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We lived in France for six years and bought our wine in 10l boxes (usually) or 5l boxes if we were feeling the pinch. Now we are back in the UK and WS is offering 2.25l bags/boxes and they seem dear! Can anyone make the case for these over wine by the bottle? Thanks
Hi, I havenāt seen the pricing as being dear. The case for the new range of wine is effectively if you drink the society brands a lot then buy the box to help move towards becoming carbon neutral.
Looking at the pricing of a few Iāve seen so far, Iām pretty happy the pricing is the same as individual bottles.
English White - Ā£29 for equivalent of 3 bottles. Individual bottle 9.95 or 29.85 for 3 bottles
Society Claret - Ā£22 for 3 bottle equivalent. Individual bottle 7.50 or 22.50 for 3
White Burgundy - Ā£35 for 3 bottle equivalent. Individual bottle 11.95 or 35.85 for 3
Iām not sure the pricing is that out of line. They are trying to encourage more members to buy them as part of their sustainability initiative.
Welcome to the community by the way. Would love to hear more about your time in France?
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Bag in box wine used to be, to my mind, synonymous with bulk wine, cheap student party wine (perhaps not in France I donāt know). In a similar vein to @Winestwit I think TWS and others like the BIB Wine Co. are trying to condition us to the thought that thereās no reason why wine in a box/bag need be cheap, it might be high quality wine, hence the inclusion of an Exhibition wine. It is just a different way of packaging the stuff, more sustainable and allows you to drink it in a different way (a glass whenever you fancy, no need to worry that the other five glasses-worth are now gently oxidising in the recorked bottle). Havenāt bought one yet but would certainly consider it. (Also, welcome 
)
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I have had quite a few bag-in-box wines over the years, mainly Portuguese wines purchased in Luxembourg.
My problem with bag-in-box is when one gets down to tap level. I have always had to get the bag out of the box to get the last glass or two out and often the quickest way is just to cut a corner off the bag. Then I am faced with what to do with the bag. The tap is hard plastic and the bag is soft so should I seperate them for the different plastic recycling containers?
I believe a bottle is far easier to use and recycle.
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Apparently you can send the bags back to TWS for recycling; though thatās not clear on the website.
From what I understand glass ārecyclingā isnāt really that beneficial. The reprocessing requires as much energy as manufacturing new ones, it just saves them going to landfill.
TWS have said they are arranging a recycling process for the bags/taps (as Bib Wines do) but this isnāt widely available at the moment.
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My cellar is slightly on the damp side - good for corks but not so good for cardboard wine boxes but Iāve nothing against decent wine in boxes. We sometimes bought boxes in France.
Iām not convinced that anyone really has soft plastic recycling ānailedā.
Our large supermarkets collect it but it gets shipped abroad for sorting and then what? The similar scheme in Australia known as REDcycle stopped last year when it turned out that nothing had been recycled and the contractors had stored over 11,000 tons of waste in 19 warehouses.
Glass is all glass whereas soft plastics cover several different types of plastic, many without the recycling triangle and material identifier number.
There were attempts to make food grade r-PET for bottles etc some years ago but I think they failed, partly because it was cheaper to buy new PET made from oil!
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For those with access, good article by Asimov in NY Times on good boxed wine:
But I would question the marketing of some of them. I am not sure I would look for quality in Schplink or From the Tank, although Sandy Giovese might be tempting.
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I have been drinking my way through the rather delicious The Societyās French Pinot Noir 2022 Bag-in-Box (2.25 litres), over the past week. It is very moreish and as somebody, who doesnāt usually drink alcohol during the week, this has put paid to that. A decent amount of acidity, too, for a wine of this level. Great value, in my opinion, and I plan to order more, before it inevitably sells out.
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For me, this might be the biggest downside of having decent wine on tap - I worry I would develop some bad habits!
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I do drink alcohol from time to time during the week, but my issue is that drinking from a larger, sealed box removes the decision-point at the end of the bottle leading to āno, one bottle is enough tonightā. Freely topping up a good wine from a box could result in the 2.25 litres going rather more quickly than the equivalent number of bottles.
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Hence the need for smaller containers - e.g. Bagnums, or something along those lines.
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Looks like these have flown off the shelves! Great to see eco-friendly options doing so well.
Also unfortunate as I was hoping to pick up a couple for a BBQ!
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Wow, expected to see one or two go out of stock but all of them?!! I have really enjoyed both the French Pinot and the White Burgundy, making sure, in fact, that I ordered a second Pinot, immediately after tasting it and anticipating that it would sell out quickly. I am less keen on the claret but itās still a good mid-week drinker and good value, too.
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The Pinot Noir box is very good and we are still drinking it, having opened it on Friday. We gave it to some guests on Saturday though I find serving from a box less easy than a bottle. I only wish it were a 3 litre box!
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Hi All,
Just a short note to let you know that we aim to have our own label bag-in-box wines back in stock the week commencing 19th June. The English White likely a bit sooner.
Weāve been delighted with the response so far to the trial - both sales which greatly exceeded expectation and also the feedback on the wines themselves. Weāll be sending out a more formal survey soon as we are really keen to understand how these have fitted in with your wine drinking - and expectations.
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The only thing missing for me would be perhaps another white option. MiL gets headaches from chardonnay, but the English White and Gruner Veltliner donāt appeal in quite the same way for a large gathering.
Another crowd pleasing white would be perfect (perhaps the Gavi, Greek white or Vinho Verde)
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Weāre traveling in Denmark and Bibs are great!