Part of the mystique and allure of wine is the marvelously inefficient packaging. Soda cans have evolved to save aluminum. Costco sells milk in updated milk containers to save stacking space. It’s the nature of the beast: be more efficient than your competitors or you will lose.

While this may be true in the wine business to some degree, it has not yet led to widespread acceptance of efficient packaging. Some wineries seem to love putting their wine into bottles with weight and girth worthy of a dumbbell rack at a gym. Champagne especially: the bigger, the better.

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It isn’t that we haven’t cracked the case on better wine packaging. We have. There are lighter bottles, bottles with better shape, foil bottles, and the old stalwart: boxed wine. What we need is for someone to step up and put good wine into a box. While Maryland Wine fans may argue that Terrapin Station is doing just that, we need this to happen on a national scale.

Octavin is trying to do that. They’re putting “Artisan wines” into a three-liter box. Check the demo on their website to see their take on the problem.

So it was with great pleasure that I received a sample of Octavin’s boxed wine for me to try: the Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Seeing such a specific designation on a box of wine is rare. Usually you’re lucky to get a varietal. Usually you’re resigned to “White table wine” or “Alcohol.”

Well the Silver Birch didn’t disappoint. First twist of the spicket yielded a torrent of golden wine. It was like a firehose. We aren’t here for refinement, though. We’re here to drink wine and this enclosure gets it to your glass in a hurry.

First look: Light, golden color. Fresh apple aroma, some floral. Nice example of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On the palette is was nice, very light and refreshing. Not trying to do too much. The trend with boxed wine is that they are pleasant but less complex than their bottled counterparts. This is no exception, however less-complexity is just fine as long as you aren’t overcompensating with oak or alcohol. Are you listening, small wine producer?

Long term test: So, boxed wine claims to last longer than wine in a bottle. It’s nice. You can have one glass and not worry about punting the whole 750ml. The wine help up okay. Octavin advertises that the wine will last up to six weeks. The Wife noticed a change after a week and after three weeks the wine had tired out quite a bit. I’m very testy about open wines though, one of the harshest critics you’ll find on the morning after.

Octavin’s entry into boxed wine is a welcome one. They are delivering a superior product when compared to other boxed wine offerings. At the price point ($25-$30 per box, 3L equivalent) it is a great competitor to bottled wines in that class.

But, if you’re looking to step up your game as an event host, consider stepping up one notch on the wine scale. Here’s a quick-and-dirty about what to look for and what to get.

1) Find a local wine shop. Liquor stores often carry lots of beer and a limited selection of cheap wine. Wine shops carry lots of wine and lots of beer. You can get all your alcohol buying done in one stop at a wine shop. Virginians, you have it easier than us Marylanders, since you can walk into a Grocery store and walk out with enough beer and wine to start a riot. If you’re having trouble finding a wine shop, or don’t even know where to start looking, call a wine snob friend and ask for help (or leave me a comment on this post).

2) Go to France. You say “Alsayse” and I say “Alsaaahss” but either way it’s good wine for cheap. Wine bottling in Alsace is still governed by some draconian French law that demands that they use tall skinny bottles. Winemakers hate this because the bottles are the same as what Riesling is usually bottled in. Consumers see the bottle, think they are sweet wines, and move on (unless they’re into that sort of thing). While sweet wine can be found in Alsace, it is home to some of the freshest, cleanest, crispest, refreshing whites in the world. Look for Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc in the $10 range.

3) Stopover in Italy. Italy makes about one-fifth of the world’s wine, and some of it is likely to be in a big-bottle format at your local wine joint for $10-$20. Buy some. Chianti is a solid play here.

4) Red-eye to New Zealand. Good Sauvignon Blancs can be found here for under $10 a bottle. They range from grassy to full to crisp to whatever. You’ll have a hard time finding a bad bottle.

5) Set out cheap glasses, an ice bucket, a bucket with ice-water to keep the bottles cold, and get the grill going. Bask in the glow of compliments from your wine snob friends about the gooseberry in the Sauvignon Blanc.

In no way to I mean to imply that good wine cannot be found elsewhere. These are where I go for when I want something good and cheap without having to worry about producer, vintage, or otherwise. Enjoy!