Despite their flat sides - and despite their stigma with the enological elite - boxed wines are on a roll in the US.
Heretofore pretty much confined to the bottom shelf of the wine aisle, boxed wines not only are moving up, the shelf is being extended.
More brands, more styles and more imports are showing up in boxes.
The 3-liter box, equivalent to four standard bottles, is the hottest segment of the wine market, according to the Nielsen Co.
Though 3-litre boxes account for little more than 1 per cent of the wine market, their sales last year jumped 44 per cent in volume and 46 per cent in value.
Winemakers and wine-industry analysts attribute the rise in popularity of boxed wines to several factors - convenience, better wine in the boxes and better technology to extend their longevity.
Vintners claim once the spigot is turned, wines remain sound for about six weeks.
The biggest factor to account for rising sales, however, is a growing environmental sensitivity among consumers, say producers and analysts.
Regardless of whether the wine is red, white or pink, if it's in a box, it's the "greenest" wine on the market, they say.
Boxed wines contribute 85 per cent less waste to landfills and 55 per cent fewer carbon emissions to the atmosphere than the making and shipping of traditional glass bottles.
This is according to representatives of The Wine Group of San Francisco, the industry's boxed-wine leader, with such brands as Franzia, FishEye, Glen Ellen and Killer Juice.
And then there's frugality as an inspiration to buy wine in a box. Boxed wines generally are cheap, working out to the equivalent of US$3 to $5 a bottle (AUD$3.35 to $5.60) .
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