13 best boxes of wine that are as eco-friendly as they are delicious

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

We always think of New Zealand as the home of sauvignon blanc, but its true birthplace is France’s Loire Valley where the grape is used to produce supremely stylish and tangy dry white wines such as sancerre. It’s a serious wine from winemakers whose vineyard history stretches back 14 generations. As such, it fulfils BIB co-founder and managing director Oliver Lea’s dictum that everybody should be able to enjoy fine wine any way they want. “This lovely wine epitomises what premium, new generation boxed wine is all about,” he adds. Characterful and complex with layered flavours of citrus, apple and hay, plus a welcome minerality, this is a beautifully balanced wine with which to welcome the summer. And, like all BIB wines, will stay fresh for up to six weeks after opening.

While this box is only available to members of BIB’s wine club, becoming a member doesn’t cost you a thing and even gives you 10 per cent off all wines. All you have to do is commit to a delivery every one, two or three weeks or months. The company even helps you get rid of the bags and pumps in a responsible manner by offering free recycling bags.

Best: For beefing up a barbecue

Rating: 8/10

You can guess from the name and the packaging that this isn’t a wine for the faint-hearted. No, it’s an in-your-face chunky malbec from the higher reaches of the Mendoza wine region in Argentina that’s chock full of vibrant plum and raspberry flavours and notes of spice and pepper. The equivalent of three 75cl bottles, it’s great value and stays fresh for at least six weeks after being opened. We could tell you what food it goes best with but let us just say that if it’s warm enough weather for a meaty barbecue any guest arriving with this would be more than welcome.

Best: For a summer picnic

Rating: 8/10

There was a time when bag-in-box wines were limited in range and quality. That’s now happily changed when wines such as this splendid thirst-quenching riesling from Germany’s historic Rheingau wine region are readily available. A young, fresh and very dry riesling, it has notes of pear and honeydew melon with added hints of citrus and gooseberry. It’s made from grapes grown at a latitude of 50 degrees north where the Rhine tempers the climate, and a cool and long growing season results in wines low in alcohol content but huge in flavour. Enjoy slightly chilled with seafood dishes or simply on its own as a perfect aperitif.

Best: For a light lunch

Rating: 8/10

Crisp, refreshing and fruity, pinot grigio has always been the Italian white wine of choice, the go-to option for light lunches, picnics and barbecues. This particular one, though, brings something else to the table, a touch of Sicilian elegance. Organically produced from grapes picked at dawn on the island – thus ensuring that the fragrant aromas are retained – it offers notes of citrus, wild blossom and peach. Easy to drink and with an alcoholic content that’s not too high, it’s vegan friendly and makes a suitable companion for summer salads, light pasta or dishes or risottos. Strongly packed in a cardboard box, it will also stay fresh for up to six weeks once opened and as with all bag-in-box wines, has a much lower carbon footprint when compared to single-use glass bottles.

Best: For a seafood snack

Rating: 8/10

From a wine-growing area that’s sometimes referred to as the Tuscany of France, comes a crisp, aromatic white that’s rich in flavour but low in alcohol. It’s a blend of three grapes that are well known – columbard, ugni blanc (more familiar under its Italian name trebbiano) and sauvignon – along with one which is less common, gros manseng, an indigenous grape in this area of southwest France. Blended together they provide a wine that’s oak free, fresh and thirst-quenching. Enjoy it chilled as an aperitif or with seafood, sushi, risottos or any grilled fish dishes.

Best: Everyday tipple

Rating: 7/10

A perfectly acceptable pinot grigio that comes not as you might expect from Italy but from Moldova. The eastern European country has undergone a transformation since the communist era and has a rich heritage of winemaking to draw upon. The pinot grigio grape is one that’s been introduced to the country in recent years resulting in wines such as this which offer that characteristic taste of orchard fruit and peaches at a great value price.

Best: For an alfresco lunch

Rating: 8/10

As the name implies, this is a touch of sunshine from the south of France. A fresh and aromatic rosé by winemaker Jean-Jacques Dosetto, it comes from Aix en Provence, just 30km from the Mediterranean. The grenache and syrah grapes are harvested in the cool of the evening and are then swiftly destemmed and pressed to produce a fruit-forward wine with impressive amounts of strawberry and blackcurrant flavours along with a punchy citrus tang that turns it into a superb aperitif. Destined for warm and bright summer days it can also be enjoyed with simple vegetarian or light fish dishes.

