Daniela Barbosa, journalist of IG Economia, July 25, 2010.

Imagine this scene: you go to a restaurant, ask the wine list and pick one. At the time of serving the drink, the waiter brings to the table a cardboard box, similar to those of long life milk, but with slightly higher capacity. You, for a moment, may even find that this is a joke, but learns that it’s not. The box in question, named bag-in-box, is not new, but in Brazil as a way of reducing costs, its adoption has grown in recent years.

The model was created by Scholle Packaging over 50 years ago. The package consists of a flexible polyester bag with nozzle and cap, which can be packaged in a cardboard box, wood or plastic. “The bag-in-box increases the lifetime of the product,” says Paula Ziolli, responsible for marketing from Scholle Brazil. “The wine, once opened, can be consumed within two months, because the bag prevents oxygen contact with the wine.” This prevents the oxidation of the beverage.

The lower cost is one of the attractions of alternative packaging. A copy can replace four to six bottles of glass, depending on size, and reduce by 30% in the final price of the drink. Versions of the bag-in-box three and five liters are most often used by producers of Brazilian wines. Scholle is a leading global provider of packaging. In Latin America, about 70% of wine casks use Scholle Packaging’s bags.

Of four wines, one is in Bag-in-Box

In Brazil, more than 75 wineries have adopted the system. According to estimates, over 25% of national wines are packaged in bag-in-box. The group Valduga, traditional wine city of Bento Gonçalves (RS), was the first to try the package. There are approximately five years, the company began the bottle part of its production of table wines and fine in bag-in-box. According Valduga Juarez, president of the group, about 20% of the wines produced by the winery are packed in bags.

Don Guerino of Alto Feliz (RS), also adopts the packaging. According Maicon Motter, commercial director of the company, 50% of red wines are bottled in bags. “This is a global trend and has no reason to not suit. The cost-benefit ratio is worthwhile for anyone who produces and consumes wine. It’s more economical, “says the executive.

The Dal Pizzol, Bento Gonçalves (RS), started to adopt the package just over a year. “There was good acceptance of the product and packaging is perfect, more hygienic and keeps the drink longer,” said Scott Dirceu, the winery’s winemaker. Practicality is another factor cited by him. “The box takes up less space than conventional bottles; it can be embedded in any space.”

Leadership

The Perini, Farroupilha (RS) is the largest producer of wines in bag-in-box of Brazil. The winery has estimated that this year, about 400 000 cartons of drink, three and five liters, will be offered for sale. To improve the production system, the winery recently purchased the first automatic bag filler from Brazil.

According to Franco Perini, director of the winery business, the investment to purchase a machine was R$ 650 000. With it, Perini plans to increase its national market share of wine by 30% this year.

In Brazil, the bag-in-box there is a little over five years, but in some countries the sale of wine in the box is already quite mature. Norway, Sweden and Australia cask over 50% of their wines in bags. In the U.S.A, 20% of the wines produced are packed in bag-in-box.

Brazil is currently the 16^th  wine producer in the world ranking. Last year, Rio Grande do Sul, the largest state producer of the beverage in the country, with 90% of the total, were produced more than 430 million liters of wines, grape juices and derivatives.

Original article: http://economia.ig.com.br/inovacao/produtor+vende+vinho+ensacado+para+reduzir+preco+final/n1237724361358.html

Winery Perini and Campo Largo Winery, both Brazilian wineries, chose to package their wine in bag-in-box and have seen great results.

Winery Perini

The Winery Perini aimed to launch, Jota Pe, a new wine label in an innovative package format. They believed bag-in-box was the right innovative package for their wine because of the convenience features and its ability to store open wines longer when compared glass bottles. Winery Perini partnered with Scholle Ltda because of Scholle’s ability to deliver high quality packaging materials. These companies, also, partnered to create point of purchase displays for grocery store aisles, coordinate consumer wine tastings, and purchase radio spots to publicize Jota Pe and the benefits bag-in-box wine.

Winery Perini experienced an increase in volume sales as a result of these promotional efforts. Because of Jota Pe’s success, Winery Perini anticipates converting several other wine labels of into bag-in-box. Currently these wines are sold in glass bottles.

