Our Favorite Boxed Wines of 2025 (so far)
Pricing is available while supplies last.
SALE CLOSES TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2025, at noon.
ALL WINES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP starting FRIDAY, June 13.
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Hi everyone –
I love a good boxed wine. It’s essential to have around the house.
Want a little snip at the end of a Tuesday night? There is no need to pull a cork. Just tap a glass!
Need a quarter cup to deglaze a pan? Don’t reach for that expensive bottle, grab the box.
Have you already enjoyed a great dinner with great wines, and your palate is a bit shot, but you want the night to continue? Here you go.
Boxed wine, as you know, has completely changed in the last fifteen years. It’s a much more serious category than it was in the days of Franzia domination. And smart wineries, such as the one we’re featuring here, do the exact wine in both box and bottle … and I’ll tell you a trick at the end.
What led to the growth of boxed wine as a category?
There are four main reasons.
First, it’s economical. A bigger bang for the buck, with a lower cost per ounce. But not only because you’re packaging 3 liters instead of 750ml, but you’re not paying for glass (.80 to $2), or the cork/closure (.40 to $1), etc.
Second, it’s easier to ship. There is no wasted space or added weight in a case of boxed wine. This helps with the bang for the buck, especially as container shipping prices have skyrocketed.
Third, technology has helped tremendously. The bag in the box category used to have issues with seals and air permeability. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, leakage and spoilage were common. Not anymore, and the technology used to put the juice in the bag and seal it up has been a game-changer. As the quality became more predictable, more wineries created more demand for the systems, and the cost of production has gone down.
Fourth, we finally got over the idea that all boxed wine was shit. This often happened when I had a glass at a friend’s house or a restaurant, enjoyed it, and only found out later that it was from a box.
What countries produce the best boxed wines?
Generally, I find the boxed wines of Europe to be far superior to those from California.
While there are a few pretty damn good boxed wines from the Sunshine state, the boxed wines of Europe tend to be drier, snappier, and more true-to-form. I find many of the California ones to be a touch sweet, trying to appeal to the masses.
Within Europe, I tend to find above-average quality coming from Austria, Spain, and Portugal (where today’s selections are from). Don’t get me wrong, France and Italy do an exceptional job as well, but overall, I find more consistent goodness in the other three.
An incredible boxed wine at an amazing price (also available by the bottle)
The featured winery is Lavradores de Feitoria, a Portuguese co-op discovered by local wine importer Svengali Annette Peters of Domaines and Appellations (directly shipped to Eagan, Minnesota).
Wine Spectator compiled a notable list of “30 Wineries to Discover,” and Lavradores was the only Portuguese winery represented. In the Douro Valley, there are many families with small quintas (“farms”) that don’t produce enough fruit to make their own label. These Douro growers came together in 1999 to produce wines from their estates under one roof, with the guidance of notable winemaker Olga Martins. Her own family’s estate is a part of the collective.
Add to this ORGANIC FARMING and a FEMALE-LED WINEMAKING TEAM, and you have a winner.
The grape growing families of Lavradores
Lavradores de Feitoria Branco (white)
A combo of local indigenous grape varieties: Malvasia-Fina (60%) provides soft orchard fruit aromas; Viosinho (30%) is all about acidity, minerality, and freshness; and Codega (10%) adds to the long finish.
I love this wine. It’s that rare combination of body and freshness, of weight and acidity. It’s a tightrope walk in many ways. One key is to really chill this down … serve it right out of the fridge (the volume in the box helps keep it colder longer!) and enjoy the fresh snap.
Food pairings: I’m having it right now with a rotisserie chicken from Costco, with a bit of a cream mushroom sauce I whipped up. Delicious (I added a generous amount of tarragon to the sauce, because I love tarragon!).
Lavradores de Feitoria Tinto (red)
Again, a blend of the native and local grapes: 50% Touriga Franca (adding floral aromatics), 30% Tinta Roriz (for texture), and 20% Touriga Nacional (for power).
This is classic, medium-bodied, pitch-perfect, unfussy, have-another-glass Portuguese wine.
This is the kind of wine I always crave when returning from a trip to Portugal, for it reminds me of hopping into random wine bars and restaurants and getting delicious wine at a bargain price. There is a touch of tannin to this wine, but also acidity, and if you serve it with a slight chill, it’s downright refreshing.
Just don’t serve it at room temperature if the room is over 70 degrees. Best to keep it in the fridge and let it warm up a bit in the glass.
Food pairing? Almost anything, from Topper’s Pizza to a rib-eye steak. However, one of my favorite pairings with this is a hyper-traditional Portuguese dish: goat. Goat is easy to find if you know where to look (local ethnic stores and neighborhoods), but it’s also readily available at the Costco Business Center in Northeast Minneapolis. Here’s a great recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/jamaican_goat_curry/
Why buy both the boxes and bottles?
Here’s what to do. Drink the bottles first and wash them out. Then when your friends come over, refill them from the box, stick a cork in the top, and serve from the bottle.
Nobody will be the wiser, and if you’re cheeky like I am, you can let them know after a few classes and compliments on your excellent wine that it comes from a box.
You’ll either be even more respected by your friends or considered a cheat and a liar. Either way, you can laugh all the way to the bank. 🙂
Beware the Burp!
Boxed wine is great for having something around to drink on a whim, but one warning. Some are in the habit of “burping” the box/bag as it gets low and slow on the delivery. Holding the spout open, they tilt the box up to get some air in there, making for a much faster delivery of wine afterwards.
This is fine if you’re at the end of the box and are about to finish it off. But the moment you let air into that bag, it’s the same (actually worse) than having a bottle uncorked and sitting out.
So please beware of the burp, and only do it with the last glass or two.
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts
