words: bill bowman

photos: samantha white

The wine of choice for the budget baller is Franzia. The mass produced behemoth is cheap and easy to drink. Study Breaks wanted to know if Franzia can stand up to the high priced competition.

To keep it fair, we picked four Chardonnay box wines, Bota Box, Franzia, Angel Juice and Black Box. We poured them into the wine glasses and told the judges to describe and rate each, on a scale of 1 to 10. The judges did not know which wine was Franzia and which the high priced alternative.

The Judges

Stefan rarely drinks wine, but claims his sense of taste is superior to other humans. With confidence like that, who are we to disagree? When he is not working out his taste buds, he enjoys jamming out and exercising.

Amanda enjoys a glass of wine once or twice a week, especially while watching episodes of Teen Mom. She claims that her plethora of wine glasses prove her adeptness at judging wines.

Jason isn’t a huge wine fan, but he has discerning palette.  In his free time, he enjoys throwing the Frisbees with his bros and selling houses. His favorite wine is the Sutter Home White Zinfandel.

Ashley is a fashionista with a taste for the bubbly. She lives by the motto, “Class. Class. Class.” and that will serve her well in this classy tasting. When she is not sampling the vino, Ashley enjoys underwater basket weaving.

Sara likes to drink wines several times a month, with her favorite variety being Moscato d’Asti. She believes that her well tuned taste buds will qualify her to pick out the best wine of the bunch.

Steps to Tasting

Ashley analyzing the hues

Appearance

Tilt the wine away from you to observe the color and clarity of the wine.  Use a white background to distinguish the different hues. Is it watery or thick? Translucent or opaque? Pale yellow or straw-like?

Jason taking a big wiff

Aroma

Swirl the wine in the glass to allow oxygen to penetrate the wine and analyze its aromatic properties. Do you smell oak or citrus? The aroma is a good indicator of quality. Stick your nose down in the glass to get the full effect.

The SB crew sips the wine

Taste

Take a small sip to let it hit the tongue. Roll it around in your mouth. Determine if it thick or soft, note the subtle flavors of the wine. For white wine, it might be citrus, berry or tropical flavor. After drinking the wine, assess how long the flavor lingers and if it has a good aftertaste.

Results

Franzia won!

The budget box wine bested the more expensive competition. The judges were enthralled to find out that their top choice was also tops for their bank account.

Check out video from the awesome tasting!