Why wine from packages should not be discounted. Wines in tetra packs

The undeniable truth says one simple thing: the main thing is to always be drunk. Because only in a drunken state are the most born precise definitions to political news. But do not poison yourself on such an occasion with muck from the dirty hands of an unholy seller. You need to take an exquisite drink, from which it becomes easy on the soul, truth is born in the brain, the heart comes out in tachycardic ecstasy, and the liver affectionately says: “Well, fool, for today I will forgive you again.” And it is imperative that the angels fly overhead, like Yerofeev. Not necessarily very expensive, most importantly, good. Let's dwell on wine, because even Vladimir Ilyich said: "The most important of the arts for us is cinema and wine."

However, many "gourmets" and "aesthetes" with foam at the mouth assure that there is no good wine in supermarkets. Even in elite liquor stores one or two, it has been miscalculated. good drinks of this type either abroad, in countries that learned to make wine before other peoples got down from the trees and learned to kiss, or for very, very big money. Someone will advise you to make wine yourself, but, alas, not everyone has a chance to buy raw materials and a place to store barrels. And instead of listening to their whining and ridiculous, nurtured dubious personal experience advice, listen to our verified opinion, burnt by bitter experience and common sense.

The liver pays for show-off

Before reaching out with a trembling hand to the counter that says "Chablis, a special offer for only 180 rubles," remember simple truth: wine planet is divided into noble wines like riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir or nebbiolo, and simpler varieties like old friend your drunken girlfriends: sauvignon blanc or merlot, barber or trebbiano. So it is better to take a good Chilean sauvignon than a French-style fusel.

Don't interfere

Here on the “Ashanovskaya” shelf, next to the heating bladder"Wines of Kuban", a dubious brand was noticed. Well, what can I say, pass by, this is the same mura as the "Chervyvochka", which used to be made from fruit scraps, and now, apparently, from scraps of waste products. Such wines are like a rubbish bin, a mass grave from different varieties grapes, a trash can made of not the highest quality raw materials, in which the task of each “blended variety” is to cover up the shortcomings of the other. In general, another trick to put the consumer in an elegant pose. Buy, children, wine of the same variety, blended - it's like moonshine from a cow's heap.

The brand is not nonsense

Large producers who produce wines in huge batches - horrible dream. But in our business, a sommelier is seasoned in oak barrels the devil, who confuses, provoking the purchase of more expensive wine. In the fragrant ocean of cheap wines, you are your own sommelier, and if for him “supermarket wine” is a curse, then for you it is salvation. What are we talking about… Oh yeah, don't be afraid of brands and large circulation. After all " folk brand"You need to keep the brand, earn money and solder the people. This means that they have the capacity to produce wine with a stable level of quality. This does not mean that you need to blindly follow it, but you certainly do not need to be afraid.

The power of public opinion

Listen to people's opinion. Various applications in which you can get an opinion about a product have become a reality. You don't need to ask the opinions of professionals about the Crimean "Saperavi", just as you don't need to ask the conductor Nadia for an opinion about Dom Perignon. When it comes to mass-produced goods, people don't lie! Just pay attention to the quality of the reviews: the more stupid the review and the more water you brought in, the further the bottle should be from your basket. In other words, everything is paid for.

Old doesn't mean good

Plain wines are always made ready to drink, take it easy. If in 2016 they shove you a bottle of the 2000 vintage, then most likely you are asked to overpay for dead and even stinky wine.

promotional scam

It can shock, excite, even excite, but... Promotional wine is the same crap as expired promotional chicken. Everything that is on the stock is questionable. So, you need to get rid of the goods as soon as possible. What for? This is where the suspicions begin. Simple promotional logic: you are not my brother, the buyer, but so, damn sore.

The whole world makes delicious

Stop paying attention to Burgundy and Italy, stop reproaching yourself for not having enough money for a real Chianti. Just put up with the fact that in Chile, in Argentina, in South Africa and even in their native Phanagoria they know how to make simple, not chic, of course, but also, in general, not bad wines. Excellent wines are made in Serbia. You can easily find ingenious inexpensive bottles from Spain and Hungary.

It is known for certain that the further south the registration of grapes, the better wine. Therefore, do not disdain Portugal and Argentina. In the north they make some kind of shmurdyak. Therefore, in England there is a problem with him. Grapes are a warm and light-loving culture, and its taste strongly depends on the year of harvest, so for this reason Italy does not always please with wine-making masterpieces. If the season was rainy, then the grapes may be sour. Actually, for this reason, the year of the crop is indicated.

