Sampling Boxed Wine

Few have more finely-tuned taste buds than wine lovers. They can detect the faintest tones of raspberry and cherry, blends of leather and fresh-cut grass, hints of apple and pear. The descriptions can frankly get a bit silly.

But wine is not only for the connoisseur. This year, America is expected to become the largest wine market in the world, surpassing France and Italy. Another new trend: wine from a box.

Boxed wine, long associated with sorority parties and bad hangovers, is slowly gaining acceptance worldwide. Joining Word of Mouth to clue us in on this and other ticks in the wine business is Tyler Colman. He runs the popular wine blog DrVino.com, and has just written a book called Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics Influence the Wine We Drink. He also teaches wine classes at New York University and the University of Chicago. Tyler says boxed wine has a lower carbon footprint than bottles, and makes more sense economically.

We also hear from design curator Ellen Lupton on why boxed wine deserves a second look. Her piece was produced by Katie Rolnick for Studio 360’s Design for the Real World series.

(Photo by Richard Winchell)