Box wine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A box wine (also known as Goon, bag in a box, wine cask, ' cardboard bound/imprisoned wine' or 'lady in a boa'(t)') is a wine packaged in a bag usually made of aluminized PET film or other plastics, filled with wine and protected by a box, usually made of standard corrugated cardboard. The bag is sealed by a simple plastic tap, which is revealed by tearing away a small perforated panel on the box, and used to dispense the wine. The most common sizes are 1.5, 3, 4 and 5 litre.
The typical method of serving a box is to place it at the edge of a table or refrigerator shelf. A glass or cup is held in one hand and the other hand operates the tap or plug.
The wine cask was invented by Tom Angove of Angove's, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by the company on April 20, 1965.
The wine cask is now facing a new competitor with Tetra Pak introducing an environmentally friendly Prisma Pak, similar to that used for fruit juices. The Prisma Pak was introduced into Canada in 2006 with the launch of French Rabbit in one litre containers. There are a number of new launches of wine products in Prisma Pak in Canada prior to end 2006. It has just been launched into Australia as B-Pak through the Cheviot Bridge wine company under the Long Flat brand. The B-Paks reduce packaging waste by 90%, reduce fuel consumption and emissions at every stage of the packaging life cycle and can be recycled just like glass bottles.
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[edit] Advantages
While cask wine is often of a cheaper variety, the packaging method itself is arguably superior to other methods. The chief advantage to bag-in-a-box packaging for wine is that it prevents oxidation of the wine as it is dispensed. Whereas wine in a bottle is oxidized by the volume of air in the bottle which has displaced the wine already poured, wine in a bag is never touched by air and thus never subject to oxidation until it is put in a glass. Thus, bag in a box packaging is not inferior per se, but is simply preferred by producers of more economical wines such as Franzia because it is inexpensive.
Box wine is not subject to cork taint or spoilage due to not drinking them quickly enough after opening. A bag of wine, once removed from the box, will float on water. This property allows quick cooling of a white wine by immersing it in an ice bath. Other advantages of boxing wine include greater efficiency of storage and transportation of rectangular boxes, and elimination of the risk of breakage incurred by transporting wine in bottles.
Dispensers are available, typically moulded in plastic and incorporating a stand and drip tray. The bag or sack is removed from its cardboard box and placed inside the dispenser, thus hiding the origins (brand) of the wine.
Perhaps for the reasons above, higher quality wines are now being offered in boxes, often in smaller sizes (2 and 3 litre). These premium wines are, naturally, more expensive.
[edit] Disadvantages
The bag is gas-porous and as a result cask wine has a definite shelf life even when unopened. Most casks will have a best-before date stamped.
As a result, while now often of quite reasonable quality, like Beaujolais Nouveau it is not intended for cellaring and should be drunk within the prescribed period.
[edit] Alternative uses
Once the sack has been fully consumed, it can be inflated and used as a pillow or tied to a tree to scare away birds. Country Australians have been known to use discarded 'sacks' on statues to create a postmodern effect.
Bags (and boxes) can be re-filled by removing the tap, typically held on by ridge in the moulded plastic which can be stretched. Any remaining contents should be washed out. For long-term storage the container should be sterilised and the bag deflated to expel remaining air before the tap is refitted. This method is used by amateur winemakers.
Prior to the popularisation of hydration packs, used wine bags were commonly used by bushwalkers to carry water.
