Fall is football season and represents numerous tailgating parties and other outdoor events.  Did you know there are some outdoor friendly wines that drink outside the box?  I know the stereo types about boxed wines, but there are some award winning wines that are being boxed to meet the mobile demands of consumers.

My personal favorite is Black Box Wines.  Black Box has won ten gold medals and been part of 10 Wine Enthusiast Magazines Best Buys since 2004.  The boxes hold 3 liters of wine (which is equivalent to four 750ML bottles!) and retails for $24.99.  I can tell you first hand that this box is much easier to carry and much safer to transport then four bottles of wine.  Don’t worry if you have leftovers, this wine still tastes great for about four weeks after opening.  Black Box Wines include Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Reserve Merlot, and Reserve Chardonnay.

I was able to sample the 2007 Central Coast California Shiraz from Black Box Wines.  This wine is deep purple in color, and has a spicy, ripe cherry aroma.  This wine tastes peppery, with dark fruit notes and has a very soft finish.  Black Box suggests pairing this wine with braised meats.

Black Box Wines is hosting the “You Got Boxed” contest to challenge its fans to share boxed wines with their friends.  For a chance to win, contestants secretly serve guests Black Box Wines and capture their reaction on camera when the box is revealed.  There is a monthly $2,000 prize and a final grand prize of $10,000.  Visit http://www.yougotboxed.com/for more details.

If you are interested in taking Black Box to your next outing, visit them at: http://www.blackboxwines.com/wheretobuy/ or
http://www.blackboxwines.com

Another great boxed wine is brought to you from Australia by Alice White.  You have seen bottles of Alice White in your local wine retailer and now you can enjoy three varieties in a box as well (Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Alice White’s exclusive Lexia varietal).  Alice White has also received accolades from leading wine publications including Wine Spectator and is considered a Best Buy.

Some Alice White benefits include:

• Packaged in light-weight durable Tetra Pak cartons
• These 500 ML containers carry approximately three glasses and retail for just $4.99
• Light-weight, shatterproof and travel friendly
• Tetra Paks are green – 70 percent made from renewable resource paper and smaller carbon footprint
• Available in nationwide retailers.

I reviewed the Alice White Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia.  This wine is not only great for tailgates, but would be an excellent choice for a picnic as well.  It has a very smooth finish with powerful citrus and tropical fruit flavors, which is a common characteristic for Australian Chardonnays.  Pair this chardonnay with brie, shellfish, salads, or enjoy it on its own.

As you can tell, wine packaging is evolving, and boxed wine does not equal bad wine.  Take Black Box or Alice White to your next outdoor event.  You may even want to take a video camera to surprise your friends and enter Black Box’s contest while you’re at it!

Review Disclaimer:

The Wine Mom has a review policy in effect that promises to only post reviews on products my family or I absolutely love.  You likely won’t hear about the products we didn’t like, and you can be guaranteed that I won’t post a review just because we got a product for free

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Recently my husband and I went on a seven day cruise through the Western Caribbean.  We left from Port Canaveral and traveled to Cozumel, Belize City, Costa Maya, and Nassau.  We had a fantastic time and came home very relaxed.

We sailed on Carnival and they offer two wine packages.  Yes, the wines are marked up compared to your local stores, but there is a significant savings compared to buying bottles of wine throughout the week.  The markup is less than you will pay at most restaurants and we found it to be reasonable.  Carnival does allow one bottle of wine or champagne to be brought on per adult.  But with all the opportunities to eat and enjoy yourself on a cruise, two bottles can go quickly.  We found the wine package to be an excellent accompaniment to our vacation.

Once you determine which wine package is right for you, they will hand you a receipt.  At the first dinner, your waiter will hand you five wine coupons.  The coupons can be used through out the ship, not just during dinner service.  The wines are listed on the back of each coupon and you just let the waiter know which wine you would like.  Don’t feel rushed to enjoy your bottle; the waiters will save any remaining wine for the next evening’s dinner.

Now our favorite part of the cruise ship experience, at least on the ship, was dinner.  We had wonderful wine, fantastic food, and were lucky enough to share the table with an awesome couple from up state New York.  My husband and I enjoyed their company and had a great time watching a comedic waiter at the table next to us all week.  We all swapped excursion details, show highlights, and any ‘secrets’ we all learned along the way.  Some people are nervous about assigned dining.  We have found that it’s an excellent way to enhance the experience; you should try it at least once, even as ‘anytime’ dining gains in popularity.

Another dinner option was dining in the Emerald Steakhouse.  It is an additional $30 per person, but you get a full steakhouse experience.  It was very quiet and the food was excellent and plentiful.  The Emerald dining room also hosted a cooking demonstration of their lobster bisque, surf and turf of filet and shrimp, and chocolate melting cake.  The demonstration was geared for the viewers to be able to do the recipes at home.

The cruise also offered a wine and cheese pairing class on two of the at sea days.  That is a great opportunity for cruisers that are unsure of how to pair wine and food.

Like most others vacations, room service is always a fantastic option too!  We tried that a few mornings when we felt like relaxing in the room.

Over the course of the next week, I will be writing about other aspects of our cruise experience.  We had a great time and I am looking forward to sharing the experience with you!

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Figure out what kind of vacation you want & start saving money.

Figure out if you would like to sight see more than anything, relax and rest more than anything or do a little of both. This is crucial since you’re whole trip will be planned around this. Once you’ve figured out where you’d like to go and the things you’d like to do it’s time to start saving. Start a few months to a year ahead of schedule, depending on how much you are able to save out of each paycheck, to set aside and save money for your vacation. I remember last year when we went on vacation we started saving up like 9 months beforehand just to make sure we had enough money for everything we wanted or might want.

Find ways to save money on planning your trip.

Search online for discounted prices on lodging.

Use those frequent flier miles if you can.

If you rent a car.. shop carefully. Those prices may seem low but they can sure add up fast and before you know it you’ve racked up quite a hefty bill.

Bring your own snacks.. it’s much cheaper!

Set a price and stick to it when it comes to souvenirs, snacks, gratuities, etc.

Can you believe I found some these great tips on a credit counseling website? These were only a few and I found them out Consolidatedcredit.org, which is a one stop debt solution center. They specialize in debt management, debt counseling, credit counseling and help with credit card debt, family vacation budgeting, etc. They had some good finance information on the site so feel free to check them out for more info and some great tips on saving money and traveling.

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