Bag-in-box - Wine Cask

Wine Cask

The 'wine cask' was invented by Thomas Angove (1918–2010) of Angove's, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by the company on April 20, 1965. Polyethelene bladders of 1 gallon (4.5 litres) were put into corrugated boxes for sale to consumers. An original design required that the consumer cut the corner off the bladder inside the box, pour out the desired quantity of wine and then reseal it with a special peg. In 1967 Charles Henry Malpas and Penfolds Wines patented a plastic, air-tight tap welded into a metallised film bladder, making storage much more convenient for consumers. All modern wine casks now utilise some sort of plastic tap, which is exposed by tearing away a perforated panel on the box.

The main advantage to bag-in-a-box packaging is that it prevents oxidisation of the wine during dispensing. After opening, wine in a bottle it is oxidised by air in the bottle which has displaced the wine poured; wine in a bag is not touched by air and thus not subject to oxidation until it is dispensed. Cask wine is not subject to cork taint or spoilage due to slow consumption after opening.

However, oxygen transmits through the film and tap at different rates depending on what type of plastics are used and has an unopened shelf life shorter than bottled wine. Most casks will have a best-before date stamped. As a result, it is not intended for cellaring and should be drunk within the prescribed period.