Learn more about Jota Pe and Winery Perini:  www.vinicolaperini.com.br

Campo Largo Winery

Campo Largo Winery’s objective was to sell their wine in a package that offered more convenience and product quality to consumers than bottles provided. For direction, Campo Largo Winery conducted a market analysis to determine the best package to meet their target customers’ needs.  The analysis concluded that bag-in-box packaging satisfied their customers’ needs.

Campo Largo Winery worked with Scholle Ltda because of the high level of customer support and advanced film and tap technology offered by Scholle Ltda. These factors combine helped Campo Largo Winery provide their consumers with four and six liter bag-in-box products replacing glass carboys.

Campo Largo worked hard to educate their consumers about the advantages of bag-in-box. These advantages included:

• Keeping wine fresher, longer
• Practical for storing as it occupies less space
• Hygiene
• No breakage
• It ensures less wastage and disposable

Consumers’ and retailers’ awareness of bag-in-box wine and their benefits have increased as a result of these educational efforts. Additionally, Winery Campo Largo’s sales team experienced greater commitment from retailers resulting in increased sales.

Learn more about Winery Campo Largo and their wines: www.vinicolacampolargo.com.br

1. Less Expensive:

Every 3L boxed wine holds the equivalent of 4- 750 mL bottles making it affordable and economical.

2. Longer Life:

Boxed wine stays fresh up to 6 to 8 weeks after opening.

3. Green and Clean:

Bag-in-box is an environmentally considerate packaging format. Check out these websites to learn more:
www.aboutboxedwine.com/boxed-wine-is-good/for-the-environment

www.betterwinesbetterworld.com

4. Perfect for Parties:

Easy to transport, easy to store are qualities that make boxed wine the perfect wine to bring to parties, celebrations and picnics.

5. Cool Cooking:

Cooks no longer have to open a whole bottle for just one glass of wine. A specific amount of wine can be easily dispensed from the box and set back in the frig or on a counter.

6. Tastes Good, Too:

Wine Spectator reviewed 39 boxed wines in its October 15th issue. Many of these wines, 27 to be exact, were either rated good or very good.

See Wine Spectator article: http://www.winespectator.com/issue/show/date/2009-10-15

7. Best Bang For Your Buck:

Price compare-Some boxed wines are more affordable, per 750 mL bottle, than bottles of wine and are just as good.

Read the full article: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100412/LIFE05/4120305/Wine-7-reasons-to-drink-inside-the-box

Tell us some of the reasons you drink inside the box!

Cantina di Soave, which has been producing premium wines since 1898, incorporates 110 years of winemaking experience with cutting-edge viticultural techniques. “As the wine market continues to evolve, we recognized that the fastest growing category was missing its crown jewel—the world’s first Italian box wine,” said Enore Ceola, Managing Director of MW Imports, importer of Duca del Frassino (a Division of Mionetto USA, Inc.). “These wines represent our mission— to showcase premium Italian wine from the Venezie that over-delivers on quality, taste and appeals to today’s discerning wine consumer.”

Duca del Frassino Garganega/Pinot Grigio Tasting Notes

Duca del Frassino Garganega/Pinot Grigio, light straw in color, offers hints of white flowers on the nose followed by crisp, well-balanced flavors of stone fruits. This luscious, fruit-forward wine is a perfect aperitif, but also pairs well with seafood and light pastas. Garganega [gahr-gah-NEH-gah] is the dominant grape in Soave, the region’s signature white wine.

Learn More

www.cantinasoaveusa.com

Wine and Food Pairings

FIND MORE BOX WINE ON ABOUTBOXEDWINE.COM

“We are honored to partner with one of the world’s largest nonprofit conservation organizations dedicated to planting trees,” said John Garaventa, Senior Brand Manager for Bota Box. “We take great care to package our wines using environmentally friendly materials to protect the nation’s forests. In working with the Arbor Day Foundation, we now have the opportunity to rally consumer support for the vitally important cause of reforestation.”

