• Bring on the box: Americans, for whatever reason, still don’t think much about boxed wine. Thls post, from the Lifehacker site, explains why that’s not a very progressive attitude. “… while boxed wines have long been associated with poor quality, they’re just like traditional cork and bottled wines—there are good ones and there are bad ones.” Which, of course, is true for wine no matter what it comes in and no matter what it costs. Lifehacker comes in for a lot of criticism on the blog for its wine posts, but this is not one of those posts. Yes, there is a bizarre reference to the wine and arsenic scare as well as the implication that Two-buck Chuck comes in boxes, but the boxed wines it recommends are mostly worth buying and the advice is spot on. • A wine scam: One day I need to write a post about wine crime, and why so many people are taken in by grifters who have a smooth line of wine patter. As, for example, the various English men and women who gave a long-time villain £104,000 (about US$129,000) to pay for fake wine packages.

The criminal posed as a multi-millionaire wine dealer named Lars Petraeus, fleecing his victims, including what the story describes as a prominent food blogger. • No, no no: As noted in the item above, people who don’t write much about wine too often don’t do a very good job of it. Case in point is this line, from a website called Digital Trends that is shilling for a wine purifier: The gadget helps in “removing sulfites and restoring its natural taste.” Which is patently untrue, since sulfites occur naturally in wine and are part of its natural taste, whatever that is. best wine bar claphamOr how about this one? best wine bar west palm beach“Sulfites tend to give wine an unpleasantly bitter taste,” which also seems odd, since tannins (as well as bad grapes and bad winemaking) give wine a bitter taste. best wine bar times square

My guess is that the writer cut and pasted the news release for the gizmo, accepting as gospel whatever the release said. Which is bad form, regardless of whether you are writing about wine or politics or whatever. Wine in a box used to be the equivalent of a ham in a can: best avoided outside of a fallout shelter. But a new wave of premium-quality boxed wines is earning praise from oenophiles, who also love the cool, eco-friendly packaging and long shelf life. O asked Tyler Colman, author of A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season, for his recommendations.wine prices in goa indiaFor a Weeknight Supper Black Box Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand, $25 for three liters) "It's the one you want to drink on the deck, when it's hot hot hot outside," Colman says of this bright, citrusy treat. wine grapes for sale 2015

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Printable Jack-O'-Lantern Carving Templates How to Wrap a Gift: Step-By-Step GuidePlease choose to continue your session or sign out now.What’s a person to do when there’s a romantic interest to further, a vibe to heighten? The enterprising Brokelynite, on a modest budget, with mad culinary skills and decent tunes (try Thelonious Monk, Alone in San Francisco), may be thinking something cozy and private. You know — cheaper. All that’s needed is a little bit (or a lot) of the grape to advance the mood. It’s time to (re)consider boxed wine. The box has shed the stigma of crapulence. We found some of the best to get your new stackable cellar started. We’re not talking Franzia here: Instead, high-quality boxes come in a range of varietals, which are environmentally packaged so that their freshness remains for as long as four weeks. The boxes are far lighter than glass, meaning that transport of a truckload of boxed wine leaves a smaller per-glass carbon footprint than bottled wine.

And since the economy-minded drinker isn’t likely to have a gourmet kitchen, the box squeezes nicely in cabinets, on bookshelves and in other nooks and crannies. And to be super savvy, grab one of these before you head out to one of Brooklyn’s best BYOB restaurants. Best With a Medium Rare Hamburger: Bota Box A zinfandel and a pinot grigio, both from California, plus many other flavors, according to its website Price: 3L (same as 4 bottles)=$20.99, cost per 5 oz glass=$1.05 (at Old Brooklyn, 145 Union St.) Even a standard bottle at a modest $10 works out to $2 a glass, so the thriftiness of the box is immediately apparent. And it’s simply a more effective delivery mechanism for wine, from an environmental standpoint. The Bota Box seems to embrace that mission. A dull brown cardboard package doesn’t necessarily scream “elegant” so much as “recycled.” But the zinfandel happens to be one reporter’s go-to box. It’s full-bodied and a little fruity. Best When Romancing a Vegan: Badger Mountain Pure White Organic

A blend of white grapes, the exact mix not disclosed, according to its website Price: 3L (same as 4 bottles)=$24.99, cost per 5 oz glass=$1.25 (at Scotto’s Wine Cellar, 318 Court St.) Yes, you read correctly. Badger Mountain is a certified organic vineyard. That may be the reason for the halo on the package. Get past the religious symbolism and, according to the staff at Scotto’s, you’ll enjoy a wine that’s dry, flavorful, easy to drink and socially responsible. Your new special friend will love it. Saugvignon Blanc, from New Zealand. The Black Box website features several grapes, all of which are sourced to well-known growing areas: malbec from Argentina, the cab is from California Price: 3L=$22.99, cost per 5 oz glass=$1.15 (at Old Brooklyn, 145 Union St.) Perhaps the most esteemed of the boxed brethren, the Black Box looks rather sleek, too. One might think of it as the Cadillac of boxed wines, back when Cadillacs had fins and got seven miles to the gallon.

This pinot noir hails from the world famous vineyards in… Price: 3L=$22.99, cost per glass=$1.15 (at Old Brooklyn, 145 Union St.) This box of booze has two major things going for it. First, it’s not a traditional box: It’s octagonally shaped. Second, there are three monkeys on the package, in the various states of not experiencing evil. Throw monkeys on a package and you’ve got a winning product. As far as the actual wine goes, pinot noir is not a full-bodied wine to begin with, and according to the fine management of Old Brooklyn, this one is particularly light, but friendly. Price: 3L=$18.99, cost per glass=$.95 (at Old Brooklyn, 145 Union St.) The most bargain-y wine of the group, it’s not a favorite at Old Brooklyn: “very light,” “not too much going on,” the staff says. The box exudes European sophistication — bright colors, words in a different language. If your pallet is conveniently less developed, or you just like getting a glass of wine for less than a bag of Doritos, then this is your guy.