Wine Lovers Think Inside The Box

Cork-sniffers be warned: The box is back and bigger than ever before.

Wine industry officials say boxed wines are making a comeback, currently accounting for up to 20 percent of wine sales by volume.

Wine in a box is usually really wine in a bag -- and the bag is in a box. The wine is inside a plastic bladder with an attached tap that lets the wine out but doesn't let in air -- wine's nemesis -- because oxygen causes wine to go south.

The boxing trend comes at a time when wine industry officials, facing a world oversupply, have been looking for ways to make wine more accessible and convenient to consumers. Wine in a box will last more than a month after opening compared to mere days for a bottle, which is a plus for people who like to drink just the occasional glass.

Box wine started gaining in popularity in the 1980s, and really caught on in Australia. But until recently, box wines maintained a lower status than corked bottles of wine.

Now, a new crop of vintners is going for the box. Wines that have won good ratings and medals in competitions are being released in boxes. These new pro-box people also are giving the box a new name, calling wine served from a cardboard cube "cask wine" instead of "box wine."

Delicato Family Vineyards, which has won numerous accolades, is among those thinking inside the box. Delicato is putting many of its award-winning wines in boxes, including its shiraz, which was rated 90 points (out of 100) by Wine Enthusiast.

For retail outlets, boxes are a boon as well. Boxes stack up well to bottles since they're easier to carry, cheaper to produce, recyclable and more compact.

Despite its benefits, some people still turn their noses up at box wine.

For instance, the vision of a waiter tapping a box of wine tableside sort of dims the romance. And a new twist on the old prose just doesn't cut it, either: "A loaf of bread, a box of wine and thou."

Yes, I wouldn't throw out the corkscrew just yet ...