NOW COULD BE THE TIME FOR BOXED WINE TO SHINE
Today we look at the category of large-format wines, which is wine sold in packaging larger than 750 ml, or the standard bottle size.
The theory is you get more for your money, at least at the lower end of the market, but like anything in life, you often get what you pay for.
Despite a renaissance of sorts in the global boxed-wine market, large-format choices are still relatively limited in B.C. It hasn’t helped that British Columbia VQA production regulations exclude boxed wine, which was once thought to be detrimental to the image of B.C. wine, which made sense way back when, however it seems hopelessly out of sync in the modern wine world.
Bag-in-the-box is useful in many situations, including at the cabin, while camping, and at the beach. This spring, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it has another compelling sales advantage — fewer trips to the liquor store.
After years of debate, the screw cap, glass stoppers and Tca-free corks have all found a home in the wine business because they drastically reduce the instances of cork taint. In short, they improve the final consumer experience. Boxed wine goes another step because as you consume the product the bag collapses, leaving no air in contact with the wine to oxidize it — considerably extending its shelf life to the last drop. It’s also economical to produce, ship, store and buy.
The challenge with buying boxed wine is the quality of what goes into the box. In a time of dramatic industry pivots, it would be interesting to see if the regulations will change in B.C., along with a much-improved selection of what goes into a box.
We would be interested to see what could be done with local white blends, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Merlot, Chardonnay and more in the three-litre format with a price commensurate with quality. In the meantime, you have choices.
The “locally” produced nonvqa product is given over to mass commercial blends of international and local juice known infamously as the International Canadian Blends (ICB) category. Price is usually the main focus of this category, and that leads to a lot of soft semi-sweet wines that taste a lot alike. If you are drinking and enjoying these wines, you know them better than me.
The international offerings have a bit more intrigue. Again the style is soft, but the wines tend to be slightly drier. Here are some recommended picks. Many are available in more than 125 B.C. Liquor Stores, priced from $31.99 to 39.99 per 3,000 ml; the equivalent 750-ml price is $7.99 to $9.99.
A rosé favourite is La Vieille Ferme Ventoux Rosé ($39.99). The Perrin family (Chateauneufdu-pape) does a fine job with this double pale rosé that offers ripe, red fruit flavours and finishes dry, making it food-friendly.
A little further south, Jean Claude Mas (Paul Mas wines) works his magic with a 3.0-L box of fun he calls Arrogant Frog Rosé ($34.99). Le luxe rural is his mantra — and that of the South of France — and this beautiful looking box brings a bit of that joie de vivre to your backyard patio. Perfect for a social distancing gathering of six. (Remember: More spaces, fewer faces.)
Frenchman Jean Bousquet has been making wine in Argentina’s famed Uco Valley since the 1990s. His plummy, black fruit Bousquet Organic Malbec ($38.99), from high altitude sub-appellation Tupungato Valley, is the perfect barbecue red to take on burgers, ribs, flank steak and the like.
The Hardys Stamp Series Riesling Gewürztraminer ($31.99) is a fun aromatic white with just enough freshness to counter its sweetness. That said, it is a useful white wine you can serve solo well chilled or with spicy Thai, Chinese or Indian favourites.
Trendy bag-in-the-box wines are becoming a huge market because they make a lot of sense. What makes no sense is saying no to protect some ancient image of quality wine.
The coming oversupply of grapes may be the final push needed to say yes to VQA wine in an environmentally friendly and fun package.