Drink and develop

Serious training awaits you. Only true sensei cheap wine can blindly distinguish merlot from cabernet sauvignon and pass for a wine gourmet. For trained receptors, distinguishing bad wine from good wine is a simple task.

Only red and only dry

The fact is that semi-sweet wines are popular only in Russia and neighboring countries. In the rest of the world, this is not favored, except perhaps the Bulgarian brothers with their Kadarka.

What is their problem? Yes, in the fact that the lowest-quality wine materials and production wastes of other types are used for their preparation. Moreover, this is not wine, but a fierce preservative. Not always, but very often. This is due to the fact that dry wines do not contain sugar, so their fermentation is difficult. In sweet varieties, sugar acts as a natural preservative.

So better drink a glass of dry red. It is much easier to find a delicious red wine at a reasonable price than white wine, because white wine requires a more delicate approach, and therefore is more expensive. If you want white - fork out.

Boxes, corks...

There is an opinion that wine in a bag is not wine. And wine with a screw cap is like a car on wooden wheels. No plastic, no box, just regular corks. Here begins the moment when experience prevails over opinion. Eat excellent wine with conventional aluminum covers. Now they are gaining popularity among wine producers due to their low cost, practicality and “immunity” to cork diseases (for example, fungus). Many Australian, Chilean, Argentinean, German, Swiss wineries close bottles of wine with such caps. And even the French do not disdain.

The wine in the package also does not guarantee food poisoning. The packages are really more often poured inexpensive wine but that doesn't mean it's of poor quality. normal, delicious wine. Such boxed wines can be found in Malta and Spain, and in Australia, about 40% of the market is filled with boxes. Most often, a box differs from shmurdi in price, but what to do, good wine cannot cost 150 rubles.

Do not neglect the domestic manufacturer

Needless to say, wine from Moldova, Georgia and Russia is 100% sour nonsense. Like, everything in the store was grown in factories that fell into disrepair after the collapse of the USSR. There is no need to equate native wines with one brush, everything is in order with us, who, if not the motherland, will give you glorious wine to drink for 250 rubles?

At the packaged wine bad reputation. The first samples from the 90s were of terrible quality, because they used the cheapest plastic and cardboard, which destroyed the taste of any wine. But a lot has changed since then: now wine in a bag can be of high quality, environmentally friendly and an excellent option in terms of price-quality ratio. And this best wine for picnics and barbecues.

The package is just a package, not a sign of bad wine

Nothing prevents packing wine made in exactly the same way as bottled wine into a bag: fermentation and aging in steel containers or barrels - everything is the same. The production of packaged wine is no different. Yes, sugared rubbish is often sold in packages, but this is the fault of the manufacturer, not the package.

The package allows you to store wine longer at home

Not a single ray of light penetrates into the package, namely light and oxygen are the main enemies open bottle. Two weeks in the refrigerator for her is a guaranteed death, but during the same period absolutely nothing will happen to a bag of wine. It can be kept open in the refrigerator for up to a month.

The package allows you to spend more on wine and less on packaging.

Cardboard packaging with a plastic backing, from which air is pumped out, is much cheaper than a glass bottle, and even with an oak stopper. If you tinker a little and find something decent among all these "Night Beauties" and other worthy château de packages, then at least you can be sure that you are paying exclusively for wine, and not for glass and wood, which then will go to the trash (and this is not to mention the environment).

Modern packaging does not affect the taste of wine in any way.

Wine in packages is a good choice if you are abroad in a big company

In Australia, where wine bags come from, they have a significant market share. Unlike Russia, where it is still quite difficult to find a package with a more or less decent Chilean red, in New World wine-producing countries there is no prejudice in this regard. Many producers make two versions of the same wine: one, more expensive, in bottles - for snobs, the second, cheaper, but no different - in bags for normal people. Therefore, if you happen to be with friends in Australia, South America, South Africa or the USA and you have a limited budget - feel free to buy packaged wine. The selection rules are still the same: take familiar varieties from familiar producers, follow the region and year of harvest. And this is where the price matters: when buying wine in a bag, you pay first of all for the wine, and not for the salary of marketers or packaging, so it’s worth spending a little more - it will still be much cheaper than boring bottles.

Wine in carton great option for picnics and country trips, many are sure. Meanwhile, connoisseurs are extremely skeptical about drinks “from packages”, considering them second-class products. How justified are such statements and is there a relationship between the packaging of wine and its quality?

