We’ve all had weeks like this. You know, the kind where you decide to paint the bathroom and the hot water heater inexplicably explodes? Then while you’re loudly requesting “Robin’s Egg Blue” in Portuguese over the din of the Wet-Vac, you find out that your kids’ after-school activity was inexplicably canceled. They are almost home. The paint is still wet. You are still standing in an inch of water…
These are not the days of wine and roses. These are the days of frozen leftovers because the takeout person couldn’t hear you over the phone. Of course, you’ll need something strong to wash it down. A tub of two of Häagen-Dazs in the freezer never hurt, either.
Luckily, I had a simple solution on-hand that was a perfect cap to an evening of mastering my new plunger.
Flashback to my teenage years, when my family kept a box of white zinfandel in the fridge during summer vacation. Without incriminating myself, I’ll admit that I did taste that boxed wine once or thrice. Even then, I wasn’t impressed.
Flash forward to my leisurely stroll through Costco last weekend, when I spied a large selection of boxed wines. I’ve been reading about the bottle-free trend and recognize its merits. The vacuum-sealed bags allow neither air nor light to touch the wine, eliminating any risk of cork taint and keeping wine fresh for weeks at a time. Plus, buying anything in bulk keeps the price down.
I chose the Black Box, because it had a Wine Enthusiast sticker on it and I figured that a Chilean cabernet sauvignon was a safe bet. At the very least, it’s an easy one to cook with. Mind that it is a cabernet sauvignon hanging out in a zero-oxygen environment. Why do I say this? Because if you hyperdecant it in a blender, it will open up remarkably well.
- Cost: $20
- Amount: Equivalent of 4 regular glass bottles
- Taste: Exactly like what you’re thinking of when you go to a restaurant and say, “glass of red, please?”
- Pairing notes: Frozen beef stew. Frozen black bean soup. Frozen pizza. (Note: should probably be thawed and warmed)
- Lifespan: I don’t expect mine will be around for the full month it promises to last, but I’m pretty confident that it could.
Flavors become richer and deeper when wearing a Snuggy and watching Access Hollywood.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the idea of hyper decanting wine in my blender. You’ll never see that on Downton Abbey!
And I hope that bad day you describe is hypothetical!
Bad day was literal, but all was well in the end.
Something tells me that the Dowager Countess would highly disapprove of hyperdecanted Claret. Mary’s American mother, on the other hand…
Here in Antwerp you get yourself a fancy wine box cooler and take the whole lot to the local playground. Parents will gather around and have a glass of wine to relax while the kids go crazy in the playground. It beats therapy…
That sounds very enlightened! I think a playground is an idyllic spot for a box of wine. I also imagine that boxes are more widely available in Europe than here. Stigma is still pretty strong here. As if a glass bottle improved what was inside…
Thanks for sharing!