Bandit
In 2002, California suffered a wine glut. Too many grapes, too much wine, too few buyers. The press were beside themselves, gleefully anticipating reduced prices on California wines and waggling fingers at producers who refused to accept the coming dawn of low-priced California wines.
Some producers took advantage of this glut, too. Wine insiders Joel Gott, Charles Bieler, and Roger Scommegna of Signal Ridge started Three Thieves to produce decent wine at bargain prices, to "liberate world-class wine".
The entrepreneurs thumbed their nose at the wine industry and its pretentious devotees when they released their first wine, a Zinfandel, in a 1-liter jug with a screw cap. The packaging (dubbed "retro" and thus cool by Saveur) was well-received as was the good table wine inside. Recently they decided to test consumers once again by releasing white wine in a "Tetra Brik" box with a plastic screw cap. They say they discovered the idea in an Italian grocery store, but American wine snobs may still shudder when they see boxed wine. It has a bad reputation in the U.S.
Some friends brought some Bandit Trebbiano to a party we had recently. They're as snobby as we are about wine, so they knew this would be the perfect host present. Lots of our guests made jokes about it and looked at it dubiously, despite the fact that it's produced in Italy. Three Thieves looks for surplus grapes all over the place, it seems. Melissa quickly opened the already-chilled box and offered pours.
It's not a bad wine. I wouldn't call it a "world-class" wine: Trebbiano is often a workhorse grape in Italy, the grape behind a gazillion bottles of white table wine. That's pretty much what this is. A pleasant white table wine that'd be just fine for any number of casual affairs. The packaging is cheaper than a bottle, so they can sell it for less. Given that, $6 might seem high, but did I mention it's a liter box?
- Boxed Wine
Recently, Melissa and I offered to bring wine to a casual birthday party. She texted me from The Spanish Table: She had bought a wine we had tasted before, Alandra's simple, fruity, friendly red table wine, but she had bought it in a box. (She also...
- The Subjectiveness Of Smell
Slate's Mike Steinberger continues his look at the physiology of tasting wine with a probing of the nose. There's some good information there, and it reinforces what I already tell my students: You are always right about what you smell and what...
- Wbw 4: New World Riesling
In the previous three Wine Blogging Wednesdays—the monthly wine blogging event concocted by Lenn—the hosts selected themes of New World Merlot from outside the U.S., Spanish Reds, and most recently Australian Shiraz. Enough with the reds...
- A Good House Wine
Melissa and I always keep our eyes open for a good house wine. This is the wine we pour for a simple dinner for the two of us or for just a couple glasses when we get home from work. If friends meet us at our place before we go out to dinner, this is...
- Scrape My Jaw Off The Floor
According to an article at Wine Spectator, some French producers are officially beginning to experiment with screw caps ("Stelvin closures", if "screw caps" sounds too trashy). I figured the French would be the last bastion of support for corks. Well,...