Very Important Science Finding: Put Your Boxed Wine In The Fridge

You wouldn't want to bring out sherry or dried fruit tones in your giant box of chardonnay, would you?

By Dan Nosowitz Posted 12.12.2012 at 2:00 pm 5 Comments

Boxed Wine Wikimedia Commons

Today in Very Important Science: if you're drinking bagged or boxed wine--and we're not going to tell you not to, it's good for you--make sure to keep it at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You snooty oenophiles with your wines in bottles, who cares, do whatever you want with your single-varietal Monopoly Man swill.

The University of California, Davis tested the effects of storage temperature on all kinds of different wine containers--bottles, with or without corks, boxes, bags, bags in boxes. It's the first study to test all of these prominent ways wine is stored--sorry to canned wine devotees--and it found that the bag-in-box wine familiar to anyone who's ever been 18 years old is the most vulnerable to temperature changes. Wine at hot or even just warm temperatures (they tested 68 degrees and 104 degrees Fahrenheit) has a tendency to turn gross, changing color to a darker red and bringing out a vinegar flavor. But the bag-in-box wine "aged significantly faster," according to a tasting panel which was then confirmed by chemical testing.

All wines aged better when stored at 50 degrees. So the message here is, get a wine fridge, or just drink your box of wine as soon as possible. Both options are scientifically acceptable.

[UC Davis]

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5 Comments

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Robot

12/12/12 at 2:53 pm

This has been one of my stable box lunches for years.... lol... hick..

Of course, I was disapointed when they took that plastic straw off the side.

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aaronft

12/13/12 at 1:16 pm

I have no idea what temperatures you're referring to. Why not put the degrees C in brackets in articles? It is, after all, the temperature that is used in actual science almost everywhere. (Wasn't there a Mars lander that had an issue like this? :-) )

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Robot

12/13/12 at 1:23 pm

LoL, my juice box is typically empty prior to getting to warm.... hick.

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African Rover

12/13/12 at 2:01 pm

After all that tasting, cooling, heating and experimenting with a panel of experts ( apprentice alcoholic students I suppose ) I am surprised they were still able to read the thermometer. Hope they enjoyed the study. Cheers !

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Scythelord

12/14/12 at 3:43 pm

Aaronft, if you want temperatures in C, just convert them. Americans have no issue with having to convert metric to US standard measurements. We all do it. Can't you handle two systems?