What are the benefits of secretly popular box wine?

Do you think the boxed wine that comes in a box is ``cheap and doesn't seem to taste good''?

Actually, that's not the case! Modern boxed wines are not only better in quality, but they also have many benefits.

This time, we will take a closer look at the charm of boxed wine.

What is box wine?

Boxed wine is a packaged wine that consists of a corrugated bag inside a cardboard box, with the wine inside. It is also called "boxed wine" because the wine is packaged in a box, and "bag-in-box" because there is a bag inside the box. will appear.

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Box wine was born in Australia in 1965. At that time, the bags did not have stoppers for pouring, and consumers had to cut the bags open to pour wine, making it difficult to maintain the quality of the wine. However, now the stopper and bag have been improved and have evolved into something more convenient and practical.

Wine capacity ranges from 1.5 liters to 20 liters, with 3 liters being the norm in Japan.

A 3 liter box of wine is equivalent to four 750 ml wine bottles.

box wine quality

Boxed wine used to have the impression that it was cheap or bad, due to its cardboard appearance and cheap pricing. However, to eliminate that stigma, wine producers have begun adopting bag-in-box for quality wines. Thanks to this, boxed wine can now be enjoyed with everyday meals, and has become comparable to, or even more logical than, bottled wine.

In France and Italy, which are major wine countries, back-in-box wines can now use the designation of origin AOP (France) and DOC (Italy) under the Wine Law, and the quality of boxed wine is steadily improving.

Benefits of boxed wine

Advantages of boxed wine 1 ～Low price～

The advantage of boxed wine is that it is affordable.

The biggest reason for our low prices is packaging and transportation costs.

The process of bottling wine is extensive: washing, drying, injecting the bottles with nitrogen, filling them with wine, corking them, attaching capsules, and labeling them. By eliminating these steps and using back-in-box packaging, which is much simpler, costs can be reduced.

Additionally, glass bottles are heavy and bulky, so transportation costs are high. Because the bottles can break, they are packed very carefully, which adds to shipping costs.

Boxed wine packaging consists of just cardboard, a bag, and a stopper, so it's light, not bulky, and won't break. Therefore, transportation costs can be significantly reduced.

For everyday drinking, you can expect better quality wine from boxed wine than from cheap bottled wine.

Boxed wine is highly valued in French and Italian households. Boxed wine is a strong ally for families, as the wine consumed by the family every day is a burden on the household budget. Statistics show that approximately 25% of households in France drink boxed wine (Statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, French Regional Administration).

Advantages of boxed wine 2 ～You can drink as much as you like～

According to INRA (French National Institute of Agricultural Research), boxed wine remains good for about 4 to 5 weeks after opening. In addition, if the bottle is not opened, it can be stored for approximately one year.

Bottled wine begins to oxidize once the bottle is opened, so daily wine must be consumed within 2 to 3 days. On the other hand, with boxed wine, the bag containing the wine is kept in a vacuum state, so the wine hardly oxidizes even after opening.

It stays delicious for a long time, so you can drink just one glass. Perfect for when you want to drink wine, but opening a bottle is too much. Even if you suddenly have guests over, you can ask them, ``Would you like a glass of wine?'' and serve them just one glass without having to open the bottle.

It is also useful when you have a party with a large number of people. You can pour only the amount you need to consume, so there is no need to worry about having leftover wine in the bottle.

The advantage of boxed wine is that you can adjust the amount depending on the number of people and the amount you drink, and you can always enjoy it in a delicious state.

Advantages of boxed wine 3 ～Eco～

We mentioned earlier that boxed wine can reduce shipping costs. In other words, it can be said that it is eco-friendly, as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during transportation is small.

Also, it is less bulky and can be disposed of after drinking, compared to bottles. Cardboard and bags are recyclable.

Nowadays, sustainability is attracting attention, and boxed wine has the advantage of being eco-friendly in keeping with the times.

Boxed wine is also widely used for commercial use. Many restaurants use boxed wine for their house wine. Turning house wine, which is consumed in large quantities, into boxed wine is environmentally friendly.

Benefits of boxed wine 4 ～Practical～

The quality of the bags inside the boxes has improved, allowing you to store your wine in better conditions. The material blocks outside air and is resistant to sudden changes in temperature and light.

And the cardboard box protects it from impacts and knives. The boxes have handles, making them easy to carry and stackable. This package is practical and very convenient.

It also saves space at home. The 3 liter size makes it easy to store and can be placed directly in the refrigerator. No more cluttering up your fridge with multiple bottles. If you keep it in the refrigerator, you won't have to worry about forgetting to refrigerate it!

Most popular package

With all these benefits, there is no reason not to use boxed wine.

In France and Italy, boxed wine consumption has increased dramatically over the past decade. Even though overall wine consumption is decreasing, boxed wine consumption is increasing.

Many sommeliers in Italy say bag-in-box is the perfect packaging for fresh wine.

The consumption of boxed wine is gaining attention at home, but it has become especially essential in the food and beverage industry. In French chain restaurants, 60-75% of wine consumption is boxed wine (Statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, French Regional Administration). In restaurants, it is served as house wine in glasses and carafes because it allows you to benefit from all the benefits of price, control of quantity, eco-friendliness and practicality.

Back-in-boxes have expanded beyond wine to include spirits such as rum and vodka, as well as vimbres. For fruit juices, bags that stand vertically without a box have already been created.

To compensate for the disadvantage that cardboard boxes look cheap, barrel-shaped wooden boxes have also been introduced.

Bio (organically grown) wines, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, are also suitable for bag-in-box packaging. Even perishable wines without antioxidants can be stored in a fresh state.

Sparkling wine is still under development. In Germany, some sparkling box wines are already being produced. However, because it contains carbon dioxide, the bag may burst if the temperature gets too high. It is unknown whether sparkling boxed wine will become popular in the future, but still wine is already attracting a lot of attention, and there is no doubt that it will receive even more attention in the future.