Wine is like wine, albeit economy class. If you like it, then why not buy it?

Another thing is that the shape of the packaging is not aesthetic and unusual: on festive table Somehow it’s not customary to put it, but this can be easily solved if you have, for example, a decanter. And it’s quite suitable for a picnic with friends somewhere in nature.

There is information that the wines are quite satisfactory: Isla Negra or Cono Sur Tocornal. It is recommended to buy wine from Chile.

★★★★★★★★★★

I had occasion to take wine in boxes, in particular, the cheapest "Isabella" 1 liter.

Quite good "Vinogor" 2 or 3 l. in a large box with a tap.

There was also downright bad wine. But in a rather simple way, I managed to bring it “to mind”, so that it was not a shame to serve it on the table.

I immediately pour the purchased wine in a box into a glass container. I leave it to “breathe” for a while, especially if you feel a sour, fusel spirit. If the smell and taste are pure fusel, add water and sugar, plug it with a stopper and leave it for 4 weeks.

Everything described applies to red wines. P/sweet and dry. We don't drink white. Dry boxed wine is usually pretty good. And experts do not recommend buying sweets even in the “elite version” because... Residual wine material is used for its production. I can’t vouch for the experts, I’ll simply write: it’s not necessary once in a while. I only had a negative experience once, but we overcame it. And the benefits of buying wine in a box are undeniable!

★★★★★★★★★★

Good wine cannot be packaged in boxes.

More or less decent wines start at about 300 rubles. for 0.75 l. And even then, gourmets won’t recommend these prices to you.

The only thing you can expect from such boxed wines is their relative safety. It's more" wine drinks", by analogy with "curd and kefir products".

Boxed wine, is it worth buying? I’ll say right away that domestic wine from boxes is entirely of low quality. And in general, our manufacturer is not strong in the production of alcoholic beverages.

There are good wineries, but they are rare. One of the worthy ones is the Abrau-Durso plant.
But with foreign wine from boxes it’s a different story. It is quite possible to find a high-quality product, but in terms of price such wine will cost no less than bottled wine. Make sure that foreign boxed wine is not bottled in Russia, then you can’t count on decent taste. A well-known trick is when Russian producers bottle foreign alcohol, diluting it with unknown means and adding various additives.

It is better to buy boxed wine from foreign producers, but if possible, it is better to give preference to wines in glass containers from well-known manufacturers.

If we ask you what you poured into glasses at your last corporate party or barbecue, then we think that many will remember the presence of at least one box of wine. And this is not surprising. Very often at picnics, corporate events and just friendly get-togethers you can see wine in bagged boxes on the table. Probably, once upon a time, this would have greatly amazed our ancestors. Nowadays, wine in a box is as common as packaged juice - it can be found both on the table in the back room of a friendly department store, and on the table of district administration officials. Some boxes are simpler, and some are even equipped with taps at the bottom, through which it is convenient to pour the contents. Moreover, our enterprising fellow citizens have adapted to literally squeezing wine out of these very boxes - the fact is that inside there is a dense package, which lovers of savoring wine to the last gram take out of the box and add precious drops into glasses. But are they so precious and good? And in general, what kind of wine can be sold in boxes, if from time immemorial it has been stored either in barrels or in bottles?! Let's try to find answers to these questions.

Features of boxed wine

The most important distinctive feature bagged wine is that you won’t find collectible or vintage wine among it. Table wines are most often sold in boxes - dry or fortified, and they are also an excellent container for young wines. It is believed that a wine in a box is no different from a similar wine in a bottle. The advantage of bagged wine is not only its lightness and portability compared to bottled wine, but also its cheaper price. It is sold in bags of one, two, three or five liters.

Liter containers most often consist only of a tetra pack box, while larger ones have an additional inner bag (the same one we mentioned at the beginning of the post) to extend storage time. In this case, the so-called “Bag in box” or “bag in box” technology is used, which has a number of advantages:
- "Bag in box" is made of several layers of foil polyethylene, which protects the product from damage;
- the inner surface of such packaging is sterile;
- “Bag in box” is equipped with a convenient tap - wine is easily poured from it and no air gets inside the box, which means the wine retains its taste and freshness longer and there is no need to drink it immediately after opening, like a bottled drink.

