Box wine

Lore & Background

The process for packaging cask wine was invented by Thomas Angove, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by his company on April 20, 1964. Polyethylene bladders of one gallon (4.5 litres) were placed in corrugated boxes for retail sale. The original design required the consumer to cut the corner off the bladder, pour out the wine, and reseal it with a special peg, based on a product already on the market—a bag in a box used by mechanics for battery acid.

In 1967, Australian inventor Charles Malpas and Penfolds Wines patented a plastic, air-tight tap welded to a metallised bladder, making storage more convenient. Modern wine casks use plastic taps exposed by tearing away a perforated panel on the box. For decades, bag-in-box packaging was preferred by producers of less expensive wines, as it was cheaper to produce and distribute than glass flagons.

In Australia, due to tax differences, boxed wine is often the least expensive form of drinkable alcohol; a 4-litre cask of at least 9.5% alcohol can often be found for around A$10. This has led to its wide availability and a prominent place in Australian pop culture. Colloquially known as 'goon', the term derives from the word 'flagon', with an Australian pronunciation emphasizing the second syllable. A common drinking game is Goon of Fortune, where a goon bag is suspended from a Hills Hoist and spun.

Reader's Guide

Boxed wine's significance lies in its invention and evolution as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to bottled wine. The bag-in-box packaging, first patented in 1964 by Thomas Angove, reduced production and shipping costs, making wine more accessible. The 1967 improvement by Charles Malpas and Penfolds Wines added a plastic tap, enhancing convenience. In Australia, favorable tax policies made boxed wine the cheapest alcoholic beverage, embedding it in popular culture with terms like 'goon' and games like Goon of Fortune.

Environmentally, a 2010 analysis by Scandinavian state institutions found bag-in-box packaging has 12% to 29% of the carbon footprint of bottled wine and is superior in every other ecological criterion. Tyler Colman from The New York Times noted its environmental friendliness and ease of transport and storage. However, the introduction of cask wine in the late 1960s also had negative consequences for public health and social issues due to increased alcohol accessibility.

In 2003, Black Box Wines introduced mass premium wines in a box, and within a decade, premium wineries began packaging high-quality boxed wine. This, along with cultural interest in sustainable packaging, cultivated growing popularity with affluent consumers. Boxed wine is not subject to cork taint and, once opened, remains drinkable for 3–4 weeks, longer if refrigerated, though it is not intended for cellaring and may deteriorate 12 months after filling.

Did You Know?

• The original 1964 design required consumers to cut the corner off the plastic bladder and reseal it with a special peg.
• In Australia, a 4-litre cask of at least 9.5% alcohol can often be found for around A$10.
• The term 'goon' derives from the word 'flagon', with an Australian pronunciation emphasizing the second syllable.
• Bag-in-box packaging has 12% to 29% of the carbon footprint of bottled wine, according to a 2010 analysis by Scandinavian state institutions.