Now serving wine from a bottle, can or box

Wine lovers are going to see a wider range of options on liquor store shelves in the coming months.

New listings of wines in cans and bag-in-boxes will be standing shoulder to shoulder with conventional glass bottles.

Producers, retailers and consumers who are increasingly looking towards eco-friendly containers are fuelling the move.

Considering its perishable nature, wine demands one major thing from its package: protection from oxygen. Glass bottles reign supreme because they’re inert and don’t change the taste of the liquid within. However, beyond this simple matter of quality maintenance, the success of any packaging hinges on matters of practicality, sustainability and economic viability for producers, retailers and consumers. Producers and retailers also prize shipping efficiency and durability.

That’s where these alternatives come in.

The reign enjoyed by glass bottles might surprise you. Glass bottles were adopted in the 16th century to convey wine from barrel to table. In the 1700s, French winemakers bottled their best wines and sealed them with a cork for export. However, they didn’t become standard packaging until the 1900s as they went into mass production.

Bottles continue to be the best option from production, retailing and satisfaction considerations. But they’re far from perfect, which has allowed alternative options to gain market share and consumer acceptance. The main competitors are bag-in-box, cans and kegs, which offer more environmentally friendly packaging while still leaving the wine tasting as it should albeit for a shorted window of time that conventional glass bottles.

For that reason, fine wine pro- ducers won’t abandon bottles for their premium products any time soon. Likewise, collectors and traditional consumers aren’t likely to trade standard formats for any currently available alternatives.

However it’s also clear that wine consumption is increasing across Canada by attracting more social drinkers (opposed to traditionalists or wine snobs), creating greater appetite for alternate packaging formats.

Statistics from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario reveals wine purchases are consumed within hours of leaving the store, which means the need for the longterm stability offered by glass bottles is less of an imperative.

The wind certainly seems to be in the sails of boxed wines, as the Canadian market is seeing more premium products available — better quality reds and whites — in a format that’s already proven itself desirable for casual consumers and party planners alike.