The box of wine has long been the cellar dweller of the wine category. When it comes to the perfect container to hold your vino, the box of wine isn’t what you think of, it’s basically a cardboard box with a plastic bag inside to hold the wine, and a spigot to dispense the wine. Why does this package get such a bad rap? The wine drinking experience starts with the sense of anticipation that goes with opening it. The uncorking of a bottle is like a ceremony; it's like the difference between going to a restaurant and eating a frozen dinner.
Although some sommeliers may turn their nose up at wine not from a bottle, but boxes are perfect for wines that don’t need to age. Boxed wine has many advantages to the glass bottle: first, it’s hard to break, second, it’s easy to open, and most importantly, it stores wine better than any other container. As the wine is dispensed, the bag shrinks, so no fresh air is exposed to the wine. Oxygenation negatively effects wine; wines can go flat and then begin to turn into vinegar, consumers can enjoy a box wine for over a month after opening.
Aesthetically speaking, designing small labels to woo shoppers to grab their bottle off the shelf can be dwarfed by how much can be communicated on the packaging of a box wine. As the market grows and premium brands enter, boxes will naturally be designed to be unique and reflect each brand.
Glass bottles are also having a negative impact on the environmental. Since 90% of wine is produced in America is on the West Coast, greenhouse gas pollution from shipping creates a huge carbon footprint. Pound for pound the wine in a box produces half the emissions during transportation, the equivalent of taking 400,000 cars off the road. And believe it or not there is a shortage of sand for making bottles in France, so they are having to import glass.
Wine in a box makes sense environmentally and economically. For the winemakers the most important thing is to sell the product. Boxed wine has grown 40% yet makes up lees than 1% of total sales in the wine category. Just imagine what a box of Opus One would go for and how it would change the perception about wine in a box. If the customer is happy to buy the wine in a box, then so be it. Boxed wine may be short on class, but it is long on practicality. And you don’t have to remember where you left the corkscrew!
2 comments:
You've convinced me... I'm going to try a box of wine this holiday season.
Coke also used to be sold in a bottle back in the day - and they've found a way to market the same experience in a plastic 2 liter bottle and an aluminum can... so wine makers should be able to find a way to be less dependant on the bottle to sell their experience as well, right? A box seems like a step in the right direction from what you're saying.
Although I do have to say, if you go to a fine restaruant and your waiter put a box on the side of your table and pulled the tab to fill your glass it might not feel quite as premium.
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