• The New York Times, Thursday, October 13, 2011 11:26 AM

Black Box, a maker of wine that is sold in boxes instead of bottles, has hired Boston-based word-of-mouth firm BzzAgent to tout the brand. The agency used 2,000 volunteers (who aren't paid but get free and discounted products) to invite friends to blind tasting parties and serve the wine without first mentioning that it had come out of a box. They then solicited feedback from guests.

Now, for another campaign for Black Box, BzzAgent is enlisting 5,000 agents to host wine tastings over the next two months. Boxed brands of wines are going mainstream as they have gotten strong reviews versus bottled wine.

Sales of premium boxed wines like Black Box, those in three-liter sizes that tend to cost $20 or more, rose 19% in 2010 from 2009, according to Nielsen. Similarly, sales for Black Box rose 18.2% in the year ending Sept. 4 from the previous year, according to the SymphonyIRI Group. A major selling point for boxed wine is its shelf life, as bottled wine quickly goes bad after uncorking. Boxed wine comes in an airtight bag whose spigot prevents ingress of air.

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