I wrote a blog the other day about Bag-In-The-Box wine. As an update the Dolcetto is still going strong a week later. I’ve had to migrate it to the fridge as the kitchen is just way too warm to store anything at the minute, but I like fruity reds chilled, so couldn’t really care less to be fair!
A couple of days back though, I was wandering round a supermarket and I saw the 5L flagon of wine in the picture above. Now one of the biggest issues with alternative packaging is the way it’s perceived by us lot, the Joe Drinker in the shops. Bag-in-the-Box is slowly winning back a few fans, I’m even happy to have Gin and Tonic or cheaper sparkling wine out of cans. But flagons I can’t cope with!
It just brings back memories of those bottles of Scrumpy or White Lightening you used to get when you were a kid, with the only intention to get royally mashed up. Something about a 5L flagon like that just makes me think “cheap and nasty”. And given it was on the go for €12, then chances are it was!
Is it all a bit irrational though? Change the bottle shape and call it an Imperial, and I’m all over it. Weird, isn’t it? But maybe it highlighted two things about wine packaging. Firstly consumer perceptions are deep rooted and tough to change. And secondly, when it comes to the wine inside the bottle, it doesn’t matter what packaging you put it in, if it’s bad wine then it’s bad wine. You can’t polish a turd!
Cheers
Mike
