For The Love Of Port

I just received a case of wine that was ordered from the Rare Wine Company's latest catalogue and when I opened the box, I realized this was something completely different.

First of all, the box was seemingly lighter in weight. It was clearly something that is 100% bio-degradable and therefore much better than styro-shippers for recycling. But due to the fact it is just very intelligently designed cardboard, it is even better than the tray pack type of recycled paper that many are using today for shipping. This is easy to break down and makes a lot of sense.

I'll try to describe the box, although you really need to see it. Once open you peer inside and there are two matching halves to the inserts, left and right. Still looking down, you see the 6 bottle necks on each half, fitting through holes in a piece of cardboard that is recessed but the perimeter extrudes to the outer and top edge of the box from the recessed opening for the neck. The bottles are firmly kept in place by fitting into thick cardboard checkerboard slots like in old soda bottle cases. However they're pretty solid but don't go all the way to the bottom of the case, just far enough to hold the bottles steady and then there is a 2-3" faux bottom, similar to the top in that it is recessed cardboard holding it in place around the perimeter. It is very solid, far better than my description.

That said, I've never seen anything like it before and if it becomes popular, as it may, then I'd be thrilled to never see styrofoam clutter ever again!

I'm all about being eco-friendly, up to a point. I've gotten various types of cardboard-only shipping containers and here are my gripes about them....

1- There is no insulation value at all. Not an issue if you live somewhere which is always cold. But I live in a desert and even this time of year I need the styro to help insulate the bottles during shipping. My area has weird temp swings and the need to keep bottles in an insulated package is very important.

2- The cardboard-only type WineBid is now using is about 3 times as thick as normal cardboard with the inserts. The bottles flop around inside all the way to my door step. How is that a problem you ask? Well all the labels are now partially damaged (or in a few cases totally destroyed) as the bottle rubs against the abrasive cardboard. This box is also very heavy on it's own and when full of 6 bottles feels like it weighs as much as a case of 12 with styro. I'm scared to try and lift a 12-pack box if I ever get one.

3- Styro has shock absorbing qualities to keep my bottles safe even when a gorilla (aka airline baggage handler) decides to play with it. Cardboard, nada.

I would rather have the option of what shipping containers are used as I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution.

I hadn't really been paying attention (obviously) but I have one of the boxes Roy describes downstairs from a shipment last month. They really are pretty cool and a nice step forward in eco-friendly packaging.

I've received some cardboard only packages that seemed kind of limited in their protective value, but the only shipment that I ever received with a broken bottle was in styrofoam. Now most shipments are styro, so on the one hand we can't really draw any conclusions from this; on the other hand, I've found the stryofoam itself to be broken more than once.

I'm eco-friendly with all the packaging I receive. I take it to a local winery for reuse and credit.

A great read for anyone who cares:

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/26556000/3 ... /cxeye.pdf

Roy Hersh wrote:A great read for anyone who cares:

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/26556000/3 ... /cxeye.pdf

that is pretty cool.

I concur. I've been very anti-Sony for a while now, but that raised them up a notch in my book.

I'm all for anything that does away with plastic or styrofoam packaging materials. Especially in the wine world where there is so much emphasis on natural and organic practices it would seem a natural progression to move towards more eco-friendly packaging.