Tired of dragging armfuls of wine to a party? Why not try buying wine in a box?

Glass wine bottles have a certain archaic appeal, but handling those slippery wine-tubes with their civil war-era corks is a burden that must be borne no longer!

But how many bottles of wine are in one of these handy boxes? Two bottles? Three? This seems like a dangerous amount of wine, but what do I know?

On Saturday night, we decided to find out.

Invented in 1985 to allow wine drinking on forest trails, the first wine boxes were sold with shoulder straps. Campers loved the idea so much that eventually the straps were abandoned and boxed wine was available for drinking at home.

In 1989 a water-filled version was released for children. It was known as the Camelbak.

It is natural to assume that the box should be opened from the top and the wine should be poured out like breakfast cereal, but that's not the case!
The box has a secret fairy door at the bottom, which should be teased open with a single finger.

If you are gentle, the wine spigot will be tucked inside, waiting to be mounted in the cardboard mousehole.

If you aren't careful, you'll be confronted by the prolapsed bag of wine. If this is your experience, firmly stuff the bag back inside and quit drinking forever.

With the dispensing nozzle positioned over a counter edge, Brooke broke the seal on the tap and began filling bottles.

One!

Two!

Three bottles! The box of wine was nearly empty.

Just kidding. Bottle four.

I hope no one finds these in the cellar and thinks these numbers represent the vintage.

As the box empties, you may need a friend to help speed the wine dispensing.

The final bottle?

Brooke conducts the second pressing.

Yes! There were seven bottles!

The seventh was only 2/3rds full, perfect for a single serving!

Six and two-thirds bottles is a PARTY, and the price for this Franzia Cabernet Sauvignon brand is sub-Shaw at $1.95 a bottle ($12.99/6.66 bottles).

If you are like me, and you choose your wine based on the weight of the packaging, you must go with boxed wine!