For the last couple of years, winemakers have been on and testing out new, easily portable (and sometimes single serving) wines in easily recyclable containers. Jackpot! Other than portability, these wines benefit from cheaper packaging and shipping (a Tetra Pak costs less than a cork!) so you are paying for wine, not packaging. Some ideas for next time you are looking for easy picnic wine…

WINE IN CANS

While it may seem a little counter-intuitive to buy wine in a 6 pack – why not. Easy to carry, easy to chill and easy to open!

• 2014 Fiction Red ($40 for 4 500ml cans) – Produced by Field Recordings, a blend of Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Petite Sirah, Touriga Nacional (a grape I’ve never seen!), Mourvedre and Cinsault. I’m sure this is delicious! You can also get Pinot Gris and a Rosé blend.  http://fieldrecordingswine.com/shop/
• Alloy Rose (500ml cans – prices vary from about $7.59) – produced by the same producer as Fiction.
• Underwood – Oregon Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Rosé (500ml cans, about $6 a can. http://shop.unionwinecompany.com
• Francis Ford Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs (375 ml cans, about $5 a can). Sparkling wine! A blend of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat – packaged in little cans with straws. You’ve probably had this on a bus to a wedding! Widely available in supermarkets.
• The Infinite Monkey (500ml cans, 4 for $15) lightly carbonated wine in a can, produced in Denver with Colorado grapes.  All new to me and I’m super excited to try it!  Moscat, Red, White and Rose. http://www.theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com/shop
• Flasq wine comes in fancy cans (500ml cans, prices vary from about $6-$10) – Produced in Napa Valley. Merlot, Chardonnay and Cuvée Blanc (a slightly effervescent blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Muscat). http://flasqwines.com/index.php/en/great-wine

WINE IN BOXES

Boxed wine has come a long way since Franzia (goodbye college wine!).  While some boxes may be too big to be portable – this is a great way to have wine you love available all the time. Most 3L boxes have dispensers and bags that prevent oxygen from getting in so wine lasts a long time after it is opened. That being said, 3L is a lot of wine – 3-5L so you better like it! Smaller boxes or “tetra paks” are the opposite and oxidize like a bottle of wine after opened – check out the packaging date on the box – Tetra Pak wine tends to oxidize in about 24 months. Options:

• Bandit available in 3 liter (about $17), 1.5l (about $11) or 500ml sizes (about ) – Pinot Grigio (award winning), Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet and red wine blend. Widely available in supermarkets. http://banditwines.com
• Bodegas Osborne Seven Red Wine. Blend of 7 varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano. About $20 for 3l. Find using http://www.wine-searcher.com
• Bota Box – 15 different wines sold in 3L (about $17), 1.5L (about $10) or 500 ml (about $6) sizes. Wine Enthusiast has tasted all varieties and posted tasting notes. http://buyingguide.winemag.com/wineries/bota-box. Bota Box shows up on many “top ten boxed wine lists” – most frequent appearances by Old Vine Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio. Widely available in supermarkets.
• Fish Eye wines – produces a wide variety of 3L bottles – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Moscato, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.   Pinot Grigio often ranked in the top 10 of boxed wines. Sold in boutique grocery stores for about $16 a box – for locations near you http://www.fisheyewines.com.
• From The Tank boxed wine produced by a cooperative of growers in the south of France. Vin Rouge (blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan), Vin Gris (Chardonnay) and Rosé (blend of Cinsault, Grenache Noir and Syrah). Prices vary from about $22 to about $40. Find using http://www.wine-searcher.com.
• Wineberry – high-ish price point wine packaged in a pretty wood box – about $39-$50 a box (at $50, about $12.50 a bottle). Several options including Domaine de Garrigon Cotes du Rhone (Grenache, Carignan and Syrah); Chateau Moulin de la Roquille Côtes de Franc, Chateau Tassin Bordeaux Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc and) Semillon and Chateau Tassin Rosé.
• Yellow+Blue –an all-organic producer that buys wines from all over the world and packages them in Tetra paks –including Monastrell (a Spanish red that I’ve never seen), Malbec (Argentina), Red blend (CA – Santa Barbara), Chardonnay (CA – Lodi), Sauvignon Blanc (CA – Mendocino) and Rosé (Spain). Malbec frequently recommended. Available at Whole Foods and similar grocery stores.
• Other Boxed Wines that showed up frequently on top 10 lists – Big House Winery Pinot Grigio and Zinfandel, Black Box (lots of awards, varying reviews), French Rabbit Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Fuoristrada Sangiovese, Grillo and Cotes du Rhône La Petit Frog Picpoul de Pinot, Hardy Shiraz and Vinium Chardonnay.

