Why boxed wine is here to stay | vintage
SRoll the bag? the The wheel of the criminal? Or maybe idiot luck? If any of these combinations of words mean anything to you (keep the double meaning to yourself, please), you may have vague but painful memories of the wine in the box. The cheapness and style – not to mention the sheer size you can buy them in – makes the bag in a box ready for drinking games.
These fond (?) memories might lead one to assume that all boxed wines are of lower quality, something designed for quick and inexpensive intoxication, rather than great tasting enjoyment. But interest in pouches is on the rise, and the UK market is expected to rise high to More than £300 million by 2030 – almost double what it was in 2021.
Why the high interest? My best guess is that people are drinking less, and once opened, your bag in the box will stay fresh for about six full weeks. Many of us are (or have recently become) the type of wine drinkers who indulge in one glass of wine every now and then after work, but never drink enough in the week to finish a full bottle, so the rest is often served up as a little bonus for the sink.
The wines you’re likely to find in the bags are what you’d expect: bright, fresh, relatively simple things designed to be drunk in a matter of weeks, not years. Although boxed wine will last longer once opened than bottled wine, the plastic used in production is permeabilityWhich means that the wine will gradually spoil due to its contact with oxygen, even if it remains unopened.
It’s smart purchasing decisions that determine which wines I put in my bags. My friend Freddie Bulmer is a buyer at Wine Associationa place with a full offering that impresses me with every new addition, so I asked him why he put so much inventory in this category. “One of the things we’re really interested in in the wine industry is the sustainability angle. Bags in a box can be a solution to a lot of industry concerns. For example, shipping through a huge 24,000 liter tank full of wine which can then be put into bags in the UK is much more sustainable than sending thousands of individual bottles around the world.”
Major retailers like the Wine Society and our major supermarkets have embraced this format to meet the needs of the modern drinker, but there are some brands that are founded on selling bagged only, which is an expression of confidence in the future of the category. One of these works is Bobo winewhich sells beautifully designed hand-lettered boxes (I’m a bit of a packaging design geek) that look as if they were plucked straight from the cellar by Bobo’s buyer, bartender, writer, and educator Amber Gardner. Friends, orange wine in the bag is now official. Whatever’s next?
For bagged wines that are worth your time
Burgundy white for the association 2024 £34 (2¼ litres) Wine Society12.5%. Great for easy entertaining, and everything you want from a simple burgundy white: bright and full of apples.
La Vieille Ferme rose £15.75 (1½ litres) Morrisons, 12.5%. The Internet’s favorite wine now comes in a box. Delightful rose from Famille Perrin.
Famille Fabre Corbière Orange 2024 £49 (2¼ litres) Bobo Wine13%. Aromatic, salty, orange… and three bottles of the stuff.
Waitrose Pinot Noir Roman Chart £14 (1½ litres) Waitrose, 12.5%. Two bottles of fresh, fruity Pinot Noir from a lower-rated winemaking country.