Wine Blogging Wednesday #31

Boxed wine (and all other forms of non-traditional packaging) is the theme of next month's Wine Blogging Wednesday. WBW #31 is being hosted by Roger at Box Wines blog.

I'm sure many wine bloggers are scratching their heads in puzzlement, wondering what sort of noxious plonk they will find inside the dreaded box. But I say "Woo-Hoooo!" This sounds like fun! Decisions, decisions....

Domestic or import? There are a number of very good domestic boxed wines, and Australia is of course very well represented. European imports are a little more difficult to find, as they are generally distributed by small importers, rather than the wine giants. I believe I'll make a serious effort to obtain some wines less readily available (in my neck of the woods anyway).

High end or economy? There is a great deal of perfectly slurpable boxed wine available for the equivalent of $4.00 to $8.00 per bottle. At the extremes, one can spend as much as over $21.75 (per bottle equivalent), or as little as $0.25 (per bottle equivalent). I think I'll view this WBW as a great excuse to splurge!

Bag-in-box or Tetrapak (or even cans!)? That's easy. I don't even care for beer in cans. I'm not a fan of Tetra. I do not like the Tetra "glug." I believe Tetra's recyclability is questionable. I prefer the way the bag-in-box excludes air over weeks of dispensing. And as a sailor and camper, I like to eliminate the cardboard box altogether and drop the bag into a specially made soft tote (the bag-sans-box is the goatskin of the future).

I'm sure I won't be able to stop at just one selection. That means enlisting the help of a number of friends. Wine shared is the best wine, and with a least six liters to try, that's a lot of sharing. I can't think of a better way to spend what could otherwise be the most dismal four weeks of winter! WBW #31 culminates on March 14.

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine, blogging, wednesday, bag-in-box

Unbreakable Space Saving Travel Wine Glass

The Jaunted travel blog has discovered this new travel wine glass, shown in a post entitled Travel Gear For Lushes.

We love boxed wine because we don't want to risk the hazards of glass on our boat, in our backpacks, on the beach, or at poolside. Now we can serve that boxed wine in a gracious manner; no need to settle for dixie cups!

I need to buy a set of these wine glasses for our sailboat! They're unbreakable Lexan, and the base unscrews for easy space saving storage

technorati tags: box, unbreakable, lexan, glass, travel, boxed, wine

American Wines with a Foreign Accent?

Bulgaria? Macedonia???? "American" wine can contain up to 25 percent foreign wine blended in. I knew that Australia was a big source for the bulk wines used in this blending, but I had no idea that Bulgaria and Macedonia were big bulk wine producers. In an article in today's Sacramento Bee, Michael Doyle writes that the California Association of Winegrape Growers wants to know just how non-American so-called "American" wines are. The group is pushing for a rule for all-American grapes.

In a new campaign, growers are starting to probe how often foreign grapes are folded into wines labeled as American. Currently, federal law permits foreign blends to account for up to 25 percent of an American- labeled wine.

Business - Wine group wants rule for all-American grapes - sacbee.com

This is a different kind of appellation trail.

An appellation defines where a wine comes from. It can be famous, like the Napa Valley. It can be obscure, like the Tracy Hills. It can be all-encompassing, like California.

It can also incite protracted conflict, as grape growers and winemakers alike maneuver for marketing advantage and commercial opportunity. Several years ago, for instance, California's wineries split over an ultimately unsuccessful proposal to create a 22,000-square-mile "California Coast" viticultural area.

Since 1942, state law has mandated that only wine made completely from California grapes can be labeled with a California appellation. Federal rules differ, permitting the blending from foreign sources even on wines called American.

The blending occurs most frequently on inexpensive box wines, where the American designation may be easily overlooked. The foreign blending wines themselves may come from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Australia -- anywhere the winemaking costs are lower than in the United States.

Business - Wine group wants rule for all-American grapes - sacbee.com

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine

Boxed Wine $1 Off in Schenectady

Any readers in Schenectady, NY, here's a link to a coupon for $1.00 off boxed wine at Guidarelli's Discount Wines & Liquors. It's for 3, 4, or 5 liter box, limit of 3, good through end of January. DON'T try to print this image, it's not the valid coupon. Click on the image below to go to the site, and click on the print button there.

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine, discount, coupon

The Bag inside the Box Is Improving

Bag-in-box packaging has long been recognized to have limitations in the oxygen-barrier department. Oxygen is wine's enemy, and the imperfect oxygen barrier offered by the BiB package places serious limitations on the shelf life of a box of wine. I have seen estimates of 12 to 18 months, and I've heard that boxed wine should probably be consumed within 6 months of purchase.

