Big wines

Things are getting bigger in the wine industry; no, not the companies, the containers. Lately we are seeing more 1.5 and 3 liter containers on the store shelves. The standard glass bottle for wine is 750 Ml (4/5 quart) or the economy sized 1.5 liter magnum bottle which weighs five pounds and is about the limit of the size that an average person can lift and pour comfortably.
For centuries the great wineries of France would put up a minute quantity of wine in large or in some cases gigantic bottles. The “why” they did that is still up for grabs, but did it they did. There was the 3 Liter Jeroboam, 4.5 liter Rehoboam, 6 liter Methuselah, 9 liter Salmanazar, 12 liter Balthazar and the reigning king of kings, the 15 liter Nebuchadnezzar, one of which we always keep in the fridge in case of unexpected company. Needless to say we have no idea how one would pour wine from one of these giants into a tiny wine glass or the unfathomable cost of these monsters, but made them they did.
It is known that with quantity comes lower cost, so it did not take too long before American winemakers searched for a way to package their wines in larger, more affordable containers. About five years ago there appeared on the market aseptic packaging, a way of packaging wine in a safe plastic bag that could be put into a light weight cardboard container with a convenient pouring spigot. The true beauty of this type of packaging is that the bag holding the wine remains air free, thus reducing the problem of spoilage for considerable longer than wine stored in the bottle.
The ramifications of this are immense. No longer do you have to finish a wine in one or two nights so that it retains its flavor and freshness. No longer do you have to use one of those gadgets that remove the air from the bottle and never seem to work well. The aseptic boxed wine that you drink today, will taste the same tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day and on and on. It is also the perfect way to bring wine to barbeques, outdoor parties and picnics.
To be very honest, we do not see any of the premium wines being packaged this way. The wine snobs will never give up their cherished bottle, just as they will never give up their sacred cork closure. That is not to say that good quality wines are not available in boxes.
Monthaven Winery has introduced a series of three wines, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay all packaged in 3 liter octagon shaped aseptic boxes called, as one might expect, the Octavin
Home Wine Bar with each Octavin selling for $23.95. Doing the math on our digital calculator (our fingers) it works out to about $6.00 per standard bottle.
Let’s clear up some possible misconceptions; the Octavin wines are made with care and they show it. Their 2007 Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon is as good as any you can find at twice the price. This wine cuts no corners in its production, it is blended to achieve maximum flavor and aroma and has spent time is American Oak barrels which are primarily used for the more expensive wines. The Octavin 2007 Central Coast Merlot receives similar treatment. A surprise is the 2008 Central Coast Octavin Chardonnay, which is not only in part fermented in oak barrels it is also aged in oak, a process used to mellow and add flavor to the more expensive wines.
An explanation is necessary here. The grapes of the Central Coast sell for less than the more expensive Napa Valley and Sonoma grapes because the soil and climate there allow for larger crops of grapes and large crops usually indicate lesser quality. Not so. These are excellent grapes which stress a strong fruit flavor and a noticeable softness in the finished wine and all at a reasonable price.