These are the simple and compelling reasons in favor of packaged wine. However, many supporters of traditional winemaking, in which the finished wine is bottled and well sealed, are ardent opponents of boxed wine. Some even argue that it is quite possible that packaged wine is not wine, but a product based on plant powder (for example, from grape skins) or wine materials. Of course, in both cases, counterfeits are likely, and in a bottle you can buy a product that is not of the highest quality. As for wine in boxes, it makes sense to choose not liter containers - tetrapacks, but larger "Bag in boxes" with taps, simply because they are more difficult to counterfeit.

So should you buy boxed wine or not?

Despite the doubts of skeptics, packaged wine, like any other product, has its admirers, and some like one brand, others another. The undoubted advantage of boxed wine is its transportability - it does not break and has less weight compared to an equal volume of bottled wine.

If you are not a happy member of the class of gourmets who bring collectible wines from abroad, but just want to add a little fun to a planned party, then try the wine from the package you like - perhaps it will suit you perfectly in taste, appearance and aroma, as well as in its effect on organism. If you are planning a friendly feast for 4-6 people, then it is probably better to buy a couple of bottles of wine. In any case, you need to try the wine and if you like the taste of the drink, then what difference does it make what it was sold in? Moreover, as we noted above, the wine in the bottle may also not be the best.

Wine in cardboard packaging is an excellent option for picnics and country trips, many are sure. Meanwhile, connoisseurs are extremely skeptical about drinks “from bags”, considering them second-class products. How valid are such statements and is there a relationship between wine packaging and its quality?

"Secrets" of winemaking

The method of packaging wine in containers made of combined materials, for example, in so-called cardboard packaging or in a box with a Bag in Box bag made of foil and polyethylene inserted into it, was patented more than half a century ago. This type of wine appeared in Russia relatively recently, but quickly gained popularity, becoming a permanent attribute of trips to barbecues. And this is understandable. It is much more convenient to buy light boxes instead of several 0.7 liter bottles. There is no hassle with them: they will not break on the road, they do not need a corkscrew, and there is no need to drag the empty container back (you can simply burn it). In general, there are a lot of advantages.

There are doubts

Often, the advantages of packaged wine include the fact that such packaging is difficult to counterfeit, since this requires special equipment. Perhaps this statement is not without foundation when it comes to boxes with internal bags and a fitting. But liter packages are not such a serious obstacle for counterfeiters who want to make extra money. And the low cost of individual brands of wine in such containers cannot but lead to suspicion. While the cost of the cheapest bottle of wine has long exceeded 100 rubles for 0.7 liters, a liter package can be bought for 70–80 rubles, and sometimes even cheaper. That's why we decided to conduct research into the quality of wines sold in unbreakable containers. The main focus was on 1 liter packages.

The choice is made

Among the samples purchased for testing were popular domestic brands and foreign products - a total of ten dry table wines (red and white). Five of them were produced in the Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol Territory, three, according to the label, were French, and one drink each “originally” came from Serbia and Bulgaria.

All samples were sent to a scientific laboratory and experts were asked to answer one single question: whether this product corresponds to its name. That is, is it wine? When the research was completed, we were invited to announce the results. They turned out to be simply shocking: None of the samples submitted for testing can be called wine!

In theory...

For comment, we turned to the leading researcher at the Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research of Quality and Technology food products Moscow State University of Food Production, Deputy Vice-Rector for Research at MSUPP, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Alexander KOLESNOV.

– If the purpose of our research was to formally test products for compliance with the indicators of GOST R 52523-2006 “Table wines and table wine materials. General technical specifications“, then most likely the samples would meet the stipulated standards,” says Alexander Yuryevich.

– Forge wine so that it meets standard parameters (sugar content, alcohol content, even citric acid) is not difficult. But we decided to conduct a scientific study in which the basics of the theory and practice of winemaking were taken into account when studying the composition of products.

The fact is that wine production technology uses processes based on biological and biochemical principles of transformation of substances. And by the quantitative content of some components that are formed or consumed, for example, during fermentation, one can confidently judge the quantitative content of others. Perhaps the most typical example of such an “unbreakable bond” is education. ethyl alcohol from sugars. The amount of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) formed in wine directly depends on how much natural sugars – glucose and fructose – were in the grapes. This relationship can only be disrupted through artificial intervention, say, by adding sugar or alcohol. But as soon as the connection is broken, it immediately becomes obvious that the drink is “left”, because there wasn’t that much sugar.

