Bag in a box
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A Bag in a box (or a wine cask) is a method of wine packaging which consists of a bag, usually made of MylarŪ or other plastics, filled with wine and protected by a box, usually made of cardboard. The bag is sealed by a simple plastic tap, which is revealed by tearing away a small piece of cardboard and used to dispense the (usually cheap) wine.
The wine cask was invented by Tom Angove of Angove's, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by the company on April 20, 1965.
While cask wine is often of a cheaper variety, the packaging method itself is arguably superior to other methods. The chief advantage to bag in a box packaging for wine is that it prevents oxidation of the wine as it is dispensed. Whereas wine in a bottle is oxidized by the volume of air in the bottle which has displaced the wine already poured, wine in a bag is never touched by air and thus never subject to oxidation until it is put in a glass. Thus, bag in a box packaging is not inferior per se, but is simply preferred by producers of cheap wines such as Franzia because it is inexpensive. If prestige wines were packaged in a bag in a box, they would not be subject to cork taint nor to spoilage due to not drinking them quickly enough after opening.
Other advantages include greater efficiency of storage and transportation of rectangular boxes, and removing the risk of breakage incurred by transporting wine in bottles.
Bag in a box's linguistic effect
The bag in a box method of wine packaging has, in Australia, led to the addition of "Aboriginal Briefcase" and "Goonbag" to the national vernacular. "Goonbag" is simple derivation arising from the supposition that only 'goons' drink them, a derogatory term. The "Aboriginal Briefcase" is a somewhat more sinister title, implying that people of Aboriginal descent are often drunkards. Goonbag has led to the branding of cheap cask wine as 'Goon' in Australia, and many punch recipies include the term 'Goon'.
Related articles
A similar container used in the packaging industry (especially for soft drinks) is the "Bag-In-Box" or BIB.