Bota Box is already the green choice for wine enthusiasts. The packaging in printed on recycled paper containing 100% post-consumer fiber and the box itself is 100% recyclable. Soy-based inks and coatings are printed directly on non-bleached Kraft paper, which is bonded together with cornstarch instead of glue. The bag does not contain phthalate plasticizers or Bisphenol-A (BPA).

According to recent studies, bag-in-box wines, like Bota Box, have a smaller carbon footprint than traditional glass bottles. Bag-in-box wines create 85% less landfill waste than glass wine bottles. The transport of Bota Box reduces greenhouse gas emissions because the packaging is 35% lighter on average than glass as well as 44% smaller in size.

About Bota Box

Bota Box is crafted by DFV Wines, a family-owned winery with 85 years of experience in California winemaking and winegrowing. Bota Box, launched in 2003, produces premium California wine in 3-liter boxes made from 100% recyclable, unbleached, post-consumer fiber. Using state of the art FlexTap™ technology, Bota Box wines are kept fresh for up to six weeks after opening, allowing consumers to enjoy a glass of wine without worrying about waste or spoilage. Bota Box offers six popular California varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Shiraz and Old Vine Zinfandel. For more information about Bota Box, visit www.botabox.com or find Bota Box on Facebook at www.facebook.com/botabox.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of more than one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.arborday.org.

Check out the article: http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/the-argument-for-boxed-wine

***

The Wine Pocket is the solution to taking boxed wine anywhere, anytime while maintaining the temperature up to eight hours. We all know that keeping our wine at the right temperature is crucial to the taste. The Wine Pocket offers many benefits to wine drinkers:

• Convenient
• Lightweight
• Adjustable strap for carrying ease
• Extra pocket for essentials
• Soft sided for easy storage
• Non-sweating ice brick

It all began on a hot sunny summer day on the boat. I like white wine in the summer and to keep it chilled I had taken the bag out of the box and put it in the cooler. While cutting veggies, fruit and cheese the knife fell into the cooler and put a hole in the bag. Needless to say there was a lot of wine that went to waste that day. I knew there had to be a way to prevent that from happening again. My idea started that day and it has been quite an adventure seeing it go from paper to product.

The first design was for the five-liter box. I was fortunate to find a local manufacturer that was able to bring my dream to life. I made sure that I had everything covered for maximum convenience. I now have a smaller version for the three-liter box such as Black Box Wine, and have two colors: wine and navy.

Please visit our web site at thewinepocket.com to order your Wine Pocket today!

–Dianne

***

Do you have an interesting product for the boxed wine market? Send us an e-mail and tell us about it!

Cheers,

The ABW.com team

A recent article in The Modesto Bee recommends a few boxed wine labels. These labels included:

• Fish Eye’s red varietals
• Herding Cats Merlot-Pinotage
• Target’s Wine Cube Pinot Grigio

You can find other great boxed wine to serve with Thanksgiving dinner here.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Read the Modesto Bee’s full article: http://www.modbee.com/business/story/933308.html

Got some extra time? Watch Top Chef’s very own Fabio Viviani make an Itialian-inspired stuffing!

Check out this video for step-by-step directions.

Don’t know which boxed wine to serve? Check out our list of box wines!

Happy Halloween!!!

The article mentions the increasing growth and popularity of boxed wines amongst consumers. Some of the reasons they site for consumer’s change in attitudes towards boxed wines include; wineries putting better quality wine in bag-in-box, boxed wines’ value, and the ability to keep wine fresher longer.

Here is Wine Spectator’s list of top rated boxed wines and their accompanying scores:

Top 5 Boxed Red Wines

87 points Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 2006

87 points Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007

87 points Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz California 2007

85 points Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007

84 points Carlo Rossi Cabernet Sauvignon California Reserve NV

Top 5 Boxed White Wines

88 points Wine Cube Chardonnay California 2007

87 points Black Box Chardonnay Monterey County 2008

87 points Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc California 2007

86 points Bota Box Pinot Grigio California 2007

86 points Killer Juice Chardonnay California Angel Juice 2007

Visit Wine Spectator’s official page to see the complete list of review boxed wines: www.winespectator.com