Franzia is a brand of wine produced by The Wine Group, known for its box wines sold in 3 and 5-liter cartons. Franzia wines are quite inexpensive, making it well known and popular among college students in the United States. Flavors include White Wine Chardonnay and Red Sangria. The Wine Group is the third largest wine company in the world, behind Constellation Brands and the DGP Wine Gallery. The Franzia brand today has no relationship with Fred Franzia of the Bronco Wine Company, also known for its low-cost Charles Shaw wines. The Franzia family sold the brand to Coca-Cola in 1973, and it was sold to The Wine Group in 1981.
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Teresa Franzia (May 30, 1879 – April 8, 1949), born Teresa Carrara, was the founder of the Franzia Wine Company. Franzia is known as the "wine in a box." Teresa started the company in 1906. Teresa's daughter Amelia Franzia Gallo was the wife of Wine Maker Ernest Gallo. Teresa loaned Ernest the money to start his company.
Franzia is known by many college age students for a popular drinking-game, simply referred to as "Slapping the Bag." The task is for a group to finish the "bag" of Franzia by slapping the bag, passing it to a friend, then repeating the process until the bag is empty.