Newb question about box wine

] >>GS. ] > ] > One Aus. wine in 3 liter boxes is Hardy's. I don't like their Chard, but the ] > Shiraz and the Cab Sauv. are both good (for the price). They are ] > considerably better than Almaden. ] > Jim ] > ] Hi Jim, ] I can certainly agree on the Hardys. The Shiraz is a regular in our house. ] There are also the Black Box wines from California. Haven't tried them yet ] because the price ($20+) seems a little high for a box wine. Regardless, ] there are several box wines that are better (IMHO) than Almaden or Franzia. ] Dick R. ]

There is a common misconception that because it's in a box, it's bad. This is just not so. Here in France BiB (Bag in Box) has been a source for many very decent wines for some time now.

Our Ed R. recommended the Black Box, and I passed his rec on to my Dad in NY, who enjoyed it very much.

I fail to see how US$20 is too much for a good box wine! :)

-E

Salut/Hi Ed Rasimus,

This is getting increasingly off topic, so I'll not continue the tread beyond here.

le/on Sat, 05 Mar 2005 15:35:55 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

You said

Grin! But when you consider what a restrained person she is!!! (Ask those here who know her!!)

That may very well be true, and I was very impressed indeed at the range and quality of the foodstuffs available in the better supermarkets I visited in cities like Seattle (and its surroundings) San Francisco and so on. However, when we visited small towns, the range was vastly less. That said, I'd not claim that the NE of the UK could point the finger at the most backward part of the USA. But I don't shop with my eyes shut, Ed, and I SAW with my own eyes, as did Jacquie, the mountains of soft drinks on sale in the USA as compared with other countries we've visited. One of my great pleasures, in fact, is to go to different types of shops to see what's around. Vino (hey, what's happened to him?) and Tom Zierten can both confirm this, as we did it when visiting them. I also note what people have in their trolleys.

But honestly, Ed, that's not the point. For every family eating well, I saw many whose diets seemed to be almost entirely composed of meat and starch. Remember we ate out practically every night for two months while we were in the States last fall. In 1999 we spent three months on the east Coast doing more or less the same. We went to ordinary places where ordinary folk ate. And we saw what was available in family diners, in chains, (Red Lobster, Country Cooking etc) where the great mass of Americans eat out. When we sat down in some places in 1999 (less so in 2005) if we ordered a coke, as we did sometimes, not only did we get something 4 times the size of what we would get anywhere else in the world, but it was topped up automatically free of charge. While I've not lived in as many countries as you, I have lived in the UK and France, and spent many months travelling very much at "ground level". I wonder whether your view of life in Germany, for example wasn't coloured by life on base, or near one. I would argue that there, beer consumption outstrips coke 10:1 for the average German. We only went to stay with friends there about 10 times, so we can't claim to have your continuity of knowledge, of course.

have been for the last decade

Data on dietary practices of people in the United States from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that over a period of 55 years, annual per-capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks rose at an alarming rate, from 10.8 gallons in 1946 to 49.2 gallons in 2000.

If that's the case, it needed to. That's one quote for you.

Absolutely true. But you try going to the big "pile em up" supermarkets. The ones frequented by the millions of ordinary americans. You get cola, beer, and many American wines. You also get a wide range of foreign wines, cetainly, in tens, rather than the hundreds the american wines are stocked in. Again, I'm not denying that the ACCESS to wines is good, just that as you very well know, its per capita consumption is low when compared to many European countries.

Sure. This is taken from an article on Coke in the NY Times I think,

Servings are 8oz servings calculated per person per year.

Country market in millions servings per person/year China 1,256 7 United States 274 395 Brazil 166 134 Germany 82 200 France 59 96 Great Britain 57 122 Korea 46 62 Australia 19 285

OK these are 1998 figures, but if we're talking about "cola raised", then consumption figures for 7 years ago would be appropriate if a touch too recent.

These figures are not small samplings but are USA figures from reputable agencies.

You know Ed, sometimes national stereotypes do accurately reflect reality.

Can't say, honestly. I don't think that I ever looked or noticed. But I did notice that FAR more people in ordinary diners/steakhouses etc had a coke or other fizzy drink with their meal than water, while in Europe the opposite would be the case.

Anyway, I'll not continue to argue. If you want to look for figures that support your contention that food diet is more varied in the USA than in other developed nations (I'd except the UK, because the situation there is lamentable, generally) or figures that support your theory that sweetened carbonated drinks are drunk more or less as much elsewhere, do please do so. And please do publish them here. In the meantime, I think I've proved my point over fizzy drinks. The ball's firmly in your court. I'll leave the last word to you to prove me wrong.