Can a Wine Named WineNik Be Tasty?

Box Wines Come in All Shapes, Sizes and Tastes

Jul 28, 2009 Margo Dillard

Wine with a catchy name and artistic logo might grab your attention, but can the taste keep you interested? The only way to find out is to go beyond the wine wrapper.

Wines have been bottled for hundreds of years in standard shapes and sizes that wine drinkers have come to expect. So, when wine is presented in something different, such as a box, the wine is immediately suspect because the package looks different. But, catchy names, cutesy logos, and unusual packaging are marketing ploys used for all products, so, why should wine drinkers eschew wines that use clever marketing?

They shouldn't if the product delivered is worth drinking, after all the wine drinker is buying the wine not the wrapper. However, it has only been in recent years that the concept of boxed wines has grown to a higher level of acceptance. During the 2009 San Francisco Wine Competition, Corbett Canyon's 3-Liter box wine won a Best of Class for Merlot Wines under $15, proving that wines don't have to come in a bottle to be good.

The original concept of box wine was as an inexpensive and resealable version of the large glass wine jugs, which have been around for years. The initial concept of box wines was to offer these wines at a reasonable price and only recently to promote these boxes as eco-friendly packaging, using plastic bags inside of paper wine casks. As more boxed wines receive recognition, the likelihood of continued growth in the use of 3-liter boxes will continue as long as the wine quality remains stable.

Boxed Wines, Large and Small

Recently the concept of the large boxed wine has been transferred to smaller "juice" box sized wine containers. Can this newer, small box wine concept work? WineNik, the producer of their self-proclaimed "Pointedly Unconventional" WhiteNik and RedNik has been making inroads into the small box wine market.

The packaging and advertising describe a Winenik as "a wine lover, especially a member or follower of the WineNik Revolution, whose behavior, views, and often style of dress are pointedly unconventional." So, is just the WineNik label and 500ml box unconventional, or is the taste beyond the norm too?

Clearly, the small box with the beatnik logo and capped-pour spout on the box top is different. In fact the small box concept when first introduced to wine novice Jill Kelly Arseneau begged her question, "Can I drink the wine with a straw?" WineNik doesn't address this question and if the concept was solely for easy portability it wouldn't be a bad idea, particularly for outdoor events that prohibit glass containers.

Ask a serious wine drinker about using a straw and the answer would be a strong NO, as the use of a straw would impact the mouth feel and positioning of the wine on the taster's tongue. If the wine is being poured at a venue or event that won't allow wine glasses the wine should be poured into plastic glasses for best wine tasting, not the use of a straw in this "juice" box.

Wine drinkers can agree, the friendly, no opener needed and resealable package won't break or leak and can fit in a backpack, picnic basket and small cooler, but what about the wine? Both WhiteNik and RedNik are blended wines bottled by City Girl Cellars with no specific grape varieties listed on their box.

WhiteNik is billed as having an apple, pear, and citrus flavor that will please the wine drinker. Since wine is truly an individual's taste, each palate has different expectations when presented with wine and WineNik wines are no different. When sampled using the standards of wine tastings the WhiteNik wine presented a slight nose with citrus, a more sterile taste than a white wine matured in oak and nice legs.

Boxed Wines Are Award Winners

If this wine was being judged in a venue such as the San Francisco Wine Competition the quality of the wine wouldn't be judged as unconventional, only the packaging. However, if the wine drinker was looking for ease of portability, a topic of conversation and an alcoholic beverage, WineNik offered these. Overall, box wines are different due to their packaging and as with any wine, come in a wide range of taste and wine quality.

The catchy name and artistic logo might grab your attention, the packaging might be exactly what the wine drinker needs for a particular event, but the wine has to keep you interested. If the wine drinker doesn't find one box brand satisfying the hunt should continue, because there are award winning wines in unusual wrappers!

The copyright of the article Can a Wine Named WineNik Be Tasty? in New World Wine is owned by Margo Dillard. Permission to republish Can a Wine Named WineNik Be Tasty? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Smaller and Safer Than Glass