"Secrets" of winemaking

The method of packaging wine in containers made of combined materials, for example, in the so-called cardboard packaging or in a box with a bag of foil and polyethylene Bag in Box, was patented more than half a century ago. In Russia, such wine appeared relatively recently, but quickly gained popularity, becoming a constant attribute of trips to “kebabs”. And this is understandable. It is much more convenient to buy light boxes instead of several 0.7 liter bottles. There is no hassle with them: they will not break on the road, they do not need a corkscrew, there is no need to drag empty containers back either (you can just burn it). In general, there are a lot of pluses.

There are doubts

Often, the advantages of packaged wine include the fact that such packaging is difficult to fake, since this requires special equipment. Perhaps this assertion is not unfounded when we are talking about boxes with inner bags and fitting. But liter packages are not such a serious obstacle for counterfeiters who want to earn extra money. And the low cost of individual brands of wine in such containers cannot but lead to suspicion. While the cost of the cheapest bottle of wine has long crossed the line of 100 rubles for 0.7 liters, a liter package can be bought for 70-80 rubles, and sometimes even cheaper. That is why we decided to conduct a study on the quality of wines sold in unbreakable containers. The main attention was focused on 1 liter packages.

The choice is made

Among the samples purchased for testing were popular domestic brands and foreign products - a total of ten table dry wines (red and white). Five of them were produced in the Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol Territory, three, according to the label, were French, and one drink “originally” from Serbia and Bulgaria.

All samples were sent to a scientific laboratory and asked the experts to answer a single question, whether this product corresponds to its name. That is, whether it is wine. When the research was over, we were invited to announce the results. They were simply shocking. none of the samples submitted for testing can be called wine!

In theory…

For a comment, we turned to the leading researcher of the Laboratory for Fundamental and Applied Research of Quality and Technology food products Moscow state university food production, Deputy Vice-Rector for scientific work MGUPP, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Alexander KOLESNOV.

- If the purpose of our study was a formal test of products for compliance with the indicators of GOST R 52523-2006 “Table wines and table wine materials. Are common specifications”, then most likely the samples would have met the prescribed standards,” says Alexander Yuryevich.

– Forge wine so that it meets standard indicators (sugar content, alcohol content, even citric acid) not difficult. But we decided to Scientific research, in which the fundamentals of the theory and practice of winemaking were taken into account when studying the composition of products.

The fact is that in the technology of making wine, processes based on the biological and biochemical principles of the transformation of substances are used. And by the quantitative content of some components that are formed or consumed, for example, during fermentation, one can confidently judge the quantitative content of others. Perhaps the most typical example of such an “unbreakable bond” is education. ethyl alcohol from sugars. The amount of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) formed in wine directly depends on how much natural sugars - glucose and fructose - were in the grapes. This relationship can be broken only as a result of artificial intervention, say, by adding sugar or alcohol. But as soon as the connection is broken, it immediately becomes obvious that the drink is “left”, because there was not so much sugar.

...and in practice

“This is how it looks in the example of our study,” Alexander Yuryevich continues. – In the samples that we studied, the degree of attenuation is very high, about 99%. This means that all the sugar, mostly glucose, has been fermented to become alcohol. With this degree of fermentation, the residual proportion of glucose should be very small - from 1 to 7%, and it is inexplicably high: 18.8-68.4% (see table). Why? Most likely, during the manufacture of samples or wine materials, their composition was modified. That is, something was added to them - either alcohol or glucose syrup.

This is a prime example of the theory and good practice of winemaking. But we operated with other indicators and found that their relationship is also broken. For example, the amount of glycerol (it is also formed during fermentation) is directly related to the amount of ethyl alcohol. However, this dependence is absent in some cases. So-called glycerol factor- one of the quality indicators in natural wines usually ranges from 8-10 units, but may have slight deviations depending on the region. However, in half of the studied samples, it either exceeds all possible limits known to the science of wine, or, on the contrary, is less (see tables). This effect can be achieved by mixing various components, but not by classical fermentation. In addition, in many samples of the test, the potassium content is lowered, which is also uncharacteristic for wine. There are other violations in the chain of “causal relationships” that are not easy to explain to a consumer unfamiliar with the technology and scientific foundations of winemaking. But I repeat, absolutely all samples demonstrate a deviation in one of the most important characteristics - the ratio of the residual proportion of glucose and the degree of fermentation. Even this factor alone leads to the conclusion that they are not natural wines.

That's the opening!

– What then is this product? we ask the experts.

