Drink inside the box.

Boxed wine is not swill.

Well, fine, some of it is swill. We all remember nights of boxed butter-sauce chardonnay and battery acid pinot noir that we wish we didn’t. But now it’s time to deal with the fact that you can actually get phenomenal wine in a box. No, really.

In the last few years, some very reputable producers started offering boxed wines. And this stuff can be not merely passable, but great.  I may be partial here, but the wine producers of the Rhône Valley are really making an effort to expand to all levels of the market, and this is where you win. Well-made wines for nearly any occasion, in vacuum-sealed boxes that will last 8 weeks once opened. Oh, the possibilities.

I know you. I do. You felt it déclassé to buy wine with a screw-top. Take a moment and think back to how many times you stopped yourself from opening a bottle of wine because you were only going to have one glass. Forget your preconceptions about boxed wine for a moment and just imagine how great it would be to have that glass or two of good wine whenever you want without worrying what to do with the rest of the bottle.

If you haven’t heard, the 2007 vintage in the Southern Rhône Valley has been hyped a bit—to the point where some say that anything from that vintage is liquid gold. My first pick here is from Domaine Roger Perrin. The Perrin family makes some of the best wines in the world (including Château de Beaucastel, one of the most famous wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Their 2007 Côtes-du-Rhone blend is, in the context of boxed wines, a rockstar in leather pants. This has a fantastic mix of cherries and blackberries, cracked black pepper, flowers and a subtle scent of thyme and oregano on the nose. It tastes of black currants and blackberries, with a touch of dark chocolate. For a 3 liter box (4 standard bottles of wine), you pay around $45—or $11.25 a bottle.

My next pick is a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.  The made-for-branding Black Box Wines Sauvignon Blanc is a winner. Served cold, I think this is one of the more refreshing varietals to drink, especially in summer. At around $20 for a 3 liter box, I get a good level of acid, nice hints of pineapple and citrus both on the nose and palate, along with a “zing” on the finish which made me keep going back for more.

So drink more glasses and waste fewer bottles. You’ll feel better. You’re no longer stuck with an entire open bottle of wine, you’re free to enjoy a glass whenever you want. You may not yet be convinced that boxed wine is socially acceptable, but it’s late, you’re alone, and I promise no one will see you abandon the corkscrew for the plastic spout. Your secret is safe with me.