Best: Bargain

Rating: 7/10

Part of Asda’s extra special range, this is an everyday but very drinkable malbec from Argentina, the country that has made that particular grape its own. Sourced from the San Juan area in the steep foothills of the Andes, it offers pleasing cassis and blackberry flavours with smooth tannins and a hint of spice. It may not set the world on fire but at that price it’s great value for money. Suitable for vegetarians it should also prove popular at summer barbecues.

Best: For a pasta supper

Rating: 9/10

A bag-in-the-box wine or a work of art? It’s had to tell in this case although the answer is probably both. Laura Riches and Laura Rosenberger, collectively known as the Lauras, are the two behind the idea of providing premium high-class wines sourced from independent producers and packaged in something that you’d be happy to hang on your wall. This Tuscan example, made from sangiovese and merlot grapes, comes from winemaker Valerio Marconi whose vineyard adorns the medieval town of Radda in Chianti. Like many other young Italian winemakers, he decided to include the non-indigenous merlot in the blend, creating what’s become known as “super Tuscan” wines. Intense red-fruit flavours jostle with notes of spice and pepper to provide a palate-pleasing richness and a long and lingering finish. As for the boxed artwork, it’s from Florence cathedral and just about as heavenly as the wine.

Best: Thirst quenching

Rating: 8/10

Full marks to winemakers Emma and Andrew Nielsen who came up with a simple but effective name for this red wine in a pouch. Sourced from a pair of organically certified vineyards in Nyons in the southern Rhone Valley, this blend of syrah and grenache is fermented in a concrete tank and then aged in old Burgundy barrels. Young, fresh and juicy it’s what winemakers term vins de soif – wines that are easily drinkable, accessible and literally “thirst-quenching”. So, oodles of red-fruit flavours with hints of spice in a wine that’s easily transportable, ready to drink now and still fresh when poured in the glass for several weeks after opening.

Best: For an aperitif

Rating: 8/10

Pecorino is an Italian white wine that’s almost come back from the dead. Low yields saw the pecorino grape (no relation to the cheese, by the way) ignored and forgotten in the latter half of the 20th century until most thought it had become extinct. Luckily, some old vines were found, cuttings were taken, and the light-skinned grape took on a new lease of life. This organic example from the Abruzzo region in central Italy is made from hand-picked grapes annually harvested in early September. Fresh, vibrant and juicy it boasts refreshing lemon and blossom flavours with notes of pepper and herbs. Enjoy it served slightly chilled with aperitifs, hors d’oeuvres, seafood, vegetarian dishes, white meats and fresh or medium-aged cheeses.

Best: Classic

Rating: 8/10

From the largest wine appellation in the Northern Rhône and from one of its leading wineries, cave de tain, comes a classic red wine that’s normally only available by the bottle. Made from the syrah grape (known outside France as shiraz) it’s big and bold with lashings of dark and red fruit, damson and blackberry flavours along with notes of spice and pepper. A co-operative formed in 1933, cave du tain is responsible for almost half of the appellation and the reputation of their wine remains high. It’s recommended that it should be drunk within a month of opening but as it’s a superb match for a range of foods including charcuterie, grilled red meats, duck or French cheeses, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Best: For the more adventurous

Rating: 7/10

You can tell something is really catching on when what is considered by many to be a niche product – orange wine – becomes available in a box, or in this case, a 1.5l pouch. For those not yet in the loop, orange wine is a white wine where the skins and seeds have been left in contact with the juice, creating an orange-tinted (rather than orange-flavoured) wine. This example, from Spanish producers VinNaturo, is, like all the best orange wines, aged in clay amphora for up to 10 months. It’s also unfiltered and organically made in the best tradition of non-interventionist winemaking. The result is something big and bold that tastes like no other white wine you’ve sampled. Really robust flavours that have a certain tang to them and may not be to everyone’s taste. But it’s a welcome treat for anyone who wants to broaden their palate.