DeRusha Eats: Solo Vino Wine Shop
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – Many of us over the next week will have backyard parties or picnics to celebrate the 4th of July.
And while dining outside tends to be a bit more casual, how would you feel about serving boxed wine?
For DeRusha Eats, Jason DeRusha is giving you show how boxed win has changed for the better!
At Solo Vino Wine Shop in St. Paul, you'll find rows and rows of beautiful bottles of wine.
Which is why this wine from a box seems a little out of place.
"You see boxed wine it's hard not to think of grandma and the Franzia," DeRusah said.
"It's very difficult to not go there," owner Chuck Kanski said.
But Solo Vino's owner Chuck Kanski doesn't thumb his nose at the box.
"I have a box wine at home right now…It's my safety net," Kanski said.
Much has changed in the ten years since he opened his shop when Black Box was brand new, including Black Box itself.
Black Box is now launching a Platinum Series, first in Minnesota.
Black Box Platinum Chardonnay retails around $30.
One box equals four bottles, so this works out to be $7.50 a bottle. Kanski says it tastes way more expensive.
"I would put this in the upper teens," Kanski said.
Savings comes from shipping.
A case of 12 bottles weighs 36 pounds.
36 pounds of boxed wine yields the equivalent of 24 bottles!
"Right there, right out of the gate, half the price," Kanski said.
Plus, no expensive glass, cork or foil.
Solo Vino specializes in imports.
Kanski loves the Vina Borgia.
You can get the bottle of Grenache, or the box, for nearly 30 percent less money!
"The wine has no idea what it's in. The bottle does not matter. The cork doesn't matter. The screw cap doesn't matter. What really matters is the juice," he said.
Wine makers are now putting specific vintages in boxes, not just blends of leftover juice. Quality is much better.
"We've been very mindful of the quality of the product once we get it in the store. Once its open, you have about 30-45 days, seems to be the typical timeframe," Kanski said.
Solo Vino is on Selby near Dale in St. Paul.
If you want to find that new Black Box Platinum wine you can get it at France 44.
Top Ten Liquors in Woodbury also has it for $24.
