I attended this event as a guest of Octavin, who were kind enough to waive my $15 entrance fee. I received no other incentives, financial or otherwise, from any of the companies mentioned herein.

Phew, glad we got that out of the way. As I was saying, the event was held at Lima, but was hosted by a NY-based company called Cork’d (twitter: @corkd), a project led by Gary Vaynerchuck – the wine man who needs no introduction – to introduce and promote wine to the so-called “millenial” generation. This particular event promoted wines bottled – or should I say, packaged? – by yet another company called Octavin.

So what is an Octavin? It’s an elongated box with an octagonal footprint. Yes, that’s right, wine in a box. But it’s not just any wine. In fact, Octavin has sought out a number of talented winemakers, from all around the world, to sell wine in these nifty boxes. The advantages are many: cardboard boxes cost less than glass bottles; boxes don’t break as easily; vacuum-packed bags keep the wine fresh, and for longer after opening, than a cork would; and the box holds a lot more wine per packaging volume, thus reducing the carbon footprint of shipping and manufacturing.

But more importantly, can you have wine in a box that actually tastes good? I’m here to tell you the answer is definitively yes. Don’t let decades of Sutter Home color your perspective on the deliciousness that pours from these Octavin boxes. It’s an uphill battle, but solid experiential marketing events like this and a distinctive look for the packaging should help them get past the ingrained perception about boxed wine. You don’t have to look any further than Maryland’s own Terrapin Station Winery to see that winemakers at the premium end of the market are exploring alternative (and environmentally responsible) packaging options. And it’s affordable, too, running less than $25 per Octavin for equivalent of four wine bottles (3 litres).

The event itself was a blast once I got used to the ambiance (and put away my rave glow sticks). Cork’d wrote up a recap of the event here, so I won’t re-do any of the tasting notes; I will say, though, that my favorites were the crisp and tart Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and the jammy, fruit-forward Big House Red from California. You wouldn’t go wrong with any of the six but either of these are perfect for a warm summer evening. The Silver Birch was a refreshing end to a hot DC afternoon and a perfect match for the cheese plates.

I had a chance to speak briefly with Georgetta Dane, winemaker from Big House, who flew in to DC that afternoon. She offers both the Octavin and traditional glass bottles for sale in her tasting room, and evidently there’s a pretty good sell-through rate on those Octavins. So go ahead and try some! The Octavin team were good enough to pull together a partial list of stores in Maryland that carry their wines. There are about 200 in all, so they shouldn’t be THAT hard to find if none of these stores suit your fancy.

PDF of Maryland retailers: Octavin Maryland

Overall I give Octavin wines a solid “thumbs up” recommendation for the quality of the wine and the packaging benefits as an added bonus.  But then again, I’m squarely in their target market as a tree-hugging millenial!

Have you noticed any of these wines in your local wine shop? Would you try them from a box? Would you try them with a fox? Would you try them on a boat? Would you…

…my wife is telling me to end the Dr. Seuss reference while I’m ahead, so…

Cheers,

Matt

Link

Depth and shelf height is important. You want to make sure that one spot on the rack/shelf and accommodate even the most ostentatious of Champagne bottles or the tallest of Rieslings.

Extra space on the bottom, below the racks, is an added bonus. Makes a nice place for a magnum or two.

http://tinyurl.com/224bo2

Anyway, it was the first sighting of its kind for me here in the East Coast. Wine fridges are all over the place in California which is interesting given that the climate, especially in Northern California, is conducive to wine storage (60 degrees and overcast). Still, I had mine, sitting in the corner of the living room next to the TV keeping my wines at a constant 60 degrees.

Some points to consider when shopping for one if you’re in the market to graduate from beer fridge to wine fridge:

- Look for one with a cooling unit that doesn’t vibrate. Vibration makes wines (and wine dorks) scared. Almost all name brand units will not vibrate these days. It was more of a concern three years ago.

- Variable temperature is very nice to have. I actually keep mine a shade higher than medium because otherwise it takes the reds too long to warm a little before serving. I stick whites in the real fridge for about 30 mins before serving. (This brings up a sidebar that I’ll likely address in a future post:Europeans think that Americans serve reds too warm and whites too cold. They are right.)

- They aren’t energy hogs. Running a twelve bottle fridge in our living room was a blip on our energy bill. Just don’t do anything like put it in front of a heating vent or something.

- Mine has a light but I don’t use it. Feel free to get one without a light.

- Higher end wine coolers will have dual climates. If you demand your whites at 48 and your reds at 59, then by all means spring for the dual climate control. Otherwise, this shouldn’t be a problem.

- Finally, mine has a door that can swing either way (with a switch of the hinge). Not all of them do this and it’s a deal breaker when deciding where to put your fridge. I wouldn’t buy one with out it.

(Edit: this post was later amended)

The current word is that 55 degrees with some measure of humidity is where you want your wines to be. That’s how most professional storage facilities do it.

The real lesson, though, is that big temperature variation kills. 50 is okay, just a little cold. 80 is okay, just a bit more on the warm side. Going between 50 and 80 daily (or weekly or whatever) is bad because the corks will expand and contract letting in air and possibly allowing wine to leak.

Temperature ages wines faster. A wine stored at 80 will age faster than one stored at 55. It won’t though, age for the better (so don’t put the ’03 Lafite in your microwave).

Unless you’re stocking up on Bordeaux to lay down for 20 years, most of this doesn’t matter all that much. If you’re drinking within a year, it’s fine. Leave it on the counter or on the basement. Just store the bottle on its side (screwcaps exempt).

Another wine-dork consensus is that heat will “cook” a wine. While there’s no doubt that wine stored at the top of a metal warehouse in Texas will taste like garbage (this happens to some great wines imported from France), I am on the side that wine is more tolerant to heat than people think. I’ve read message board posts from a guy who puts wines in his trunk in the summer then drinks them just to agitate the wine-dorks who automatically say wines over 80 degrees will be “flawed.”

So the lesson is to drink up as quickly as possible and enjoy.