Boxed wines aren't what they used to be!

Although I'm told by the industry that boxed wines are more and more of a thing (they aren't here), I have a hard time believing that many people are still hunting for 36lbs of wine in a 3lb wooden box to be delivered 6-9 months after paying for them.

Hmmm, perhaps that's not what trade publications were referring to - could it be they meant things such as in the picture further below? However, I know that's what my father thought they were!

After all, that's how he purchased wine for decades. When we lived back East the boxes were filled with Burgundy and Bordeaux and after we moved to S.Cal in 1969 they were almost all Napa - as he thought he should support the ever better bottles that were coming from there in the 70's -in his new home state.

Many treasures were to be found in those boxes and were enjoyed by many over the years, as my father always liked bringing them out to anybody who had an appreciation of wine. Much his collection was consumed over the years but he bought far more than could be imbibed and sold off and donated many more. Still some was left, along with their mostly opened wooden crates, even after he and my mother moved down here from Seattle - yes, he bought more in his 30 years up there as well!.

So I finally auctioned off a tidy $ amount of over the hill French wines last year to add to my mother's finances.

I'm not sure who bought the early 60's Romanee de la Conti La Taches, Chateau Mouton Rothschilds or Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges De Latour Private Reserves, but, suffice it to say they had money as well as curiosity and I certainly hope they enjoy those bottles in the spirit of adventure.

An ancillary good thing is that my mother can now buy as many boxed wines as she wants with the proceeds - even if they're in cardboard and pouches.

Perhaps she'll start with the three or four we have on hand in The Wine Mine even if that moniker actually still means the basement to everybody in our family.