Men's Vogue Reviews Boxed Wine

In August there was an entertaining little collection of boxed wine reviews in Men's Vogue. In The Art of Box Wine Lawrence Osborne commented on six bag-in-box wines in a collection of reviews that included a couple of juice boxes as well. It was an odd mix of brief and entertaining writing that alternated between damning with faint praise, and flaming with vivid and bizarre olifactory imagery of New York City radiators in winter, and California asphalt in summer.

Lawrence Osborne has pulled out the tap, torn off the foil and pressed the button on an array of box wines. His tasting notes accompany the images below.

Hardys 2005 riesling "This 2005 riesling ($18; hardys.com.au) from South Eastern Australia wasn't at all bad for a bad riesling—sweet, flaccid, and devoid of acid, but adequate served very cold with fish and chips."

Delicato 2004 merlot "This merlot ($18; delicato.com) suggested the British black-currant squash drink Ribena, with top notes of Hershey's Kisses: not enormously delicato, but sturdy enough fort sunny picnic on the beach in Big Sur."

Dtour 2004 chardonnay "New York chef's Daniel Bouloud's Dtour 2004 chardonnay ($37; dtourwine.com) is a basic, very apple-flavored table wine."

Dtour 2004 côtes du rhône "Dtour's flagship ... was, by far, the best of the whole group. Amazingly, it managed to stay fresh and structurally intact for three weeks."

Banrock station 2003 shiraz"Turning to the affable Down Under, I discovered that Banrock Station's 2003 shiraz ($18; banrockstation.com) had tones of blackberry jam, along with subtle notes of New York City radiators in the dead of winter."

Black box 2004 cabernet sauvignon "Out of Paso Robles, this 2004 cabernet ($18; blackboxwines.com) has hints of summer asphalt, warmed by the California sun."

the art and craft of box wine: Cellar: mensvogue.com

Well (sigh), I don't think I would let any of that frighten me away from tasting, as I like to make up my own mind, but it sounds like the cotes du rhone is a solid bet.

technorati tags: boxed+wine, box+wine

Tried Box Wine? Didn't Like It?

I saw something sad in a blog a few weeks ago.

I am ashamed to admit it, but this week, I purchased boxed wine. I keep hearing rumors that it's gotten better lately, and sometimes I just like to have one glass of wine, and not worry about what I'm going to do with a whole open bottle before it goes bad. So, I bought a Wine Block which was recommended by the store owner. It's such a great concept, but as I feared, not so great in actual drinking quality. I have now learned my lesson. Just say no to boxed wine.

The Almond Branch: September 2006

So, let's say you hadn't tried boxed wine since drinking Franzia when you were in college. Then you heard there's good wine in boxes now, tried a 3L or 1.5L box, and didn't like it. Here's what you should do:

1. DO NOT say "I have learned my lesson: Just say no to boxed wine!"
2. Set it aside for a day and get over it.
3. Decant some so it can breathe. Reds in boxes are as a rule types that are meant to be consumed young, and so they benefit even more from breathing than cellaring types. If you don't have a decanter with a broad base, then pour with 10-12" of fall, and swirl liberally.
4. Put it into the fridge. 20 minutes for reds (to about 55-65 degrees). 1-1/2 hours for whites (to about 40 degrees). For chard, take it back out for 20 minutes (to about 50-55 degrees).
5. Now try it again.
6. If you still don't like it, try another boxed wine. Wine is an individual taste, and you don't like every bottle you open either.

One more thing, don't store the box of white in the fridge. Too cold a temp can hide all the aromas and encourages formation of bitartrate crystals, which make the wine tase "simple and flat". On the other hand, maybe you can store the plonk in the fridge, it might taste simple and flat anyway. Just don't do it to the good stuff.

technorati tags: boxed+wine, box+wine

Boxed Wine Is No Gimmick

An article in the UK's Sunday Times says "Australia drowns in a lake of wine", and describes a glut of red grapes that is resulting in a crisis for small growers in particular.

In the year to August, Australian wine exports to Britain grew 3%. But the average price wine fetched fell 2% to £1.40 a litre. Worldwide, average prices dropped 8% and that has left many Australian producers drowning in a glut of red grapes. In recent weeks, the casualties among winemakers have increased and some experts fear the industry faces a shake-out in which hundreds of producers will go to the wall, with only the big players surviving. Scores of boutique wineries have already given up, rather than wither on the vine.

