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Boxed wine is a plastic bag of wine inside a cardboard box, with a tap. The bag collapses as you pour, so little air reaches the wine, and The Globe and Mail puts the life of an opened box at four to six weeks. VinePair is stricter: two to three weeks for the best taste and six at most, kept in the fridge.
A 3 liter box holds as much as four standard 750 ml bottles, or about twenty 5-oz glasses. That makes party math easy: work out the bottles with our party calculator, then divide by four. At 12% alcohol, each of those 5-oz glasses is one US standard drink.
Cans are the other party format: single servings, no corkscrew, no half-finished bottles at the end of the night. Check the volume on each card and divide by 750 ml to see what share of a bottle it is. These are grape wines; we have not tasted them, and the notes on each card are the retailer's.
Boxed wine
Bag-in-box wine. Check the size: a 3 liter box equals four bottles.
Really Good Boxed Wine 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
- Boxed wine
- California
A premium boxed wine for sharing at gatherings.
Really Good Boxed Wine says: A medium-plus bodied Paso Robles Cab with 25% French oak aging and notes of dark spice, vanilla, leather, blueberry and cassis.
Really Good Boxed Wine 2023 Cabernet Franc Rose Lodi
- Boxed wine
- Dry
- California
A boxed rose for summer entertaining.
Really Good Boxed Wine says: A 100% Cabernet Franc rose with zero sugar and bursts of rose petal, cherry candy and tangerine.
Really Good Boxed Wine 2021 Unoaked Chardonnay Yakima Valley
- Boxed wine
- Washington
A boxed white that serves a crowd.
Really Good Boxed Wine says: Concrete-aged unoaked Chardonnay with green apple, citrus and mineral notes, suited to seafood, salads and mild cheeses.
Canned wine
Single-serve cans. Divide the can's volume by 750 ml to compare it with a bottle.
Sparkling Wine Mixed Pack
- Canned wine
- Dry
Canned bubbles for picnics and parties; these are dry, not sweet.
Maker Wine says: Three dry, zero-sugar canned sparklers from women winemakers: Brut Bubbles, Bubbly Red and Bubbly Rose.
Best Sellers Mixed Pack
- Canned wine
- Dry
A six-wine can sampler for parties and travel.
Maker Wine says: A mix of six best-selling dry canned wines: Brut Bubbles, Bubbly Rose, Carbonic Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
White & Rose Mixed Pack
- Canned wine
- Dry
A canned white and rose mix for outdoor drinking.
Maker Wine says: Bubbly Rose, a Rhone-style white blend and Handley Cellars Chardonnay, all dry and zero sugar.
Bubbly Rose Wine
- Canned wine
- Dry
- California
A single-wine can pack of sparkling rose.
Maker Wine says: A lightly sparkling dry rose of Merlot, Zinfandel and Grenache with watermelon, plum and strawberry flavors.
Brut Bubbles
- Canned wine
- Dry
- California
Canned brut for celebrations without a bottle.
Maker Wine says: An aromatic, dry sparkler with yellow apple, grapefruit and tropical fruit; Gold at the 2025 Sunset International Wine Competition.
How to choose
- Count bottles, then buy boxes. Four 750 ml bottles fit in one 3 liter box. Run your guest count through the party calculator, then divide the bottles by four.
- Finish it within a few weeks. VinePair suggests two to three weeks for the best taste and six weeks at the most. Keep the opened box in the fridge.
- Use cans for a mixed crowd. Cans let each guest pick a style and drink one serving at a time, with nothing left open when the party ends.
- Watch the strength. A US standard drink is 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol, which is a 5-oz glass at 12%. Stronger wines, and bigger pours, add up faster.
- Do not stockpile. Boxed wine does not keep like a bottle in the cellar. VinePair advises opening any box within a year of buying it.
Prices and notes come from each retailer's product page and change often. We have not tasted every bottle here; the descriptions are the retailer's, condensed. More on how we pick in our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
How long does boxed wine last after opening?
About four to six weeks. The bag collapses as you pour, which keeps most air out, though a little still gets in. VinePair suggests two to three weeks for the best taste, with the opened box kept in the fridge.
How many bottles are in a box of wine?
A 3 liter box holds as much as four 750 ml bottles, or about twenty 5-oz glasses.
How many boxes of wine do I need for a party?
Work out the bottles first, which our party calculator does from the guest count and the length of the party, then divide by four for 3 liter boxes.
Is a can of wine one serving?
Check the volume on the can. A US standard drink is a 5-oz glass of 12% wine, so a larger can or a stronger wine can hold more than one.
Does unopened boxed wine go bad?
It does not keep like a bottle meant for cellaring. VinePair advises opening any box of wine within a year of buying it.