Last weekend I picked up a 4 pack of Bandit Pinot Grigio by Three Thieves.
by POPSUGAR Food
Last weekend I picked up a 4 pack of Bandit Pinot Grigio by Three Thieves. I must admit, I bought them on a whim, and I mostly bought them because they're packaged in individually portioned "juice box" containers - plus it was under $10. Each box looks an awful lot like a regular juice box (don't give this one to the kids on accident) and has a foil tab that can be removed for pouring, drinking or placing a straw.
So how did it taste? Pretty decent, nice for a hot day and the perfect companion for a picnic. I decided to drink it three ways. First I drank it directly out of the carton - I wanted to see what it would be like if you brought it on a picnic and didn't have a straw or a glass. It was surprisingly nice and light - perfect for a hot day - with slight apple and lemon flavors, however it also had that plastic "waxy carton" taste. Since that taste was not exactly a bonus flavor, I decided to try it through a straw. The flavor was about the same, only without the waxy carton taste, and I must admit, it was a lot of fun to drink wine out of a straw. Finally I poured the remainder into a glass. It was pale in color and the smell was a bit lemony and it actually tasted much nicer in the glass.
Overall, I'd say it was far from the best glass of pinot grigio, but it was also pretty far from the worst. Besides, each box is 250ml and you get 4 boxes for the price of a 750ml bottle of wine, so there is a great value/quality ratio going on. Plus, it gets more points in my book because wine in a juice box made me feel like a kid, a naughty wine drinking kid.
I believe there is a wine for every occasion, and sometimes you just need an easy-to-drink, affordable white wine. The next time you're looking for what I like to call a picnic white, reach for Tamás 2009 Pinot Grigio. I recently deeply enjoyed this Central Coast white, which sells for under $12. 
