A Boxed Wine for Labor Day Weekend

Don't know about you folks, but we're off for the next three days, and yes, some wine-drinking will be going down. Me - I've been on a Manhattan kick as of late. But since you can't exactly throw back Manhattans, the light-drinking go-to in our home is always a refreshing white wine, most often Chardonnay.

Our favorite Chard is without a doubt, French Burgundy. If you'd like to learn a little more about it, you can check out my video here.

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I bought this LOFT boxed wine at the PALCB for $21.

French Burgundy tends to be a bit more pricey, anywhere from $12 - 20 a bottle. And if you're talking fine Burgundy, expect to pay upwards of $50 a bottle. Can't do that everyday!

I took a trip to the liquor store today to pick up some holiday-weekend drinks, and decided to take a chance on a boxed wine. Boxed wine? Yeah, we already went over this a few years ago, and guess what, boxed wine is pretty darned good these days! Read on.

AFFORDABLY ELEVATED

Loft Chardonnay is, "Wine Elevated," at least according to the box. At $21 a box (PA Liquor Stores) that works out to roughly $5.25 a bottle (4 bottles are in the box). I'm not sure how elevated that is, but hey, I worked in Advertising and Marketing for years, so I know they have to say something nice for the consumers. I've been staring at the box for the past few months, so I decided to try it.

TASTING LOFT

Nose: I'm pleasantly surprised. The wine is good stuff! Although the first pour had a bit of a sulfur-like smell (wineries often add sulfur to preserve wines, it's harmless), the odor blew off in a few minutes and aromas of mango, lemon meringue and coconut wafted out of the glass.

Palate: The flavor is consistent with the nose - lots of sweet meyer-lemon, vanilla and meringue on the palate, sharp, saliva-inducing acidity and a thick, creamy feel in the mouth. There's a bit of a bite from the alcohol, but my box was still warm from the store.

Chill this baby up and I think it'll be perfect for repeat visits to the fridge this holiday weekend. And it will most likely last you all weekend, unless you invite friends over, in which case, they'll probably suck this down too.

Pairing: Pair it up with some ceviche, crab linguine, BBQ ribs (yes BBQ), fried chicken, mango salsa and some guacamole and chips. And have a great (and safe) holiday, kids!!

Wanna see our boxed wine taste-test from a few years ago? Check it out: