FAQs

No. The wine will stay just as fresh at room temperature.

With a bottled wine (red or white) you should refrigerate any left over wine after opening. Refrigerating an open bottle will slow down a chemical reaction called oxidation that spoils the wine. Oxidation occurs because the wine inside the bottle is exposed to air when it’s opened. With Black Box, the wine is not exposed to air when it’s opened so there’s no oxidation to slow down.

The wine will stay fresh for at least 4 weeks after opening. This is because our box contains a vacuum-sealed bag, which prevents the oxidation that spoils bottled wine a few days after opening.

The internal bag (pouch) protects the wine from being exposed to air after it is opened. As you pour the wine, the bag collapses preventing air from getting into the container (similar to a Playtex baby bottle).

Yes. The wines are at their best within the first year after packaging. The date the wine was packaged on is stamped on the bottom of the box. To determine the shelf life of the wine add 9 months to the packaging date for white wines and 12 months for red wines. A bag-in-box wine has a shorter shelf life than bottled wine. This is because, over time, microscopic amounts of oxygen actually pass through the surface of the bag and into the wine. Exposure to oxygen ages the wine. This also happens in bottled wine, but at a much slower pace. It won’t hurt you to drink a boxed wine older than this, but the flavors will have faded. Our distributors and retailers will normally pull a wine that’s too “old” off the shelf, but occasionally that does not happen. If you try one of our wines and it does not taste right, please return it to the retailer. We would greatly appreciate it if you could also let us know about it. The last thing we want is a below optimal product on the shelves.

Air probably got into the vacuum sealed bag. No air can be allowed to enter the bag inside the box. If air gets into the bag the wine will deteriorate (oxidize) the same as an opened bottle of wine. The only way that air can get into the bag is if the spout is opened when the box is on its side or upside down.

Sometimes air will get into the bag when there is only a glass or so of wine left in the bag. This is caused by the remaining wine not sitting over top of the spout and the bag being at its limit of maximum contraction. If this is the case you’ll hear a gurgling sound caused by air entering the bag (when the wine is poured). There’s not much you can do about it. Just don’t expect the wine to stay fresh for more than a couple of days if there is less than a glass left.

Simply tilt the box forward and the remaining wine will pour faster. The wine pours slowly when you get down to the last couple of glasses because it is under a vacuum and there is not a lot of weight left to push the wine out.

There’s a trick to getting the last couple of glasses of wine to come out quicker, but this trick will expose the wine to air thus causing it to oxidize the same as an opened bottle of wine. If you’re down to the last bit of wine in the box and you are sure you are going to finish it, turn the box upside down and press the spout button. This will allow air to enter the bag, releasing the vacuum seal. The remaining wine will now easily pour out. Again, make sure that you plan on finishing the wine because it has now been exposed to air and will become stale in a couple of days. Another option is to pull the bag out (through the spout hole in the box) and squeeze the remaining bit of wine out of the bag.

Drink the wine now, aging will not improve it. A bag-in-box wine will age more rapidly than a bottled wine. This is because, over time, microscopic amounts of oxygen actually pass through the surface of the bag and into the wine. This ages the wine. This also happens in bottled wine, but at a much slower pace.

It is a bit of a misconception that wines get better with aging. The vast majority of wines are not built to age and will begin to deteriorate about 18 months after bottling. Do not age your wine unless the winery gives a specific recommendation to do so.

The best way to let any red wine (boxed or bottled) breathe is to pour it into your glass (or decant it into a pitcher) and then let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. If you don’t want to wait, pour your glass only half full and then swirl the wine around in the glass. Swirling the wine will expose it to oxygen much quicker. The act of both pouring and swirling aerates the wine, causing it to open up and release it’s aromas and flavors.

In general, wines should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place. Store the wine at room temperature or cooler. Do not let wine get above 90 F or below 34 F.

The spout should be pointing straight down. If not, you can twist it in order to rotate it to the correct position.

Yes, remove the bag and recycle the box with your paper products. Recycle the bag if your community accepts plastics belonging to recycling category number 7.