A Bottle of Wine (Minus the Bottle)

No, I'm not saying I drank an entire bottle of wine in one sitting or anything of the sort. (Although it will be gone soon.) Rather, I started drinking a bottle of wine that didn't come in a bottle. Instead, it came in this:

The wine is called Bandit, and it's made by Three Thieves. But what makes it so interesting is that is comes in a Tetra Pak—essentially, a tall, skinny juice box that holds a liter of wine. Intrigued yet? I was, which was why I had to try it out.

You see, this isn't like your typical boxed wine. The Tetra Pak is taller and skinnier, and it's made to go anywhere, so you can take it to parties or the beach or what have you and not have to worry about breaking glass. (Although whether I'd drink it out of something other than a real wine glass is a different story ...)

According to the packaging, there are 10 reasons why you should drink Bandit (I added the parenthetical notes, in case you're wondering):

1. Because it tastes good! (I may not be a wine expert, but I agree it tastes pretty darn good. And others have said so too.)

2. 33% more wine (1 liter vs. 750 ml). (And it's under $10—yippee!)

3. Lower shipping weight = less fuel emissions.

4. 96% wine, 4% packaging. (Why waste money on packaging? they ask. I concur.)

5. No corked wine. (A boon for those camping trips, outdoor concerts, and the like when you forget the corkscrew, eh?)

6. Wine to go-go! (Yeah-yeah.)

7. 1 truckload of empty bandit cartons = 26 truckloads of empty glass. (Whew.)

8. Made largely of renewable resources. (Actually, this one is a bit sketchy of a claim in my book.)

9. You can toss it in your cooler. (Or across the yard to your friend while playing washers, assuming the lid is on.)

10. You can crush it on your forehead when you're done! (Mine isn't finished yet so I can't confirm or deny this statement. Ask me again tomorrow.)

The biggest problem is that the United States is (big shocker here) behind on its ability to recycle Tetra Paks. So in most places, you probably can't recycle that Bandit container like you would your glass wine bottle. And shipping the paks a long way to a recycling center that will take them isn't exactly environmentally friendly, is it?

But, at least, it's a step in the right direction. And kind of fun, too.

Hopefully it will catch on even more here, like it has elsewhere. In fact, on Little Views, I actually read that wines purchased in Tetra Paks now equal those purchased in bottles—in Italy! If the Italians do it, am I going to jeer? No way.

You can learn more about the pros and cons from The Wine Conversation. Then, if you're so inclined, stop scoffing at the notion of boxed wine (it's not a box, remember people?) and go try it for yourself.

If you feel like stopping by tonight, I might even share a class of my Bandit 2005 Merlot with you. Maybe.

Photo: Slice