Why Do Box Wines Have an Expiration Date?

Now we know none of our highly educated, quality savvy Wine Awesomeness customers are stooping to the lower shelf for box wine, right? But if you happened to be at one of your less discerning friend’s house and peaked at their obtrusive box of Franzia sitting on the counter like a beacon of I’ll-drink-anything, then you probably noticed that it had an expiration date. Why, you thought, would wine ever need an expiration date? After all, doesn’t most wine get better with age?

Short answer: no. Check out this super informative article from our friends over at Wine Folly for a more in-depth explanation.

But even if a wine is better suited to be consumed young rather than cellaring, it still shouldn’t expire, right? Well before they squeeze all that mass-produced wine into the box, it’s inserted into little plastic bladders. These plastic bags have microscopic holes, which slowly allow air into the wine, and we all know that is no bueno.

So instead of buying a box of wine with a stamped-on expiration date, pick up the container that has been trusted to hold that precious nectar of the gods for hundreds of years (we suggest the 2012 Palacio de Camino Real Garnacha), and keep your boxes where they belong—holding your bottles of awesomeness!

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