Wine Experts Have Done A 180 On This Once-Hated Cheap Wine

Sommeliers sound off on why it's become so popular.

In your younger years, sipping Franzia out of a plastic cup may have seemed like the classy option compared with keg beer or Smirnoff Ice, but you’re a grown adult now and you’ve likely graduated to bottled wine.

Friends, times have changed. Now, there is no shortage of great-tasting, carefully crafted boxed wines out there — free of many of the additives found in mass-produced wine, boxed or bottled. “Boxed wine used to be something you saw in college dorms or that your drunk auntie was drinking,” certified sommelier Grace Hood told HuffPost, adding that this is no longer the case.

Hood shared that one major advantage of boxed wine is that the wine stays good for longer because it’s kept in a plastic bladder, which minimizes oxygen exposure. With bottled wine, the air above the wine increases the emptier the bottle gets. But with boxed wine, the plastic bladder collapses as wine is dispensed, pushing out any air and keeping the remaining wine vacuum-sealed. Since the wine isn’t exposed to oxygen, it’s good for longer.

“I think we’re seeing more boxed wines pop up because consumer habits are evolving. People want good-quality wine that feels approachable and offers great value, especially in a format that stays fresh longer once opened,” said Laurel Livezey, the wine program manager at Little Saint in Sonoma County, California.

While the plastic bladder inside the box isn’t great for sustainability, the sommeliers we talked to said that, in general, boxed wine is more sustainable than bottled wine.