Why Everyone's Making the Switch to Bag in Box

Boxed Wine is here to stay, even in France where the Bag in Box competition took place in March.

No one thought that buying wine in a box would be so successful. Wine snobs fretted when they were first introduced refusing to believe you can buy decent wine in a box. Thankfully, they’re finally getting over their shame. Bag in box (BIB) is so successful in France that they even have a yearly competition, great incentive for national and international winemakers.

 Bag in Box competition has done even better this year.

Held for the third consecutive year in Toulouse, south-west France even more boxes were on display this year – 384 samples entered this year representing 16% more than last year.  Good to see too is the foreign participation: entries this year came from South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, and the US.

Judged for Quality, not for the boxes in France's Bag in Box Competition 

Winemakers get rewarded for the quality of their wine. No silver or bronze medals but a 'Best Wine in Box award' which will give them added value when the wines go on sale in supermarkets and other retail outlets. At this year’s competition, 123 judges tasted, discussed and gave 113 awards.

 More and more popular

Thankfully the stigma of buying and offering boxes of wine is on the way out. You should no longer be looking at boxed wines as being subpar. The quality of wine sold in boxes these days are much more superior to that of 6 years ago.

Here’s why you should be buying your wine in a Box:

There’s no pressure to finish off the bottle

Once open, you can easily store your box in the fridge. Here in Provence, nothing beats a chilled Rosé on a hot day. Thanks to the airtight seal there’s little oxidation so my red and rosé wine can last a couple of weeks.

More value for money

Buying bottles of wine is more expensive than buying boxes. As a consumer, I appreciate this difference in price.

The environment

Bottles carry a bigger carbon footprint than boxes.

If you care about the environment and shrinking your carbon footprint, you will look more carefully at eco- friendly measures you can adapt on a daily basis.  Think of the packaging involved in buying 6 or 12 bottles of wine – all those bottles, all the material to separate the bottles.

The technology behind bag in box has vastly improved over the years. If like me you enjoy a glass or red with dinner, your boxed wine will last much longer sitting in its lovely box in the fridge.

Judging with full concentration  at Wine in Box competition