Australia drowns in a lake of wine - Sunday Times - Times Online

The article mentions the strategy of directing surplus into boxed products. While the article on the whole seems a sensible analysis, there is one statement that brands boxed wine a "gimmick".

Evans & Tate has pinned its future on sales of premium wines and brands from the Margaret River region in Western Australia. Other wineries hope for growth in the mass market and are trying to mop up the grape surplus with gimmicks such as boxed wine. Cheviot Bridge, a Melbourne company that reported a 94% slump in full-year net profit to A$362,000, has staked its future on boxed wine. “We will certainly get through the downturn because at least we made a profit and lots of other companies didn’t,” said Paul Batchelor, Cheviot’s chairman. But the company’s profits were still down 39%: “It’s a pretty tough world out there,” he added. Despite the company’s confidence that the “environmentally friendly” boxes will be a hit with drinkers, packaging is unlikely to solve the company’s problem. Cheviot’s liabilities exceed its assets. Batchelor has tried to sound confident. “We’re bouncing along the bottom,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to get worse.”

Well, I guess that's what happens when you get a British business reporter writing about Australian wine in the business section. Packaging strategies may or may not solve a given company's oversupply problem, but the box is hardly a "gimmick". At any rate, we may see a lot of this oversupply of red for some time to come.

The glut is deep, and unlikely to go away soon. According to The 2005 National Wine Grape Crush & Price Report, the grapes Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Sangiovese, and Chardonnay are 10%-25% in oversupply. Some 200,000 tonnes of wine grapes were left unsold nationally in the last financial year. That forced many wineries to “mothball” their vineyards. The vines were forced into a kind of seasonal hibernation: pruning and spraying ceased, and the plants were kept alive on the barest trickle of water. Gnarled branches, grapeless and apparently devoid of life, replaced the once healthy rows of vines. The sight is a devastating reminder of the vicissitudes of an industry that has become a victim of its own success. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact source of the problem. Some blame the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia’s Strategy 2025 launched in 1996. This laid out a 30-year plan to capture 6.5% of world wine production by value and create annual sales of A$4.5 billion.

Meanwhile, some vineyards are selling are selling at fire-sale prices.

British would-be winemakers could pick up a small Australian vineyard for about £150,000. Any takers?

technorati tags: boxed+wine, box+wine, Australian+wine

Beer in a Box - Buffy's Ales

A group of traditional ales from Buffy's Brewery, a micro-brewery in Norwich, England has for some time been available in bag-in-box packaging. I don't know how long, but I discovered the site about a year ago. They market the box to the home drinker.

Beer Boxes

Whilst Buffy's is available in numerous discerning pubs, the beers have always been available to the home drinker looking for a quality alternative to the mass brands of fizz available in cans or bottles. Buffy's quality ales can be bought in two different sized boxes and are easy to set up and serve. They also make the ideal gift! The beer is contained within a plastic liner complete with its own tap, and is then encased in a rigid cardboard box.

The smallest contains 10 litres, which is roughly 17 pints of drinkable beer, whilst the larger size holds 20 litres which is 34 pints. Being "real ale" the box must be allowed to stand in its serving position for approximately 24 hours, to allow the yeast sediment to drop to the bottom. This yeast though will carry on working gently away, to provide the beer with natural condition without the need for carbonation or preservatives. Once opened the beer will remain fresh and in prime drinking condition for up to 14 days. Storage temperature will play a big part in the life of the beer, so a cool unheated room is the best place in which to store the beer if it is to be kept for any length of time. Most of the beers in the Buffy's range can be supplied in each size and larger quantities can also be arranged. Enjoy!

Buffy's Beers

The box is not just for wine anymore! I have often wondered if bag-in-box would work for anything fizzy, but I understand a traditional ale has nothing like the amount of fizz and pressure of carbonated drinks.

technorati tags: traditional+ale, bag-in-box, boxed+beer, box+beer, boxed+ale, box+ale

Beer in a Box

In Britain traditional ale is now available in a box! In This Is Wiltshire, Charley Morgan reports that a Wiltshire micro-brewery has launched the new product, "Beer in a Box":

The Box Steam Brewery, which brews three different ales made with locally sourced barley and hops, has started to sell their ale in 10 and 20 litre boxes. "Beer in a Box" is the brainchild of 25-year-old Gordon King, who manages the brewery and prices start at £28. Mr King said: "We've done parties, hog roasts, family gatherings and all sorts so far - and we can deliver the boxes to people's houses so it makes it a lot easier. continued... "Unlike the barrels we deliver to pubs, we take the sediment out so it doesn't matter if it's moved about a bit, it will still be ok to drink straight away." The boxes are similar to the ones used for wine with a polypin bag inside them, making it easier to pour the beer out from the small tap at the base of the box. Each one is filled to order from the site of the brewery, in between Box and Colerne, which guarantees the freshness of the beer. And if 10 or 20 litres prove too much to drink, they also produce four-and-a-half pint carrykeg's too.

