March 3, 2015Neal (The Wine Wankers)

10 Reasons a Wine Cask (Wine Box) is better than a Wine Bottle

wine wankers most influential wine blogs cask wine 2The wine cask (or wine box in the US) is in the process of undergoing a reboot in Australia, with a group of like-minded wine peeps banding together to extol the virtues of a hitherto cringe-worthy Australian icon (of sorts). While there is some contention around the invention of the wine cask, the accolades have finally rested with Tom Angove who invented it in the early 60’s. We can legitimately claim this as one of ours.

A confession is appropriate at this point as we have not drank wine from a cask for many years. I am not sure why this is the case. There are some underlying prejudices in people of a certain vintage in relation to wine casks as it was seen as cheap nasty swill, and a few decades ago it probably was. Time therefore to put those prejudices aside and objectively look at the wine cask for what it is, packaging. It’s the wine that counts.

Righto, 10 Reasons a Wine Cask is better than a Wine Bottle;

  1. You get more wine for your dollar, and more is better. Now this is not always the case however most examples we have seen suggests the bang for buck ratio is much better for a wine cask over wine bottles. There are now a lot of premium wines being put in a box that might surprise you.
  2. You can drink a glass a night over 6 weeks without worrying that the wine will oxidise and go bad. This is a biggy. The bag shrinks as the wine is extracted leaving no space for air to enter and cause problems.
  3. Once the said wine cask is empty you can inflate the bladder and use it as a pillow.
  4. If your significant other wants a glass of white and you want a glass of red, the wine cask is for you. You can safely open both casks without being concerned that you won’t finish the bottle (see point 2).
  5. It’s environmentally friendly. The casks are made from recycled material and leave a much smaller carbon footprint (half the size) than the equivalent bottle.
  6. No need for concern over aging your wine, this stuff is made to drink young. We can’t see there will be cellars full of cask wine anytime soon (happy to be proven wrong). Wine in casks are typically best enjoyed in the medium term, this is not a bad thing. Some of our most wonderful wine experiences have been with a new vintage vino.
  7. There are now magnum sized wine casks (1.5 litre), and we love a magnum (see Neal’s article here).
  8. Glass breaks, wine casks bounce. Ever dropped a bottle of wine, we have, not pretty.
  9. It’s an Australian invention. Be parochial people and embrace the inner bogan in all of us.
  10. The wine cask enables you to play Goon of Fortune on your Hills Hoist. What is Goon of Fortune you ask? (See here for Drew’s demonstration).

So get out there people and give this a go. There is a lot of promotion happening over the next month, apparently over 100 billboards nationally are going up, that’s a lot of dosh right there.

Enjoy!

Author – Neal (The Wine Wankers)

More info at http://www.askforcask.com.au

60 comments

  2. Well, there would have been a lot less wine lost during our Napa earthquake if it had been in boxes-ha! I had no idea it was an Australian invention- very interesting.

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  3. Oh my heavens, I had to click thru to learn about Goon of Fortune, and now more than ever I wish you guys were my neighbors. What fun we would have!
    I definitely agree on the upside of “box” wine, especially when my husband is traveling and I feel guilty about opening a “good” bottle that I can’t finish on my own. I have yet to try recycling the bladder into a pillow, though. I’ll take that one on faith.

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  6. Well. I have a new vocabulary word ‘bogan’, the previous one was wanker and the differentiation between the English slang ‘wanker’ and the Australian slang “wanker”.

    I am thinking of doing some blog posts entitled The Shrub Wanker – unless that is in poor taste? Sounds kind of bad..

    Send some of those Australian casks here – wine without corks is barely available and casks are an iffy buy.

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  7. Never had that problem, finishing a bottle. I used to buy and drink from those casks. in 1980’s, here in Canada. Don’t know whether the contents were “iffy”? One thing was for sure, not much selection then. It was white or red. Chardonnay or Sauvignon. Got a little boring.

    I see the logic, yet not a lot of reason for spending moola on wine.

    Good article, especially surrounding the reasons for.

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  8. The cardboardeax sold here is cheap and nasty swill: think Franzia. I’ll keep my eye out for a wine cask that is not a disgusting brand where I can out here in KS. I can’t imagine me drinking a box of wine over six weeks…but a six day stretch sounds like it has some appeal! I like the bouncing not breaking, too…my couch had a Scandal moment with some 19 Crimes wine lately…:(

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  11. Interesting points made. I remember drinking boxed wine in my Native Canada back in the late 80s and early 90s and have no pleasant memories of the stuff.

    Here in the Czech Republic, at least in the wine producing regions, boxed wine is viewed as pretty lowbrow and the domain of the homeless. I can’t imagine that view changing anytime soon.

    Mind you, the Czechs largely have a similar view towards beer in cans.

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  12. It will be interesting to see if the cask becomes “fashionable” again. I must say I do like the ten reasons, though not so sure I’m being convinced. A little while ago I thought I was buying a pack of four single-serve bottles, only to find when I got it home that it was a small cask. It’s still unopened in the fridge. Maybe I should crack it open and try it! 🙂

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  13. Your number 2 is the big one for me! I rely on being able to enjoy one glass without the wine deteriorating. For people who have to limit their drinking, it’s a lifesaver! I only wish there was more variety where I live. I refuse to buy Franzia.

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  14. I know nothing about wine but I enjoy your blog very much, and always learn something. It is never boring and is always informative as well as jovial. I shared it on my FB because I noticed that there are quite a few wine lovers on my friends list. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do. Love it.

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  19. “Once the said wine cask is empty you can inflate the bladder and use it as a pillow” – a brilliant reason. Last time I brought home a goon my dad told me when he was younger it was your drink, your pillow and a football to kick round the next day too.

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  21. Just thought you should know that the link in the email subscription page goes to a “page not found error “- at first I blamed it on the box of wine…er wine cask… I had consumed…but I was able to find the article (which is great by the way) by going to your home page

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  27. Just started reading your hilarious and informative blog. Glad Goon of fortune got a mention! My head aches at the thought of Fruity Lexia. Arrgh

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  28. Wine is usually found in a box in South America, longest it bought at a store.
    Now if you get glass “jar” it can be refiled for half the price in any of local vineyards, sound insane does it not? It common practice that give recognition to the name

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  30. Thanks for your article
    I used to drink Berri Estates Dolce Rosso Cask 5L, until a friend told me this may cause a sore tummy because it is cheap wine (I pay around $12 when on special) . Is this correct. “The wine will oxidise”

    I like the taste of this cask because it is light and sweet taste.

    I tried several types of bottles – taste is bitter, I get a headache and very expensive too.

    Would a cheap wine 5L cask is the scraps of the good expensive wine ?

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