Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62507
P A CKA GING total of $8,567; Middleton's goal had been $75,000. Later that month, Middleton emailed a The management of Badger Mountain thinks restaurant clients will welcome Boxxles for its Pure White and Pure Red in by-the-glass programs. Yet at least one winery is taking the Boxxle very seriously. Badger Moun- tain, Kennewick, Wash., produces some 65,000 cases yearly, including the organic blends Pure Red and Pure White sold at Whole Foods. It was the second winery in Washington (after Hedges) to install an automatic screwcap bot- tler and ships about 90% of its 750ml bottles in Stelvin screwcap closures from Amcor, according to sales manager Mickey Dunne. Badger Mountain has a thriving by- the-glass program in restaurants and a national retail program of BiB wines, including the organic blends and Powers Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, retailing from $20-$22 per 3L box (boxes are supplied by Pacific Southwest Con- tainer, Modesto, Calif.) Dunne thinks that Boxxle could serve as an incentive for restaurants to sell his wines. On-premise servers don't want a box on the bar, he said. Boxxle could answer that objection. "If they made a commitment to pour our boxed wines by the glass, we could provide them with a Boxxle, and they could list our wine on their chalkboard," he suggested. It also has potential as a premium for wine club members, especially locally. "It would save on materials and shipping weight," Dunn acknowledged. Angels dare to tread Middleton has self-financed his venture so far, with help from family and friends. He sought additional funds through kick- start.com, a micro-financing site similar to Groupon and other flash sites, for which sign-ups aren't charged until critical mass is achieved. When it closed Aug. 11, 59 hopeful investors had enrolled with amounts of $25 to $350 or more, for a Wines & Vines OCTOBeR 2011 45 news flash: Piedmont Angel Network, a local investment group, had voted unani- mously to provide additional funding to take Boxxle through production and to the market. While the angels complete their due diligence and iron out the fine points, Mid- dleton continues to work with his design/en- gineering people, researching manufacturers. More support came from a far-distant source. "A representative from a compa- ny in the Czech Republic contacted me about selling Boxxles," he said. "They currently provide filling equipment, bags and boxes for the wine industry in Eastern Europe. They say adoption of BiB is growing rapidly and believe Boxxle will further acceptance of the packaging by consumers." Meanwhile, Middleton continues to use and enjoy his prototype Boxxle and reach out to potential sales partners. He hopes it will be ready for commercial release by February or March.