...and in practice

“This is what it looks like in our research,” continues Alexander Yurievich. – In the samples that we studied, the degree of fermentation is very high, about 99%. This means that all the sugar, mostly glucose, has been fermented to form alcohol. With such a degree of fermentation, the residual proportion of glucose should be very small - from 1 to 7%, but it is inexplicably high: 18.8–68.4% (see table). Why? Most likely, during the production of samples or wine materials, their composition was modified. That is, something was added to them - either alcohol or glucose syrup.

This is a primer on the theory and good practice of winemaking. But we also operated with other indicators and found that their relationship was also broken. For example, the amount of glycerol (it is also formed during the fermentation process) is directly related to the amount of ethyl alcohol. However, this dependence is absent in some cases. The so-called glycerol factor– one of the quality indicators in natural wines usually ranges from 8–10 units, but may have slight deviations depending on the region. However, in half of the samples studied, it either exceeds all possible limits known to the science of wine, or, on the contrary, is less (see tables). This effect can be achieved by mixing various components, but not by classical fermentation. In addition, many dough samples have a low potassium content, which is also uncharacteristic of wine. There are other violations in the chain of “cause and effect” that are not easy to explain to a consumer unfamiliar with the technology and scientific foundations of winemaking. But I repeat, absolutely all samples demonstrate a deviation in one of the most important characteristics - the ratio of the residual fraction of glucose and the degree of fermentation. Even this factor alone allows us to conclude that they are not natural wines.

What a discovery!

– What then are these products? – we ask the experts.

“In order to say something definite, it is necessary to conduct additional, more in-depth research,” explains Alexander Yurievich. “Without them, we can only guess which falsification methods a particular manufacturer used. In some cases, these could be wine materials that were brought to condition by adding alcohol or adding sugar. In other cases, the wine material may have been absent altogether. We made do with the so-called concentrate of plant coloring extracts. Unfortunately, it is now widely used by unscrupulous manufacturers. In general, “powder winemaking” is very popular today. An aqueous extract is obtained from grape skins. Here's the basis for your wine. Then add sugar, alcohol, citric or malic acid - and the wine is ready. By the way, the ingredients from powder for making wine are now openly demonstrated at exhibitions, so there is no secret here. However, in our case, most of the samples, I think, are still made on the basis of wine materials.

Food for thought

Frankly, the results of the study stunned us. It turns out that there is not much difference whether the wine is domestic or imported. Apparently, manufacturers are engaged in counterfeiting on a global scale. Which, in general, is not surprising, since it is so easy to bypass current domestic standards. Apparently, it is assumed that wine in boxes and bags is intended for the undemanding consumer. So lovers of outdoor recreation have something to think about.

Test results for dry red table wine

1. Russian Vine “Cabernet” (producer / importer: CJSC “Russian Vine”, Russia, Krasnodar region, Anapa, Sukko village)
2. Russian Vine “Merlot” (CJSC “Russkaya Vine”, Russia, Krasnodar region, Anapa, Sukko village)
3. Hebros “Merlot” (“Hebros-Vinprom”, Bulgaria / LLC “Luding-Trade”, Russia, Moscow)
4. Vino Zupa “Vranac” (“VINO ZUPA”, Republic of Serbia, / Luding-Trade LLC, Russia, Moscow)

Test results for dry white table wine

1. Russian Vine “Chardonnay” (CJSC “Russkaya Vine”, Russia, Krasnodar region, Anapa, Sukko village)
2. Monastic meal (Mineralovodsk Plant LLC grape wines”, Russia, Stavropol Territory, Leninsky village)
3. Cantabrik (“Group Ukkoar S.A.”, France / JSC “Moselle”, Russia, St. Petersburg)
4. Cuvée Prestige (“Group Ukkoar S.A.”, France / JSC “Moselle”, Russia, St. Petersburg)

Test conclusions:

Even based on the three indicators by which the samples were tested (residual glucose, glycerol factor and potassium content), we can conclude that none of them is a natural wine made using classical technology.

