Napa Valley Wine Radio

Question from Charles: I’m looking for a Pinot Noir that is boxed.  Do you know of one?
 

Reply:  Hi, Charles!  Thank you for writing!  Do you mean boxed as in wine-in-a-box?  If so, you’ve posed a very challenging question.  It’s really easy to find bottled Pinot Noir packed in wooden boxes, but to find it in the wine-in-a-box format is quite difficult. I searched through Bev-Mo’s site looking for Pinot Noir in a box because they have a large selection and represent a wide range of prices, but no luck.  No luck with Cost Plus either.

It must exist for some brand somewhere (the Aussies are very big on bag-in-box), but Pinot Noir is a demanding variety and is rarely made into every day drinking wine.  The majority of Pinot Noir is medium to high-end wine because it’s a low yielding variety and calls for finesse in the cellar.  That profile isn’t very compatible with the bag-in-box market.  You may have read that better and better wines are being packaged that way, but many high-end producers continue to resist due to potential image problems…

The good news is that following the Pinot-boom brought on by the movie “Sideways” there’s bee a lot more Pinot Noir planted and perhaps the price point will come down over the next few years.

I’m sure you’ve checked a supermarket.  That would be my best guess for a way to track it down.  Please let me know if you find any! Good luck, and cheers!  Nancy