Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box?
A couple of years ago, I had an op-ed in the NYT arguing for wine in a box. Since then, box wine sales have skyrocketed and many more selections, both foreign and domestic, have come on the market.
But one category that seems woefully underrepresented stateside is rosé. Given that it is perhaps the quintessential “here today, gone tomorrow” kind of wine, it seems particularly well-suited for the bag-in-box format. Fridges across France are stocked with box rosé in the summer; it’s almost a summer rite to come in from a warm day and squeeze off a nice cold one (rosé, that is). And, it’s clinically proven that having a box of rosé is also a great way to make friends with any passersby since it’s always cold and is likely a tremendous value.
Last week I was on vacation and wished I had a box of rosé in the fridge. But I couldn’t find one. Fortunately, we had some of the snappy Chateau de Roquefort, “Corail” 2009 from the Cotes de Provence. Maybe next summer, I’ll be able to squeeze off a glass when I’m on vacation?
On August 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am ,ljh wrote:
It’s a great idea. As the market for rose grows, you would think the demand for different formats (the wine in the box format!) would grow too. If you find any please let me know! we still have a few weeks of warm weather left…
On August 30th, 2010 at 11:45 am ,Taylor Eason wrote:
Couldn’t agree more. But since rose barely sells in the bottle, perhaps the added stigma of “box” pushes it over the edge? Maybe, just maybe, boxed wine producers like Wineberry will embrace pink-in-a-box by next summer.
On August 30th, 2010 at 11:47 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Christy Frank, owner of Frankly Wines in lower Manhattan, replied on Twitter:
Had the Wineberry one. Sold like hotcakes! RT @drvino: Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? http://bit.ly/9GPZoR
I have yet to try it–and hope I haven’t missed the chance.
On August 30th, 2010 at 11:58 am ,Taylor Eason wrote:
Didn’t realize Wineberry already boxed one! Tried their whole line a few months back but they didn’t bring out the Cab Franc rose. Perhaps Florida isn’t the market? Yea, right!
On August 30th, 2010 at 12:10 pm ,Sharon Kapnick wrote:
Absolutely, we need more rosés in boxes. Rosés are woefully few and far between in boxes in the U.S. And, I find, box wines are woefully hard to find in NYC stores.
I think the natural wine importer Jenny & François offers a boxed rosé called From the Tank made by the Rhone coop les Vignerons d’Estézargues. Les Comptoirs de Magdala has a rosé Vin de Pays in cask. These are the only two rosé boxes I know of. Quel dommage!
On August 30th, 2010 at 12:28 pm ,HeSips wrote:
My guess is that it’s because there is still a stigma about wine in a box. People are just now getting over the rosé stigma (realizing it’s not all white zin!) The combination of the 2 stigmas (as undeserved as they are) is probably enough to scare off marketing directors.
On August 30th, 2010 at 1:07 pm ,Daniel wrote:
La Vielle Ferme has a Cotes du Ventoux Rose that I bought a bunch of this summer. 3 liters, always cold, and you can pour it in a decanter or bottle to fancy it up if needed.
I talked with the Seattle distributor, and they said they didn’t bring in enough, even with a fairly cold summer, it’s been sold out for a month.
On August 30th, 2010 at 1:15 pm ,Russ Winton wrote:
A fresh,dry,2009 rose from Provence…I’m definitely on board…Underdog Wine Merchants are importing a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the Octagon shaped box…quite good, W.E gave it an 87 score. All daily wines could and maybe should be in the box format, why not? Russ Winton—Wine Line—
On August 30th, 2010 at 3:25 pm ,Steve Blazek wrote:
Have you ever tried Yellow & Blue? it comes in 1 liter tetrapaks, 50% syrah 50% monastrel, organic spanish wine, it really fills the bill.
