Bag-in-a-Real-Box

The wine industry is quickly turning a deeper shade of green, not only with sustainable winegrowing in the vineyards, but also by putting wine into lighter-weight glass bottles, or simply using no bottles at all!

Case in point is a “new” “Barrel to Barrel” concept from DeLoach Vineyards. They fill 10-Liter shiny silver bags with high quality Pinot noir and deliver those to San Francisco’s swanky Fairmont Hotel. At the hotel is a cute little barrel that opens up in the back to allow the bag to be connected to a spigot, perfect for wine by the glass.

Though new to U.S., Italy’s been partly bottleless for centuries. Italian “house” wines are delivered in large, 15-gallon glass carboys. Wine shops or restaurants just charge by the Liter for whatever you siphon off, like a gas station.
 
 

Lodi winemaker J.C. Van Staden of Peltier Station informed me that they have a similar - and very successful - eco-friendly arrangement of delivering both a “House Red” and “House White” to OneSpeed Pizza Restaurant in Sacramento.
 
 

In the airless, protective bag, the Barbera-Cab-Zin-Petite Sirah Lodi blend should be good for up to 8 weeks, but at $3.75 a glass, OneSpeed is pouring through about 28 5-Liter bags a week!

Photos from top to bottom: DeLoach Vineyards’ new Barrel-to-Barrel. A Venice wine shop. OneSpeed’s “House Red” (50% non-vintage Lodi Barbera, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Zin and 10% Petite Sirah) in bag and in the attractive wooden dispenser box alongside “House White” (a blend of non-vintage Lodi Chardonnay, Vermentino and Pinot Grigio). Courtesy of DeLoach Vineyards and OneSpeed Pizza.