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THINGS
out of the ordinary are viewed with suspicion. Distrust.
Fear. Even in the wine world. Screw caps on wine
bottles were met (it still is) with raised eyebrows.
Wine in a carton box is regarded with disdain. Don’t
turn up your nose yet. Here’s the lowdown.
Bag-in-box wine, or BiB as it is called, is nothing new
in Australia, where it is a staple of everyday
drinking—more than 50 percent of all wines consumed are
in “cask,” as boxed wine is called here. About 25 years
ago, the Australian wine industry began using the
packaging for wines and it has been so well received,
Australia has since been credited—though erroneously—for
its creation. The bag-in-box system was developed almost
40 years ago by the Scholle Corp. of Northlake,
Illinois, initially for the disposal of sulfuric acid
battery electrolytes. Today Scholle is the leading
manufacturer, supplying most, if not all, of the branded
wine producers in the world—including those in
(surprise!) France. Boxed wines come in several formats,
ranging from the 1.5-liter to the 10-liter box. In
France, for example, where the sale of BiB almost
quadrupled from 1998 to 2004, the 3-liter box is tops.
In the US the 5-liter box accounts for an estimated 95
percent of the market. This growing demand for BiBs has
to do with the technology that keeps the wine fresh.
Inside
the box is a bag made of several layers of clear plastic
film, to which a spigot is attached. Every time wine is
drawn from the bag, it collapses unto itself so that the
void that the wine leaves cannot fill up with air. This
prevents oxidation, the wine’s getting in contact with
air, so that the wine remains fresh, even up to three
months after opening. (Oxygen is the enemy of wine,
remember?) Consider that against wine in the bottle,
which begins to deteriorate once the bottle is opened.
With BiBs, therefore, there is no pressure to finish the
wine immediately, affording glass-by-glass pleasure over
the course of several weeks—a boon for caterers,
restaurants and bars with wine-by-the glass offerings
and for those who want their daily glass of wine, but
can’t quite finish a bottle in one sitting. And think of
how easy it is to stick that box inside the fridge. Or
to bring it from the fridge to the beach. Or to open it
without using a corkscrew. That cardboard and plastic
are cheaper than glass and the ease with which BiBs can
be transported without the risk of breakage also
translate into cheaper prices for the consumer. Add to
that the quantity factor, as a 4-liter box, for example,
is equivalent to almost five regular bottles of wine.
Therein lies the rub—its low price also makes it
suspect. How good is the wine inside that box?
It is
true BiBs are not contenders for medals or Parker
points. But that is just the point. Wines in the box are
not expected to. What they offer instead is simplicity,
made as they are from surplus grapes from
undistinguished vineyards and often without the benefit
of a vintage date. Crisp and fresh or light and fruity
with soft tannins, these are generally pleasant,
easy-to-drink wines. The best examples can be pretty
good—and the bad (there is a lot out there) are those
with less than generous aromas, are diluted or
unbalanced—or a combination of all three. There is a
move, though, for better quality, given that most
consumers already know the good stuff and that producers
want to improve the image of boxed wines. In the US
since 2001, producers had to conform to minimum varietal
labeling standards so that information about the grape
varieties is mentioned on the label. In France, where
the choices can range from a Cabernet d’Anjou rosé to a
Côtes du Rhone rouge, some BiBs carry vintage dates. And
to reinforce the idea that what is in the box is as good
as what is in the bottle, producers are also
incorporating bottle photos in the packaging.
(Constellation, the huge wine conglomerate, has used the
idea with great success with one of its best-selling
brands, Hardys Stamp.)
Although
the box-in-bag system can keep wine fresh for a longer
time, the bag is highly permeable to oxygen, resulting
in compromised quality and shorter shelf life. (To
address this, manufacturers are developing stronger,
more oxygen-resistant bags.) And as efforts to improve
the quality of both the box and its contents are
continuing, the bag-in-box system may well be the
packaging of the future. But then again, can you really
see Château Latour in a box? We may well have been
weaned from the cork to the screw cap, but the journey
from bottle to box may take a bit longer.
Vinofile
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Lindemans Cellar Choice Crisp Dry White (4-liter box),
P712
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Lindemans Cellar Choice Soft Dry Red (4-liter box), P821
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Available at Forth and Tay: 671-8643, orders@forthtay.com |