Beer On Tap From A Box (from This Is Wiltshire)

Actually, this is not the first time I have seen this. I will dig up some stuff I have on another traditional ale, and a hard cider, both in boxes (and both in Britain).

technorati tags: traditional+ale, bag-in-box, boxed+beer, box+beer, boxed+ale, box+ale

New Englanders First To Try FreeRange Boxed Wines

Two self-avowed "wine nuts" have put France in a box, and are delivering it to New England!

JuiceBox Wine Company Introduces the FreeRange(TM) Line of Premium Wines in Innovative 4BottleBox(TM) Packaging

Two self-avowed "wine nuts" have combined forces to bring exceptional wines to consumers at reasonable prices. Jonathan Barry and Tom Eddy's JuiceBox Wine Company has released seven different types of premium FreeRange wine, all 2005 vintage, in an innovative three-liter 4BottleBox(TM). They are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Red Bordeaux, White Bordeaux, Muscadet, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.

The 4Bottle Box, which holds the equivalent of four standard 750 ml bottles of wine, offers the following benefits:

• Freshness -- The wine stays fresh for up to six weeks after opening wince the wine is vacuum packed. No need to worry about wasting wine if you only want to drink a glass.
• Convenience -- There is no glass to break or cork to fumble with and it's much easier to carry since the box weighs 90% less than bottles.
• Value -- Putting more wine, and in this case better wine, into one package plus the lower cost of the packaging result in meaningful cost savings that are passed along to consumers.
• Environmentally friendly -- The lighter packaging costs less to transport and requires less fuel to recycle than glass does.

FreeRange is produced by JuiceBox Wine Company, whose mission is to bring outstanding wines from the world's best wine producing regions to the U.S. at reasonable prices in innovative, convenient packaging.

JuiceBox Wine Company :: 'Wine Nuts' Launch FreeRange(TM) Premium Wine Brand

The JuiceBox Wine Company is initially offering wines from regions of France, but next year may bring us wines from Australia, Chile, Italy, or California. I'm looking forward to seeing FreeRange come to the southeast US!

technorati tags: boxed+wine, box+wine

Recycle of Tetrapak Packaging

There has been a great deal of buzz in the Canadian press recently regarding the efforts of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to push Tetrapak wines. The LCBO has often cited environmental advantages, recycling in particular, stating that if you buy Tetra, "you're doing your part to help the environment".

Environmentalists disagree. The picture is complex. I realize that any box, whether bag-in-box or Tetra, is more efficient and economical to ship, warehouse, and shelve at the store. And all the component materials in Tetrapak are individually recyclable (paper, plastic, and aluminum). The problem seems to be in separating them out. From the Toronto Star:

The mass conversion by the LCBO from bottles to Tetra Pak wine is hitting high gear. The idea is that this is environmentally friendly. In fact, these complex cartons are the toughest thing in your Blue Box to recycle and one of the most expensive to process.

....

Tetra Paks have three main ingredients: paperboard, polyethylene plastic, aluminum foil. To break them down, you need a pulp mill, which soaks them in water, then shreds them. The plastic and aluminum is deposited as a sludge. Little of the paper actually gets recycled, but what does goes into such things as toilet paper. The used Tetras that are recycled make it to Michigan, where there are two plants to process them. But top environmentalists believe most Tetras are still winding up as garbage in Michigan landfill.

TheStar.com - LCBO thinking inside the box

Reporter Gordon Stimmell points out that, while bottles are much more easily recycled, they present their own problem. Different colored bottles deposited into recycling bins are too often broken and mixed, making them unsuitable for many uses. Bottle deposits would reduce this problem greatly, but the LCBO has "resisted fiercly" a bottle deposit program.

Clearly bag-in-box packaging doesn't present the same difficulties in separating materials.