Mr. Dave Orth of Washington D.C. writes, “Hey Wine Guy you did such an incredible job of letting us know that screw top wines can be good I was wondering if the same thing was true for Box Wines?” Thanks Dave that is a very insightful question and I feel blessed to have received it, as any insight coming from Washington D.C. is indeed rare. Before I answer your question let me tell you about the box.  The main advantage of wine in a box is that it has a membrane inside the box that holds the wine.  As you drink the wine the membrane shrinks around the wine minimizing the contact that air has with the wine.  Air causes wine to go bad so the less air that touches the wine the longer it will last.  A refrigerated, half empty bottle of wine sealed with a wine stopper will last 2-3 days before going bad. A half empty box of wine will last two or three weeks.   The tap attached to the box makes if very convenient to use. Box wine is more convenient the b...

Mr. Mike Ryan of Gulf Breeze Florida asks “Do any good wines have a screw-top or are they only used for “cheap” wines?” Well Mike while it is true that many “cheap” wines use screw tops there are many really good “value” wines that also utilize a screw-top. Cork has traditionally been used to seal a bottle of wine because it was one of the few natural products pliable enough to keep the wine in while keeping the air out.  As the price of cork has gone up and up many winemakers looked for alternatives to cork to help keep the price of their wine reasonable.  Screw-tops are one of those alternatives.  Other alternatives are corks made of synthetic material, compressed pieces of cork, or a combination of real cork and synthetic material.   Cork has gotten so expensive odds are if you purchase a wine less than $30 you are buying a wine with one of the cork alternatives and not a wine utilizing a 100% natural cork. In many ways a screw-top is pr...

We Wine Guys and Gals have a sacred duty to spread our love and deep knowledge of wine with those around us.  There is nothing we like more when sharing a glass of fine wine with a neophyte then seeing that look of delight in their eyes and you know you have just helped them understand that wine is more about the art than it is about the alcohol.  But I have also come to realize no matter how hard I try I will never see that look in the eyes of some people.   I love my cousin Guido.  We shared some great memories growing up playing army, shooting hoops, and getting into several varieties of trouble not appropriate to mention on a family oriented wine blog.  He helped me get through some rough patches in my life, and I in his.  He is one of the most important relationships in my life and there is no one I would rather share my love of wine with.  I got transferred to another town and had not seen Guido for a couple of years.  It...

Want a nice glass of wine but just don’t want to pay a lot of money for it?   Use the following suggestions:    Good cheap white wine is easier to find. Because most white wines are made to be enjoyed right away, and many red wines are meant to be aged, your odds of getting a good white wine at any price point will be better.  It also takes a lot less work to produce a white wine (with the exception of Chardonnay more on that later).  For that reason, your odds of getting a good bottle of cheap white wine you will be much greater then getting a good cheap bottle of red wine. Buy wines that don’t need oak New oak barrels are expensive and lose most of their flavor after they are used once or twice so they constantly need to be replaced.  Because of that any wine aged in oak will be more expensive then wine aged in less expensive containers like stainless steel or cement.   Oak aging adds at least $5 to the price  of a b...