Carmenet Vintner’s Selection Chardonnay, 2004 vintage, three-liter box
price: $20-$25
suggested food pairings: broiled or sautéed fish or fowl, light pasta dishes, medium- bodied cheeses

This is the first time a boxed wine has been featured in this space, and the value is terrific when you consider there are four bottles of wine in this cask. Believe it or not, boxed wines have been a staple in my house for years—I’ve been buying them for cooking since they first arrived on the scene, and after a nerve-smashing day of chasing kids at Chucky Cheese, my wife has been known to splash the contents of the box into a cube-laden glass while she waits for something proper in a bottle to chill down. This offering from Carmenet will serve two purposes in our house: I will cook with better wine from now on, and my wife can go right to the spigot in the ’fridge and actually enjoy the first glass of wine she chugs.

Carmenet has really struck a chord with putting quality into a convenient container. They’re a label within the Chalone Wine Group, which is known for positioning their wines and wineries for restaurant and gourmet-level showcasing in the marketplace. Small production, cult-following food wines make up the sisterhood of labels within Chalone. This offering is a dark straw yellow, with a nose of citrus, apple and a wisp of toasted oak. The aromas translate into flavors on the tongue in a very deliberate manner. There’s also a simple roundness coupled with a tame acid that is comfortable and palate-friendly. The news in this box isn’t that it will win 10 gold medals, but rather that you cannot find a fault with it.

Craig Pierce, clubhouse manager of Baker Hill Golf Club, can be reached at craig_l_pierce *at* hotmail *dot* com.