- To assert something definite, it is necessary to carry out additional, more in-depth studies, - Alexander Yuryevich explains. - Without them, we can only guess which of the methods of falsification was used by one or another manufacturer. In some cases, these could be wine materials that were brought to condition by adding alcohol or adding sugar. In other cases, the wine material could be absent altogether. We managed with the so-called concentrate of plant coloring extracts. Unfortunately, it is now widely used by unscrupulous manufacturers. In general, “powder winemaking” is very popular today. A water extract is obtained from the skin of grapes. Here is the basis for your wine. Then add sugar, alcohol, lemon or malic acid- and the wine is ready. By the way, the ingredients of the powder for making wine are now openly displayed at exhibitions, so there is no secret here. However, in our case, most of the samples, I think, are still made on the basis of wine materials.

Food for thought

Frankly, the results of the study stunned us. It turns out that there is not much difference, domestic wine or imported. Apparently, manufacturers are engaged in falsification on a global scale. Which, in general, is not surprising, since it is so easy to get around the current domestic standards. Apparently, it is assumed that wine in boxes and bags is intended for an undemanding consumer. So lovers of outdoor recreation have something to think about.

Test results of dry red table wine

1. Russian Vine “Cabernet” (producer / importer: CJSC “Russian Loza”, Russia, Krasnodar region, Mr. Anapa, p. Sukko)
2. Russian Vine “Merlot” (CJSC “Russian Vine”, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, town of Anapa, Sukko village)
3. Hebros “Merlot” (“Hebros-Vinprom”, Bulgaria / OOO “Luding-Trade”, Russia, Moscow)
4. Vino Zupa “Vranac” (“VINO ZUPA”, Republic of Serbia, / OOO “Luding-Trade”, Russia, Moscow)

Test results of dry white table wine

1. Russian Vine “Chardonnay” (CJSC “Russian Vine”, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, town of Anapa, Sukko village)
2. Monastic meal (Mineral Water Plant LLC grape wines”, Russia, Stavropol Territory, p. Leninsky)
3. Cantabrik (Group Ukkoar S.A., France / CJSC Mosel, Russia, St. Petersburg)
4. Cuvee Prestige (Group Ukkoar S.A., France / CJSC Mosel, Russia, St. Petersburg)

Test Conclusions:

Even for the three indicators for which the samples were tested (residual glucose, glycerol factor and potassium content), it can be concluded that none of them is natural wine made according to classical technology.

In all wines, the residual proportion of glucose does not correspond to the degree of fermentation, it is much higher than the permissible limit.

in wines “Monastic meal”(red and white) and Hebros "Merlot" a significant excess of the norm in terms of “glycerol factor” was revealed. in wines Cantabrik(white) and “Cuvée prestige”, on the contrary, a lower value of this indicator.

In samples “Russian Vine” Cabernet, “Russian Vine” Merlot, “Monastic Meal”(Red and White), Hebros “Merlot”, “Russian Vine” Chardonnay it turned out reduced content potassium. It also speaks of violations of the drink preparation technology.

In sample Hebros "Merlot" sugar was found, which, judging by the label, should not be.

Firstly, glass bottles They weigh quite a lot (despite all the tricks of manufacturers to produce ultra-light bottles, glass has a certain tensile strength and it is very difficult to significantly reduce the weight of the container). A excess weight Those are extra shipping charges.

Secondly, a round bottle, even with the tightest packing in boxes, leaves too much free space - a standard box in which 6 bottles of 0.75 liters (4.5 liters of total wine volume) are placed has a volume of about 6 liters. The difference is 25%.

Thirdly, the bottle is a fragile container that requires very gentle handling. Those of you who follow the world of wine at least out of the corner of your eye remember how much discussion there was about this when longshoremen in Australia slammed a container of expensive wine late last year.

Fourthly, the bottle itself costs money and sometimes quite noticeable. A fantasy bottle, such as the one used to bottle Asti Mondoro, can cost more than the contents - up to 2 euros, while the cost of wine is less than 1 euro.

Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the question of alternative types packaging has been worth a long time and the search the best options are constantly going on.

At the moment, the two main options are the most popular - liter TetraPak bags, almost the same as those used for milk, kefir, juices, fruit drinks, etc. and "bag-in-box" (bag-in-box), which are plastic bag with a capacity of 2-3 liters or more, with a tap, enclosed in a cardboard box of the appropriate volume.

In terms of quality, the original question actually contains at least three different questions.

