NV Charla Bag-In-Box White Wine

The Charla Bag-in-Box White Wine is a blend of 50% Macabeo and 50% Chardonnay sourced from grapes grown in the Valencia region of Spain, which is located in Southeastern Spain on the Mediterranean Sea. The Macabeo grape is one of the 3 grapes (the other 2 are Xarel-lo and Parellada) usually used to make Cava Sparkling wine. The box holds 3 liters of wine, about equal to 4 bottles of wine. The alcohol content is 12.7%.

Box wine does not have a good reputation. The main problem is that to be able to store the wine in the box, they must keep air away from the wine, air causes the wine to oxidize and go bad. So, the bladder is designed to ensure air is kept out. But, to drink a glass of wine you need air to interact with the wine to bring out all the aromas and flavors, a glass of wine that has not had air added is called “tight” and shows only a fraction of what the wine should taste like. With box wine, every glass poured comes out of the bladder in the box without any air in the wine, every glass is “tight”. You always hear that the wine used for box wine is of lesser quality, but that really is not usually the case, it’s just that wine comes out of the box not ready to drink. If you pull the cork on a bottle of wine the first glass may be “tight,” but by the time you get to the second glass everything should be just fine. But, in the past, every single glass poured from a wine box is exactly the same, “tight”. But, here is the good news, The Charla Box White Wine has an aerator on the end of the spigot, adding much needed oxygen to every glass, no “tight” wine here.

The color is white with a touch of yellow. There is a very perfumey, floral nose, not much fruit, but plenty of light, delicate aromas. It tastes of dusty apple, peach and pear, it is very clean and crisp. Not too complex of a wine, but not too simple either, the wine has pretty good length and structure and nice balanced acidity. There is a light fruity finish.

The Charla Bag-in-Box White Wine is custom made for a summer party. The box looks good, the wine in the box is not the same old thing, most of your guests probably never had a Macabeo/Chardonnay blend, but it is very approachable and easy to drink.