GUD BLOG: SINGLE POST
Table Wine that Travels, Tastes Good, and Reduces Environmental Impact.
Thanks to Franzia and their line of three and five liter boxes of adult juice drink (some of which appear not to be wine at all), wine packaged in anything but glass has a reputation for poor quality. But perceptions are slowly and surely changing. Brands like Jenny & Francois’s From the Tank and J. Soif’s Yellow + Blue, among others, are proving that alternative packaging doesn’t have to be filled with plonk wine.
When I needed a full liter of inexpensive wine to fill my Spanish wine skin for Marche du Nain Rouge this past spring, I snagged a container of Y + B malbec. Produced with organically grown, hand-harvested Argentinean grapes and fermented in steel tanks with indigenous yeast, it’s a quality, poundable wine with ample fresh dark fruit flavors balanced by light tannins and a fine acidity – a good value at $10. Though the carnival atmosphere down Cass Ave. and into Cass Park certainly helped, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I genuinely enjoyed this boxed wine. And the bota bag was quite handy when it came time to share with a friend limited in motion by the dozens of stuffed animals sewn onto his clothing.
The Spanish rosé is a juicy mix of organic Monastrell and Syrah grapes with a long mineral finish. This particular blend established itself this summer as a preferred camping wine. Not only does the rectangular box fit well into a cooler, the screw top makes it easier to handle out-of-doors. I’ve also found that it heightens your senses as the sun goes orange behind the pines, the campfire crackles, and the Barred Owls begin their poignant cries from deep inside the dusky wood.
Though I’ve had less experience with the two whites, I can say that the fruity and floral Argentinean Torrontes drank quite easily passed around while lounging in a swimming hole in the Huron River. Kayakers passing by were none the wiser for our daytime drinking adventures.
Y + B packaging isn’t only about the convenience. By using lightweight TetraPak containers traditionally associated with juice boxes, and shipping the wine to North America to be packaged, the importer is able to cut both the cost and carbon footprint roughly in half (yellow plus blue equals green, right). In this modern era, every little bit helps.
While drinking Y + B likely isn’t going to change your life, they are affordable and quality table wines suitable for both field and dining room consumption. All four varieties are available at Western Market in Ferndale.
2011.10.26 Todd Abrams at 11:50 am
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