Wine by the carton ?!

Back when I began my travels talking about and teaching wine, one of the questions I was asked most was about screwcaps.  At that stage wines sealed with a screwcap had just started appearing on our shelves.  The most notable early arrivals were from New Zealand with a selection from Australia and a smattering from France.  Now, I am asked about screwcaps less and less and even when I raise the issue and speak about it really seems to be of little concern to most wine drinkers.  This is great!  It’s terrific to see how many wine enthusiasts from novice to expert are open to change and new ideas from the wine industry.

I recently had a chance to look through a selection of new wine packaging methods and containers, one of these are pictured below.  

This is a range of white, red or rosé wine packed into a tetra-pak carton as opposed to a bottle or bag-in-box.  While this is something you may have seen before, (particularly if you’ve completed a backpacking holiday to Australia or such like and drank your fill of ‘brick wine’), the pack featured in the image here is only 250ml.  That is the equivalent of most large domestic wine glasses.  (Quarter bottles in Ireland are 187ml).  This baby brother of the ‘brick’ wines, i.e. the full one litre size tetra-pak cartons, at first glance can seem a little gimmicky.  I popped a few samples into the fridge and must admit I’m pleasantly impressed.  They fit comfortably and chill quickly.  Each pack comes with a straw attached and easily pierces the foil closure on the carton.  These cartons simply use the same design as any regular fruit juice carton you might already have chilling at home.  The benefits - one (large) single serving or one carton per person while on a picnic or at the beach.  The tetra-pak system being used is really great for preserving the quality of the wine, it is sturdy and completely airtight, no light or UV rays can penetrate into the liquid thus the juice inside is preserved unti you pop into it with the attached straw!  The packaging is also very environmentally friendly, being recyclable and crushable for waste disposal.  The part of the experience I was least looking forward to was the whole idea of sucking the wine through a straw.  The makers have thought of this too.  Instead of the typical open ended straw they have designed a straw which is sealed at the tip but has four different smaller holes which act like jets - directing the wine across different angles in your mouth.  This has been dubbed the “sensory straw”.

The wines I tasted were produced by Cordier in Bordeaux.  The white & rosé were crisp, refreshing and had a nice amount of fruit and citrus flavours, perfect for that elusive Irish summers day on the beach.  The red, well it’s still in the press - will update later.  Cordier wines are imported into Ireland by GWL in Cork and can be found in the Carry Out chain of off licences.  Although the small cartons have yet to arrive the full size bottles from this innovative producer should be on the shelves.

Tags: bordeaux, carton, packaging, screwcap