Wine Juice Boxes?

Yes, wine juice boxes. How fun does that sound? Today, a friend and I decided to spice up our picnic lunch in the park with a much needed Sunday blues killer—a refreshing glass of wine sipped straight from a cute, single serving juice box (okay, there are three servings but who's counting). I know these aren't new, but they're new to me—a girl who has always turned her nose up at boxed wine.

I was a little skeptical at first, but my little box of $3.50 Vendange Pinot Grigio seemed glorious when paired with the enjoyment of the moment—drinking a juice box in the park while engulfed in the bliss of the warm first-day-of-spring air. I can't say it's the best wine I've ever had, or that I'd serve it at a gourmet dinner party, but in a certain context I'd recommend it wholeheartedly—tailgating before a game, lounging at the pool in summer, and of course, while enjoying an impromptu picnic in the park. Besides Pinot Grigio, Vendange juice boxes come in Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, and White Zinfandel varietals, and I'm on the hunt to try a couple of other brands: Three Thieves "Bandit" and Tandem Bordeaux. If you have a favorite kind, let me know—I can always go for a juice box treat, sipped through a straw like old times.

Mmmmm Malbec

Malbec is probably one of my favorite reds. It's delicious, deep, and drinkable—and doesn't sound too pretentious or serious. Plus, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for an acceptable bottle. The ones I tend to like are from the Mendoza region in Argentina, including my absolute favorite bottle of Catena Malbec. Usually around $22 a bottle, it costs a little more than the other wines on my list, but once in a while, it's worth it! It's smooth and sophisticated, and if it weren't 10 a.m., (happy hour doesn't start this early) I might need to refresh my taste buds.

A few other must-drink Malbecs on my list—all from Argentina and under $20:
1. Layer Cake
2. Diseño
3. Don Miguel Gascon

Let me know if you have any more to recommend—I'll try anything!

I'll Start With the Obvious

I love wine. And not just drinking it, but bringing home a bottle I've never tried (tonight it was a 2010 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier), selecting the perfect red to suit my mood (have you ever sipped Ménage à Trois? The name alone is awesome), and recommending my favorite reasonably-priced Cabernet Sauvignon (Twenty Bench) to everyone I know. I'm no sommelier but I know what I like.

Walking into my local wine store today (I live in Philadelphia via NYC, but I'll get into that later), I thought about how completely daunting it is to a) choose a bottle from a store with more choices than you can even handle and b) shell out precious dinero for wine that you might not even like!

Here's where I come in. I'm always on the hunt for great bottles of wine to add to my ever-growing list of favorites—usually priced somewhere between "why is this so cheap?" and $25. So from now on, I'll let all you discerning wine drinkers out there know what I find—so you don't have to browse the wine-filled aisles annoyed that you don't know a damn thing about what you're buying. Sound good?

Oh, and the 2010 Pine Ridge is definitely worth trying—kind of like a Sauvignon Blanc but without the strong grapefruity finish (which I tend to get sick of, especially when I'm having it with dinner). So drink up!