Wine consumers, and the wine industry have been looking forward to promised improvements in the technology. Perhaps now some improvement is on the horizon. This press release from Rapak promises better oxygen barriers in bags and taps, and an innovative fill head which minimizes oxygenation on filling.

Another interesting point in this press release: boxed wine sales in France increased fivefold (by volume) in five years, reaching 854,000 hl by 2004.

January 23, 2007 01:00 PM Eastern Time
Thanks to Rapak – Fine Wines From France Are in the Bag
Unified Wine & Grape Symposium 2007

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bag-in-box packaging has come a long way since it first emerged as a “party pack.” Now connoisseurs can enjoy high quality French and Californian bag-in-box wines by the glass at home, thanks to companies like Rapak, one of the world’s leading suppliers of complete bag-in-box systems.

Rapak has won over leading producers in Europe such as Prodis (Carrefour Group), Chais Beaucairois (Marie-Brizard Group) and Vignerons Ardechois. These makers of fine wines are now turning to the bag-in-box format to drive market share, overcoming a traditional market reluctance to use this type of packaging. The strategy has been successful with sales of bag-in-box wines in France increasing fivefold over a five year period (from 170,000 hl in 98/99 to 854,000 hl in 03/04).

The switch of quality wines from bottle to bags in Europe comes as the result of major advances in filling and packaging technology with Rapak leading the research-based advances. Rapak is now offering this proven technology for packing quality wines in Bag in Box in the USA.

The key factor is the ability to reduce the amount of oxygen in the finished pack to minimal levels. Traditionally it has been necessary to add sulphur dioxide to ‘soak up’ oxygen, and since this can adversely affect the flavour of more sensitive quality wines it limits the range of wines able to be packed into bags. Now Rapak has introduced new technologies including:

* Enhanced oxygen barriers on the films which line the bags
* A high oxygen barrier dispense tap with simple button operation and a lift and peel security seal
* A patented Nitrogen shrouded fill head which minimizes Dissolved oxygen pickup during the filling process

The combination of these technological developments is shelf-life extension. Oxygen ingress is the major factor dictating the long-term quality of the wine, therefore reduced oxygen during filling and storage can significantly extend shelf life.

The combination of the technological advances in packaging and filling and the ready acceptance by consumers and retailers of this packaging format means bag-in-box wine is set to become an even more familiar sight on the supermarket shelf.

Thanks to Rapak -- Fine Wines From France Are in the Bag

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine, bag-in-box, Rapak

99-cent Box Wine Sucks

Well, whad'ya expect for 99 cents. Yes, that's 99 cents for THREE LITERS. We're not even talking Two Buck Chuck here. And what's more, it's imported (yes, part of that 99 cents is the price someone paid to ship this from Italy).

The wine was Terra Cotta 2001 Merlot, product of Italy.

So now I know where merlot-gone-really-bad ends it's life: at the DOLLAR STORE. I haven't been able to find this item mentioned anywhere else on the web, but Grapedonk at the WineAss vlog actually tasted it. You can skip actually watching the video, and just know that Grapedonk's verdict was:

“Rotten mineral-spirits paint-brush-smelling prune juice thing—if you see this, run!”

Wineass - Wine Reviews, Without the Bull » Episode 78: ‘01 Terra Cotta Merlot

Anyone sensitive about off-color language and metaphor is advised to skip the vid, but if you want to really experience Grapedonk's suffering go ahead and watch.

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine, merlot

Celebrities Treated to Boxed Wines at Golden Globes

This year's Golden Globe grab bag of gifts included boxed wine. Celebrities visiting the Golden Globe Gift Suite were treated to Black Box Wines in the Gift Bag Suite.

As the average Celebrity spends two hours in GBK's suite they might get hungry so Vidalia Grills will be serving up lunch on their Amazing grills which celebrities will than have the opportunity to use in their own homes. VIP Bartenders will be pouring Black Box Wines, Peet's Coffee, Pinky Vodka, and of course a majority of them will just be drinking Contrex Natural Mineral Water, a Perrier or Who's Your Daddy Energy Drink. O'Coco's Organic Chocolate Crisps & Bodega Chocolate will be serving up a few things to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Celebrities & Non Profits Will be Receiving their Christmas Gifts a Couple Weeks Late This Holiday Season

technorati tags: box, boxed, wine