Lose Your Corkscrew!

Wine in a box or wine with a screw must be synonymous with swill, right? After all, a huge part of the wine experience lies in its aesthetics, in the graceful edges of the bottle, in the royal presentation of the wine while dining, and in the pageantry of pulling out the cork, all of which can be intimidating of the uninitiated. This is the true romance of wine, right?

Well, the romance is still there, but the intimidation factor is diminishing. For every broke bachelor and a-glass-of-wine-a-day housewife, there is hope. Believe it or not, truly good wine is available in cardboard boxes and screw-top bottles.

Boxed wine should no longer bring memories of the giant container of White Zinfandel in your grandma's fridge; it's time to clear up the bad name boxed wines have garnered. The truth is that boxes actually make effective vessels because the triple-layer, plastic bag holding the wine is airtight. The bag contracts as the wine is dispensed, which keeps the remaining wine in perfect condition for a surprisingly long time. Most of today's box wines say they should last at least a month; the same wine in an open bottle wouldn't fare well for more than a few days.

Packaging good wines in boxes is not a novel concept. Australians have been selling quality vintage wine in boxes for 30 years — in fact, half of the wine sold in Australia comes in boxes. In Norway, boxed wine accounts for one-third of all wine sold, and boxed wine sales in Britain are growing twice as fast those for bottled wine.

Even California is jumping on the bandwagon. Black Box 2001 Chardonnay out of Napa Valley is stored in a three-liter box, retailing for about $20. This very wine competed successfully against bottled wines three or four times its price in a competition sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle — Black Box 2001 took home a silver medal. Banrock Station winery of Southeastern Australia has just released box versions of its Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay (each about $15) that are all now available in the United States. These are the same wines that were once found only in bottles.

The Southern Hemisphere's winemakers aren't only ahead of us with the boxes, they're also pulling the corks out of bottles. If you buy a bottle of wine from New Zealand, for example, chances are good it will be sealed with a screw top. New Zealand winemakers have gotten sick of losing bottles of good wine to bad corks.

In addition to saving the wine from poor corks, screw tops play a significant role in keeping a wine's acidity at its pre-bottled state. Acidity is fundamental in preserving wine — without it, most wines would have virtually no finish and would taste like those ultra-cheap, super-sweet box wines that gave good box wines a bad rep.

Boony Doon Vineyards of California is leading the screw-top revolution on the home front. In the past two years, it has been making the switch from corks to screw tops on most of its wines. Big House Red 2002 California, for example, is Boony Doon's best-selling red and, for about $10, connoisseurs will get a kitchen sink blend of Syrah, Barbara, and Zinfandel, just to name a few grapes in its pedigree.

Changing over to screw-top bottles worked for Big House Red because so many people were familiar with it when the bottle had a cork. Because it was such a crowd-pleaser prior to becoming a screw-top bottle, Bonny Doon's was able to win over consumers when it made the packaging switch. Boony Doon also bottles their French Syrah ($10) with a screw top.

If, all of a sudden, your favorite wine had a screw top, would you be quick to give it up? The screw top may not be a cosmetic or romantic advancement, but it is an important technological one. Besides, wouldn't you have rather good wine than one that simply sits in a pretty bottle? VS

Nathan Norfolk is the wine steward at Downer Wine and Spirits, 2638 N. Downer Ave.