine Bar - a tall, eight sided "wine cask" containing 3 liters of what they refer to as "premium artisan wine." The folks at Octavin also claim that this new box design reduces packaging waste by 85% and carbon emissions by 55% compared to glass bottles.
Of the six brands of wine they currently offer, you might recognize a couple - Big House Red and Big House White. These are both fun, easy drinking blends (the red containing 12 varietals, the white 8) which when only available in 750ml bottles retailed around $10. These guys in the Octavin go for $16-$20 for 3 liters. Not only a nice savings per bottle (divide $20 by 4 and you're looking at a $5 per bottle) and the wine will stay fresh for up to 6 weeks.
Big House Red and Big House White are both available at Lukas Liquor Superstore at 135th Street & State Line Road and Cellar Rat in the Crossroads District at 1701 Baltimore Ave.
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