WINE IN BAGS

Some wineries are ditching the outer box shell entirely and selling wine in bags. Obviously incredibly portable.

• Bonfire produces red (Petite Sirah and Grenache) and white blends (Muscat and Gewurtztraminer). 1.5L pouches, about $15 each. http://www.drinkbonfire.com
• Clif Family Winery – Astropouch of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. 1.5l about $20.
• Nuvino wine is curated wine from all over the world sold in single serving pouches (pocket wine?!). Sauvignon Blanc (Chilé), Chardonnay (South Africa), Red Blend (Australia) and Malbec (Agentina). Pack of all 4 wines approximately $15.

HALF BOTTLES

My old favorite – half bottles (preferably with a screw top). Usually more expensive to produce than full bottles, so sometimes more expensive and also don’t age as well as bigger bottles. I just bought some half bottles of 2013 Meomi Pinot Noir at Cost Plus for $5 a bottle.  What a deal.

So, what can you do if you want to end up with delicious wine with dinner but don’t recognize anything on the list?  You can do advance research – most restaurants have wine lists online. You can guess based on region/varietal/ year and will likely come up with something decent. Or, you can ask the Sommelier! I love Sommelier’s – who else knows more about the wine on the list than the person who picked the wine! They know what is always delicious, what is drinking perfectly now and secret gems (and values) on the list that you would probably never pick on your own. Sometimes there are even wines that aren’t on the list because of small supply or new wines that haven’t yet made the list.

Don’t be intimidated by the Sommelier – they love to talk about wine and have spent countless hours putting together a wine list! Even if you don’t know if you like your wine “dry” or “fruit forward” or some other wine-y word, you do know what grapes you favor and what price range you are looking for. That is enough! Sometimes I just ask what the Somm would drink if sitting down for a glass or for the most delicious or unusual thing on the menu right now. This strategy usually results in recommendation of a few different wines and a description of each wine – much more information than you started with and a good chance you will be drinking something you’ve never heard of and love!

I just discovered Greg Linn’s Gaps Crown Chardonnay* by asking a Sommelier for a Chardonnay that wasn’t “oaky” and was “delicious” and discovered two of my favorite wineries – Gargiulo Vineyards and Elyse Winery through Somm recommendations (Aprile* recommended at Ottimista Enoteca Café in SF and Jacob Franklin 2004 Hoffman Lane Cabernet* recommended at Mustards Grill in Napa).

*see tasting notes

1. Idlewild Fox Hill Vineyard Barbera 2013 ($32) – always looking for a new pizza wine and this one was one Food and Wine’s “top 5 pizza wines”, made by the producer of some of my favorite Rosé
2. Matthiason Ribiola Gialla ($45) – love trying new varietals! This one is described as clean and crisp, pairs well with rich foods. New holiday white??
3. Evening Land
4. Taken 2013 Red Wine ($30) – the winery is a collaboration between Carlo Trinchero and Josh Phelps with a tagline “great wine made by great friends” – how can I resist?
5. Lake County Cab – Shannon Ridge Home Ranch Cabernet 2012 ($30). An undiscovered (by me) California wine region and a fabulous year for California cab.
6. Lichen Estate – White Pinot Noir ($ ). Seriously. White Pinot Noir. Sold.
7. Quinta de Avelada 2013 ($11) – effervescent and minerally – two of my favorite wine descriptors. From Portugal’s Vinho Verde region where wines are known to be lightly fizzy, bright, minerally, low alcohol and cheap!
8. Home Farm Rosé on tap at Shed in Healdsburg – perhaps just an excuse to go to shed, but this Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre blend is a great brunch wine.
9. Any red blend from Desparada winery – made by Vaila Esh in Paso Robles, this winery has been on my radar for a year or so and I have yet to taste.