# Boone's Farm



## Tom_S (Aug 11, 2014)

Recently a post mentioned Boone's Farm and it got me to thinking about this product which is errantly labeled "wine." Now to those who aren't in the know, Boone's Farm is a very cheap product which I was surprised to see sold in local grocery stores (liquor is not allowed to be sold in grocery stores in my state) until I learned that the alcohol content is about 3.2% ABV, same as beer. Technically it contains a small amount of apple wine with apparently a lot of water, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial flavors. This stuff is very sweet, barely a hint of alcohol flavor, and comes in various flavors like strawberry, peach, and blue Hawaiian. That's right, a blue wine. Plus, you know it's a cheap wine when it says "Refrigerate after opening" on the label. Boone's Farm is to wine as Kool-Aid is to, well, wine.

Every so often when I'm at a gathering and the subject of wine comes up, there will be someone who says, "Yes, I like wine." When asked the question of what kind of wine they like, the response is, "Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill." Sometimes I have to bite my lip really hard to keep from telling them that's not wine. My sister-in-law once told me that she didn't like my homemade wine because "it tastes like real wine and not like Boone's Farm." I didn't know whether or not to be grateful or offended. 

I tend to refer to Boone's Farm as either "Kool-Aid wine" because it's basically just Kool-Aid with a little bit of alcohol added, or "Teeny-bopper wine" because it's mainly drank by teenagers who like to drink half the bottle and then brag about how drunk they were that night, or to give it to their girlfriends so they might have a chance getting into their pants. But I think I've learned the secret about Boone's Farm. The true purpose of Boone's Farm is as a training wine. Think about it, we use training wheels on bicycles to help teach kids how to ride. Young girls have training bras to help them learn... well I'm not sure what it is but I'm sure they learn _something_. 

Most people who are not serious wine drinkers tend to like only sweet wine. To their untrained palate, dry wines are horribly awful and they haven't yet learned to distinguish the complex flavors present. As time goes on and they get used to trying many different kinds of wine, they tend to start going toward less sweet and more dry wine. Certainly a teenager sitting in the middle of a field isn't going to whip out a bottle of Cabernet Sauvingnon. He's going to pull out the bottle of Boone's that his older brother bought for him. It tastes just like Kool Aid and he can lie about what a buzz he's got. Non-wine drinkers who want to act sophisticated can twist the cap, pour out some Boone's into a wine glass, and pretend that the bouquet is a complex blend of grapes from France. Later, if they actually do become wine drinkers and start drinking real wine, they'll at least have had their start with pretending to have a feel about what wine drinking is all about. They might make a few faux pas if they ask for some Boones Farm Fuzzy Navel instead of a Pinot Noir, or show up to a wine tasting with a bottle of Boone's Strawberry Daiquiri, but give them time and they'll figure it out. The truly sad people are the ones who never graduate from drinking Boone's.

So that's one wine snobs' take on the purpose of Boone's Farm. Kool-Aid wine, Teeny-bopper wine, or training wine, this bottom-shelf stuff will always be known as the wine people who don't like wine drink.


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## seth8530 (Aug 11, 2014)

Interesting post, but I would not be overly optimistic about boons farm drinkers ever graduating to real wine.

That being said, I guess crazier things have happend ( Cubs winning.The world series)


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## jojabri (Aug 12, 2014)

I'll admit, I drank my fair share of Boone's Farm back in the day AKA before I was legal to drink. Even now and again, If I'll pick one up if urge hits me for something light and fruity. I figure to each their own.

BTW, I do have a blue wine. Its made from blueberry candy canes.


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## Rocky (Aug 12, 2014)

Ah, yes, Boone's Farm, Thunderbird, MD 20/20, Annie Green Springs, some of the really great wines of my youth! They may have been overly sweet, they were cheap and low in alcohol, but enough alcohol to "overcome inhibitions." I suppose one could classify them as "ad hoc" wines, i.e. they were drunk for a special purpose. Those were the days. I can still remember some of the great vintages like Thunderbird March, April and May 1960 and Annie Green Springs December 5, 1959! 

