In Defense of Franzia

I would like to step forward to defend Franzia boxed wine. For about 18 dollars you can get 5 liters of wine which amounts to 6.5 bottles at around 3 dollars a bottle (if my math is correct and it's possible that it is not because I'm on my way to being drunk).

I was re-watching Shameless season 2 the other night (if I'm perfectly honest, it's almost like watching it for the first time because I was under the influence when I initially saw it) and I noticed Fiona and Vi were daytime drinking and having FRANZIA out of plastic tumblers. My first thought was, hell yeah! I totally do this! My second thought: Okay, wait- You're trying to say people ONLY drink Franzia if they're poor and couldn't possibly afford anything else?

Franzia is a very decent alcoholic beverage to have while on a diet and as I said, it's dirt cheap.

From Franzia.com:

Wine - Per 5 ounce serving	Carbs (gm)*	Calories (gm)*	Sodium (gm)*	Sugar (gm)*	Fat (gm)*	Protein (gm)*
Red Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon	5	105	7	1	0	0
Merlot	5	105	7	1	0	0
Chianti	5	95	9	2	0	0
Burgundy(1)	5	100	9	2	0	0
Chillable Red(1)	10	105	8	7	0	0
Fruity Red Sangria(1)	11	110	5	8	0	0
Shiraz(1)	5	110	8	10	0	0
Blush Wines
White Zinfandel	5	105	11	5	0	0
White Merlot	5	110	10	4	0	0
Sunset Blush(1)	7	95	7	5	0	0
White Grenache	8	105	12	5	0	0
White Wines
Chardonnay	5	105	7	1	0	0
Chablis	5	100	8	2	0	0
Refreshing White(1)	6	90	8	3	0	0
Rhine	6	110	10	5	0	0
Crisp White(1)	8	105	8	5	0	0
(1) Table Wine with Natural Flavors *Sulfite maximum is 200 mg/L for all types © 2008 Franzia Winery, Ripon, CA

Clearly, some of the varieties have a shitload of sugar in them. Run far, far away from the Shiraz or the Fruity Red Sangria. 10 grams of sugar? Yikes.

However: The Cabernet Sauvignon, the Merlot, and the Chardonnay have only ONE gram of sugar per 5 oz. serving and just 5 carbs. The Chardonnay is also 13% alcohol by volume and the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are both 12.5%.

I used to be a beer girl, but that stuff might as well be liquid bread. A 12 oz. Red Stripe has 153 calories & 14 grams of carbs. Even the low calorie beers suck. Beck's light, for example, has just 64 calories and 3.9 g carbs, but it's also less than 3.0% alcohol. Which means you'd have to drink approximately fifty bajillion of them to get a buzz.

I really shouldn't be drinking on a diet, but since I'm going to, Franzia is a pretty decent option. Some of the boxes recommend that you chill it, but if you don't have time I definitely recommend just pouring it over ice because that's how classy bitches do it.

http://www.franzia.com/faq-nutrition.shtml
http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/red-stripe/jamaican-ale-beer
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32/22869