Wine boxesThere is an interesting article in the New York Times which starts by saying that Italy is allowing its quality controlled wines (their equivalent of AOC) to be sold in boxes. It goes on to say that, for ecological reasons, the rest of the world should do the same and the only hindrance so far has been the general poor quality of the wines that are boxed. It is an interesting idea that itches slightly, but I can see the point. The only thing that I would dispute is the statement that “all but a relative handful of the top wines from around the world” don’t need to age. Most wines need to age but “how long?” will determine if a box is a practical container during that time.
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Hi Rick, I don’t know if the boxes you refer to are the same as the packaging, we in Australia, call a cask. The cask is a cardboard box, well illustrated, containing a multi-layered plastic liner equipped with a devilishly cunning tap able to withstand very high internal pressures.
The plonk therein is usually a medium quality Riesling or chardonnay, but almost every other type is available, which is quite palatable and very good for parties and pissups of all ilks, no one has ever been seriously injured by being hit with an empty cask and the empty bladders make excellent pillows on which to sleep off the effects of the contents.
The occasional tippler can expect to keep one in the frig for at least a month and taking the odd quaff or two will not notice any deterioration in the quality as the bag collapses rather than allow air to replace the removed wine.
Fred, also @
Yes – just the same. When they first appeared the wine was pretty awful but now some of them are quite drinkable. Good for parties and, as you say, for the occasional tippling. It is interesting how the wine trade is changing; screw caps, boxes and plastic corks are all now quite acceptable. I have also heard of tetra packs and plastic bottles which only used to be used in French supermarkets for the wino trade (in the UK it is 50p a can lager).