Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/17414
ALTERNATIVE BEVERAGES THE ERA OF SNOBBISHNESS IN WINE HAS COME TO AN END. FIRST TO FALL WAS THE SCREWCAP’S DÉCLASSÉ IMAGE, AND NOW, A LINEUP OF BOXED WINES IS BREAKING THROUGH THAT GLASS BARRIER WITH STYLE AND FLAVOR APLOMB. HERE ARE OUR FAVORITES Thinking Outside the 2008 Boho Old Vine Zinfandel (SRP $24/3L) With its unique eight-sided 3L packaging that proudly screams “cardboard,” Underdog Wine Merchants’ 2008 Boho Old Vine Zin is the perfect answer to your BBQ needs. Between easy portability and fruit-forward intensity, this wine provides rich plum and spice fl avors that will kill when paired with some baby back ribs. www.octavinhomewinebar.com 2009 Big House White (SRP $22/3L) Another octagonal offering from the mad geniuses at Underdog, the 2009 Big House White is a fruit bomb with crisp clean fl avors. Also offered in Big House Red, these innovative three liters are the equivalent of four 750 ml. bottles and can remain fresh and unoxidized up to six weeks after opening, but don’t sacrifi ce fl avor or personality in the process. www.octavinhomewinebar.com 2008 Bota Box Riesling (SRP $19/3L) Between its honeyed stone fruit and crisp fl oral notes, this just-released sweet sipper provides a perfect balance of delicate fl avor and social responsibility: This bag-in- box wine, one of eight in the Bota Box lineup, generates 85% less landfi ll waste than traditional glass bottles and the box itself is recyclable and manufactured using eco-friendly practices. www.botabox.com Pepperwood Grove Big Green Box Chardonnay (SRP $19/3L) Pepperwood Grove is a brand made successful thanks to recognizable packaging at a consumer-friendly price point, and its recent foray into this box-ing arena is no different. Sticking to the eye-catching green label for which the brand (from Don Sebastiani & Sons) has become known, this verdant offering is an incredible value for a light and fl avorful blend of orchard fruit with a touch of vanilla. www.donandsons.com 32 / the tasting panel / october 2010 Bottle by Rachel Burkons Fun with Rum Wines aren’t the only products out there bursting through preconceived notions: While most rums align themselves with beachy, nautical themes (parrots and pirates abound), Ron Carlos Bubble and Root Beer fl avored rums (SRP $7), from Florida Distillers, are exuberant excursions into the irreverent—and that’s not a bad thing! With a bright pink hue and a taste so true you’ll feel like an (LDA) kid again, the Bubble expression is a per- fectly pretty punch base, and we think a rum Root Beer fl oat sounds just peachy. www.fl oridadistillers.com PHOTO: MARIA SCHNIDER