In all wines, the residual proportion of glucose does not correspond to the degree of fermentation; it is significantly higher than the permissible limit.

In wines “Monastery meal”(red and white) and Hebros “Merlot” A significant excess of the norm for the “glycerol factor” indicator was revealed. In wines Cantabrik(white) and “Cuvée prestige”, on the contrary, a reduced value of this indicator.

In samples “Russian Vine” Cabernet, “Russian Vine” Merlot, “Monastic Meal”(red and white), Hebros “Merlot”, “Russian Vine” Chardonnay There was a low potassium content. This also indicates violations of the technology for preparing the drink.

In the sample Hebros “Merlot” Sugar was detected, which, judging by the label, should not be there.

Just look at the bottling date. Freshly packaged wine in a box tastes the same as bottled wine in the same price range. Ideally, dry wine was bottled 2.5 months ago or less, semi-sweet wine - 6 months. Boxed wines are sold on average 1.5 months after bottling.

The box has its advantages

Let us remind you that the drink is not poured into the box itself, but into a plastic bag. But they are already putting it in a cardboard shell. This packaging is called Bag-in-Box. It is light, convenient and cheap: even the same wine in a bottle and in a bag differs in price. In addition, Bag-in-Box can hold several liters at once - an excellent solution, for example, for a picnic of a large company. But more often, cafes and restaurants buy boxed drinks to sell by the glass.

The best wine in a box is fresh

The polyethylene into which “boxed” wine is poured allows oxygen to pass through, and the drink oxidizes over time, changing its taste. It follows that a good wine in a box is fresh. Bag-in-Box makes drinks more accessible, but is not suitable for long-term storage.

At the same time, there are many good wines that are bottled in both bags and bottles from the same barrel. Bottled wine can generally be stored for years. They drink the boxed drink right away, without putting it off for later.

For most people, wine bottled in cardboard bags is associated with cheap alcohol. They say that the manufacturer does not respect its products so much that it even saves on glass.
You may be surprised, but in some cases the taste of alcohol out of the box even surpasses the taste noble drinks in a glass container. But first things first.

Advantages of boxes

An interesting experiment was conducted by a certain Gary Pickering. A Canadian scientist and his team of scientific specialists spent a year and a half studying the processes and reactions that occur in a box of wine during storage. And I came to the conclusion that pressed paper improves the taste of the drink because it promotes its rapid oxidation. But this process benefits only a certain type of wine. In particular, semi-sweet drinks.

What else happens inside a cardboard box after a spill? Alkylmethoxypyrazines accumulate on the walls of the packaging - certain organic substances that lead to an improvement in the taste of flower and fruit varieties. At the same time, pressed paper allows oxygen to pass through well, which only accelerates the course of reactions.

Disadvantages of boxed wines

The high rate of oxidation processes in cardboard packaging has its downside. This wine cannot be stored for too long. Especially if the package has already been opened. On the other hand, such a product is usually consumed quickly and does not linger in the refrigerator.

By comparison, unopened wine in glass containers can be stored for decades. This will only improve its aging, and its taste will improve.

Another disadvantage of a cardboard box is more prosaic. Giving alcohol in such packaging is not comme il faut. And it’s also not always appropriate to bring it with you to a company. Wine “in a cardboard” can be placed on the festive table only if there are well-known and close people who will not accuse you of excessive savings or greed.

Wine in a glass bottle usually has a higher quality composition. Manufacturers logically reason that a good and expensive drink should be provided with decent storage conditions. Which, in turn, will guarantee a longer shelf life.

However, don’t flatter yourself too much. Keep in mind that all high-quality drinks are placed in glass, but not everything in glass is necessarily high-quality.

Which is better: a movie in a box or without?

Thus, you should choose wine according to the situation. If you want to have a good time with your loved ones, if you are sure that all the wine will be drunk, do not hesitate and choose your favorite drink in a carton.

As a gift, it is better to purchase alcohol in glass containers for the holiday table. This way you won't have to worry about the impression the bottle will make. And you will also be sure that the drink will retain all its taste. And there will be no shame in opening it at the beginning of the festival, as rational owners do.