The first of them sounds like this: "Is it true that wine under the same name from a bottle and from alternative packaging is different wines?". No, that's not true. At all the wineries that I have visited that use alternative packaging, the bottling units for each of them are connected to a common container with wine. Often the bottling itself is carried out in parallel. Therefore, there is no difference in the wine of one winery, there is no one year of production and one bottling date.

The second question is easiest to formulate as: "Is it true that wine in different types packaging is stored and developed in different ways?" Yes, this is true. This is due to a variety of technological reasons, primarily in significant differences in access to light and oxygen to wine. We still know little about alternative packaging "over a long distance" although studies show that all modern views do not have any problematic effect on the wine for at least a year.

Third question: "Is it true that the average level of wine in packages is lower than in bottles?". Yes, this is more true. This is due to the fact that the buyer of expensive wine is quite conservative and prefers a bottle for aesthetic reasons. Therefore, relatively inexpensive wine is usually poured into bags and BiBs. which, naturally often not of very high quality. Nevertheless, in many countries you can buy very decent wine in these packages. In particular, domestic sales of wine in Australia are already almost 40% of wine in the "alternative", a lot of quite normal wine is made in Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina.

When buying packaged wines for a picnic or culinary purposes be guided, therefore, by the country of production (Russian packages can be bought only on condition that you know for sure what you are doing), bottling date (not too long ago) and price (not very cheap). In most cases, this will provide quite usable content.

If we ask you what you poured into glasses at the last corporate party or barbecue, then we think that many will remember having at least one box of wine. And this is not surprising. Very often at picnics, corporate parties and just friendly gatherings on the table you can see wine in packaged boxes. Probably, once upon a time, this could greatly amaze our ancestors. Now wine in a box is as common as packaged juice - it can be found both on the table in the back room of the friendly staff of the store, and on the table of district administration officials. Some boxes are simpler, and some even have faucets at the bottom that make it easy to pour the contents. Moreover, our enterprising fellow citizens have adapted to literally squeezing wine out of these very boxes - the fact is that inside there is a tight package that lovers of wine savor to the last gram pull out of the box and pour precious drops into glasses. But are they really that precious and good? And in general, what kind of wine can be sold in boxes, if from time immemorial it has been stored either in barrels or in bottles?! Let's try to find answers to these questions.

Features of wine in boxes

The most important distinguishing feature packaged wine is that you will not find collectible or vintage among it. Most often table wines are sold in boxes - dry or fortified, and they are also an excellent container for young wines. It is believed that wine in a box is no different from a similar wine in a bottle. The advantage of packaged wine is not only its lightness and mobility compared to bottled wine, but also more cheap price. It is sold in packages of one, two, three or five liters.

Liter containers most often consist only of a box - tetrapak, and more voluminous ones have an additional inner bag (the same one that we mentioned at the beginning of the post) to extend the storage time. In this case, the so-called "Bag in box" or "bag in a box" technology is used, which has a number of advantages:
- "Bag in box" is made of several layers of polyethylene foil, which protects the product from spoilage;
- the inner surface of such packaging is sterile;
- "Bag in box" is equipped with a convenient faucet - wine is easily poured from it and at the same time air does not get inside the box, which means that the wine retains its taste qualities and freshness and there is no need to drink it immediately after opening, like a bottled drink.

These are such simple and strong arguments in favor of packaged wine. However, many supporters of traditional winemaking, during which finished wine bottled and well sealed, are ardent opponents of wine in boxes. Someone even argues that it is quite possible that packaged wine is not wine, but a product based on vegetable powder (for example, from grape peel) or wine materials. Of course, in both cases, fakes are likely, and in a bottle you can buy a product not of the highest quality. As for wine in boxes, it makes sense to choose not liter container- tetrapack, and more voluminous "Bag in box" with faucets, simply because it is more difficult to fake them.

So buy or not wine in boxes?

Despite the doubts of skeptics, packaged wine, like any other product, has its admirers, moreover, someone likes one brand, someone else. Undoubted advantage wine in boxes is its transportability - it does not break and has less weight compared to an equal volume of bottled wine.

If you are not a happy representative of the gourmet class who bring collection wines from abroad, but just want to add a little fun to the planned party, then try the wine from the package you like - perhaps it will suit your taste, appearance and aroma, as well as the effect on organism. If you are planning a friendly feast for 4-6 people, then it is probably better to buy a couple of bottles of wine. In any case, the wine must be tasted and if you like the taste of the drink, then what difference does it make what it was sold in? Moreover, as we noted above, bottled wine may not be the best either.