I’ve been getting my ears boxed by readers wanting me to find them a decent boxed wine to drink.
These days, especially after more than 4 million acres recently burned in the California wildfires, many people are thinking about the environment and the carbon footprint we leave on Mother Earth. Wine in a box reduces the overall environmental impact by 66 percent compared to wine in 750 ml glass bottles. The boxes weigh significantly less than glass bottles, and therefore require less fuel when shipping. Unfortunately, Akron, like many other communities, does not currently recycle glass, which also makes boxed wine much more appealing. Boxed wines also last for 30 days after opening as air doesn’t enter the pouch inside the box to oxidize the wine.
Evolution Wine by Sokol Blosser has introduced the first boxed wines from Oregon. I had a chance to taste these wines and must say they are delicious. Both come in 1.5 liter boxes, which is the equivalent of two 750 ml glass bottles of wine.
The $24.99 Evolution Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Willamette Valley grapes. As a comparison, a single glass bottle sells for $17.99 at Cellar 59 and Heinen’s in Hudson. This wine was exceptional with goat cheese on a crostini, a hunk of aged Gouda and prosciutto spread on a cracker. That was my warm-up act before trying the wine with a carry-out order of chicken tacos. The wine’s cherry pie nuances balanced out the spiciness of the guacamole sauce (which came on the side) on the tacos.
