Wine Bags Back in Vogue

Instead of the animal-skinned pouches of yesteryear, the new version features high-tech foil sacks.

June 09, 2011

NEW YORK - A larger, grown-up version of CapriSun-like pouches has become a hot trend in wine making, Reuters Life! reports. Currently, at least three American wineries offer the wine pouches.

"We use it for our Riesling and Chardonnay. It's the same wine as you'll find in the bottles and it's really good quality," said winemaker Steve DiFrancesco with Glenora Winery in New York. The winery debuted the pouches last summer, which proved very popular with consumers.

Each pouch contains 1.5 liters, or about two regular sized bottles of wine, fresh for up to a month after opening. The pouches chill quickly and weigh less than a bottle, too.

"It's easy to pack in and pack out. It rolls into this tiny ball," said Linzi Gay, general manager of Clif Family Winery and Farm in California. Clif??s version has a metal loop for carrying. "It's the perfect way to take wine into the woods to go camping or hiking."

Glenora Winery in New York and the Clif Family Winery and Farm in California's Napa Valley use the pouches for wines from their vineyards, while Indulge, a start-up based in Santa Barbara, California is selling its wines, made from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes sourced from growers in California, in the containers.

South Africa, Europe and Australia wineries have sold wine in pouches for a few years, according to AstraPouch, which produces the pouches.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement