Does Boxed Wine Ever Truly Expire?

Once dismissed as stereotypical "house wine" for fraternity parties, boxed wines recently have come into their own. Today, boxed wines — known as "Bag-in-Box" or "BiB" wines because the cardboard box in which they are sold encases a plastic bladder holding the wine — are taken seriously enough to get reviews in magazines like Wine Enthusiast, Consumer Reports, and Women's Health. "You can get some great wines in a box," asserts Consumer Reports. 

There are other reasons that boxed wines can be a popular choice for consumers, including the fact that they are more environmentally friendly than bottled wines. "There's more wine in less packaging," registered dietitian nutritionist Katie Bishop told Women's Health. "Less energy is used to produce them ... Ultimately, boxed wine produces much less waste than bottled."

In part, the lesser waste from boxed wines is a result of the fact that the standard 3-liter size of boxed wine is equivalent to four standard-sized bottles. But there's also less waste from boxed wine because, in comparison with bottled wine, it will last longer once it's opened. According to Wine Folly, once a boxed wine is opened, it will be fresh for six weeks. On the other hand, an opened bottle of wine "lasts one to five days after being opened," according to Wine Country. To keep bottled wine fresh for longer after it's opened, Wine Country suggests recorking it and putting it in the refrigerator, ideally after transferring it to a smaller container to reduce its exposure to air.

For the truly long term, though, boxed wine won't last as long as bottled wine. An unopened bottle can last as long as five to 10 years, per iLove Wine, as long as it is kept in a cool, dark place and placed on its side. Many boxed wines, however, come stamped with an expiration or "best by" date. That date often is about a year away, but Wine Folly suggests that consuming boxed wine within six to eight months will ensure that "the quality will be up to par." The reason for the expiration date on boxed wine, explains Wine Folly, is that the packaging for BiB wines — cardboard and plastic — is "more porous than glass." Wine Spectator also has weighed in on the expiration of boxed wines, explaining "the plastic bags that the wines are stored in allow microscopic amounts of oxygen to pass through, and after a while, the wine will taste less fresh." 

But there's no reason to worry about the health risks of boxed wines being stored in plastic bladders, according to Wine Folly, which explained that "almost all" plastic used to package BiB wines is free of bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is a chemical in some plastics that may be implicated in "increased blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," according to the Mayo Clinic. 

On a lighter note, at Wine Enthusiast, former mixologist and bartender Chockie Tom noted how "she's retrofitted bags of wine into coolers that can float in a swimming pool."