On August 30th, 2010 at 5:05 pm ,charlesbieler (Charles Bieler) wrote:
Twitter Comment
it’s been rattling around in my brain to do. i think maybe ’10 is the year–>@drvino Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
On August 30th, 2010 at 5:05 pm ,jimwinebeer (Jim Clarke) wrote:
Twitter Comment
RT @drvino: Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? [link to post]
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On August 30th, 2010 at 5:06 pm ,chapsholic (Sarah Chappell) wrote:
Twitter Comment
We have a lovely BDX one @abcwineco next time you need it! RT @drvino: Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
On August 30th, 2010 at 5:07 pm ,franklywines (Christy Frank) wrote:
Twitter Comment
Had the Wineberry one. Sold like hotcakes! RT @drvino: Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
On August 30th, 2010 at 5:08 pm ,TerpStationWine (Terrapin Stn Winery) wrote:
Twitter Comment
Maryland, of course! Ours is a St Vincent, we like it as a Sangria, too RT @drvino: Wherefore art thou, rosé in a box? [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
On August 30th, 2010 at 5:10 pm ,Jesse Salazar wrote:
Everytime I read one of these stories about the lack of good boxed wine in the States I cringe. I buy and sell just about everything great, good, and decent that comes in a box and the fact remains all but a few wine importers are afraid to bring the best to the US. Eric Dubourg, Jenny & Francois, and Dan Kravitz should be applauded for their efforts, but you’d be amazed at what gets left in the cellar so to speak.
How about delicious boxed Grenache from Pegau’s Laurence Feraud? Vibrant Riesling from the Rheingau’s Josef Leitz? You’ll find great boxed wines like these at stores in Scandinavia, but not here. I think it will take more rabid consumers clamoring for wines like these before you’ll see more producers, importers and retailers jump in with both feet. I bet a Turley Cinsault in 1-liter format, or a Terre Dorees Bojo in a 2-liter brick would sell like hotcakes and help bring people into the fold too.
On August 30th, 2010 at 8:13 pm ,Kimberly wrote:
Great idea! I would buy a decent Rosé in a box all day long in the summer. Like one of the previous commenters, I also buy the La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Rosé during the summer months — lots and lots of it. I can’t believe how good it is for only about $7 bucks a bottle in my market. If there were a Rosé of that quality in a box, my fridge would be stuffed to the gills with it.
On August 31st, 2010 at 7:00 am ,Björn W wrote:
Here in Sweden, more than half of total wine sales are bag-in-box. Rosé wine sales has gone up a lot the last couple of years, but there are still very few boxed rosés available.
It seems that it is a lot harder to make a boxed rosé with acceptable quality than it is to make acceptable white or red boxed wine.
In consequence, most of the boxed rosé sold here is not nearly as good as the bottled rosés in the same price range. Sadly enough, as I’d love to have a cold box in the fridge in summer time…
On August 31st, 2010 at 10:05 am ,RobinC wrote:
I would like to see Prosecco in a box.
On August 31st, 2010 at 10:12 am ,1WineDude wrote:
It’s bound to work better than most of the Reds in a box that I’ve sampled (on the whole, nowhere as decent as the Whites).
On August 31st, 2010 at 11:18 am ,Jenny Lefcourt wrote:
Thanks Sharon! Yes, we bring in two 3L high-quality box rosés:
Our “From the Tank†3L box rosé from Côtes du Rhône made by the Vignerons d’Estezargues, as well as a our Comptoirs de Magdala 3L box rosé from Provence! They are widely available all summer.
On August 31st, 2010 at 9:00 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Hi Jenny,
That’s great that you have another box wine, the Magdala! I didn’t know about that one and will have to try it.
Sadly, I picked up a box of the “From the Tank” 09 rosé at Astor Wines and found it a little overripe and sweet, lacking the snap that makes rosé fun for me. But I have enjoyed the “From the Tank” red and white in previous vintages and applaud you for making such an effort in this emerging category.
RobinC – can a wine with several times atmospheric pressure go in a bag-in-box format? I suppose so, but I don’t know of any sparkling BIBs.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone!
On September 14th, 2010 at 5:35 am ,aaron wrote:
domaine de turenne box a terrific organic cote de provence, currently available for something like 26eu for 5 litres at my local wine shop in the 11eme arr of paris.
anyone know who’s currently importing them stateside? huge opportunity there, i imagine.
-aaron
not drinking poison in paris:
notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com.