The irony of drinking this stuff and "getting a six pack" back then was we had a cellar full of good homemade wine at home but few in my crowd liked it. "It is kinda sour (meaning dry)" was the usual comment.


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## JohnT (Aug 12, 2014)

Tom_S said:


> So that's one wine snobs' take on the purpose of Boone's Farm.


 

Wine snob? Tom, are you working my side of the street??????


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## GaDawg (Aug 12, 2014)

"What's the word...Thunderbird....What's the price....20 twice"

I remember when Thunderbird was $.40 a bottle?


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## Rocky (Aug 12, 2014)

GaDawg, either you go back a lot longer way than I do or the prices where you lived were really low. In Pittsburgh in the 1950's it was, "What's the word?...Thunderbird! What's the price? 50 twice minus 1 makes 99 cents a full quart! What's the reason? Grapes in season!"


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## Thig (Aug 12, 2014)

When I graduated from Boone's Farm to Yago Sangria I thought I had arrived.


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## GaDawg (Aug 12, 2014)

Rocky said:


> GaDawg, either you go back a lot longer way than I do or the prices where you lived were really low."



Rocky, it was in the 1960's USAF in the UK.


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## Rocky (Aug 12, 2014)

GaDawg said:


> Rocky, it was in the 1960's USAF in the UK.



Got it, the good old "Class VI" store. We had them in the Army in Germany and it really got me drinking good liquor. The most expensive bottle in the store was Hennessey Bras Arme at $3.75 a bottle. You could buy Canadian Club or Seagram's VO for $1.25 and I think Black Jack Daniels was something like $1.75. I could buy 5 bottles a month and my wife could too. Coming back to the States was a shock! I had to go to beer until I got a job!


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## Tom_S (Aug 12, 2014)




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## willie (Aug 12, 2014)

Holly Molly Strawberry Hill those were the days. Ripple was another we indulged in for a cheap hi. Drink it right along with our beer. 

Will


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## elfmdl (Aug 12, 2014)

Hey it's hard to beat $2.75 a bottle!


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## LoneStarLori (Aug 14, 2014)

Tom_S said:


>




Um, yep. I totally blame Strawberry Hill.


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## LoneStarLori (Aug 14, 2014)

Tom_S said:


>




Yep, I totally blame Strawberry Hill. 


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## corinth (Aug 15, 2014)

Ripple plus seven up= champipple
"Red Foxx"

Corinth


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## JohnT (Aug 15, 2014)

Boones farm was real popular with my friends when I was a teenager. It was cheap and sold very well to those that did not know any better (like most 18 year olds at the time). 

I tried to chase it down with a shot of Jack Daniels. Got very sick and never touched either again.


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## Geronimo (Aug 15, 2014)

Rocky said:


> I can still remember some of the great vintages like Thunderbird March, April and May 1960 and Annie Green Springs December 5, 1959!



OMG! You could be my Dad!


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## Geronimo (Aug 15, 2014)

We used to have a "wine" called TJ Swan. It had cool names like Easy Days, Mellow Nights... etc. It was probably Welches with 5% ABV.

Red Foxx had another one... Cream + ripple = Cripple!


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## codeman (Aug 15, 2014)

This Boone's farm sounds a lot like Arbor Mist, the first ingredients are HFCS and water.


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## Tom_S (Aug 15, 2014)

JohnT said:


> I tried to chase it down with a shot of Jack Daniels. Got very sick and never touched either again.



Next time chase the shot of Jack with the Boone's.


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 15, 2014)

Tom_S said:


> Next time chase the shot of Jack with the Boone's.



Beer before liquor, never sicker. Liquor before beer, in the clear.  I'd imagine you'd have similar results with Boone's.


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