Think Outside the Wine Bottle

It’s Memorial Day. Summer is just around the corner and picnics, barbeques and a host of other outdoor activities are in full swing.

If your beverage of choice usually consists of some kind of six-pack in aluminum cans, I’d like you to consider taking along some wine as a change of pace at your next outing.

Unconventional packaging for wines is becoming increasingly popular and the functionality of non-bottled wines is undeniable. They travel easily, they serve large groups of people well and in many cases they retain the freshness of the wine better than a recorked bottle.

The big issue that remains is taste. Now, I won’t go so far as to say that these wines are going to win any major awards, but the quality – especially when compared to box wines of, say, a decade ago – has noticeably improved.

So put your wine snob attitude aside and give these wines a try. You might be in for a pleasant surprise.

Wine Block (about $10) – You may find it hard to believe that they’ve crammed two 750 milliliter bottles into this small, cube-shaped container. Available in chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon from California.

French Rabbit (about $11) – From Southern France (gasp!) comes an octagonal-shaped squeezable package with a screw top enclosure that holds one liter of wine. Current releases include chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

Black Box (about $24) – A whopping four 750-millileter bottles of Monterey County, California wine are contained in a vacuum sealed bag surrounded by a black box. The chardonnay makes for a good summer wine; it’s crisp and light with some nice green apple flavors.