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34 WINES&VINES May 2017 A n article titled "Wine Packaging for Leaner Times," printed in the November 2009 issue of Wines & Vines, stated, "Alternative packaging lies at the confluence of two major trends in the wine industry. The first is economical," and "environ- mental awareness has been on the rise." Many formats such as bag-in-box are much less expensive than the glass + cork + capsule + label paradigm, and they use less energy per case to ship from winery to market, as the packag- ing is very light. In addition, bags, boxes and cans are easily recycled with a smaller carbon footprint than glass, which requires massive amounts of energy to crush and reheat re- cycled material to 1,600° F to make a new bottle. Since that article, convenience has become a third major trend to consider. Millennials love wine but are less interested in traditional packaging. To them, it's an enhancement if pack- aging makes wine easier to enjoy, which explains the market success of good wines in heretofore heretical packaging formats such as cans, pouches, single-serve wines packed in their own glasses, under screwcaps, etc. In addition, restaurants are hav- ing success with more efficient formats such as recyclable plastic kegs and reusable stainless steel kegs. You may be considering whether these new packaging for- mats would work for you. To try it out, you'll likely want to start with a small test market quantity. But if you don't have the equipment or training to fill packages like these, where do you begin? Are there vendors for this? To get a sense of the emerging market of alterna- tive packaging service providers, I interviewed companies who fill and seal bag-in-box, can- ning, one-way (recyclable) kegs, and single- serve wines. In addition, I included a unique mobile (glass) bottler who specializes in very small lots from 50 to 500 cases, the kind that are often challenging for mobile wine lines. Bag-in-box: 1,600° cooler than glass Gregg Lamer is the owner of Boxx Cellars, a new brand that started in 2016 with a focus on premium-quality boxed wines. Boxx Cellars mar- kets its own wines as well as imported boxed wines and dispensing products through the three-tier system; the company also hosts a direct-to-consumer retail site for boxed wines and works with other dispensing products. Lamer saw the potential for boxed wines when he was the sales and marketing manager for Vino Noceto in Amador County, Calif., which had success with boxed wine as well as a canned Moscato. Lamer started with 200 cases each (600 retail units) of a 3-liter Sangiovese retailing for $47.99 (or $11.99 per 750 ml) and a Pinot Grigio at $39.99 ($9.99 per 750 ml). The wines were packed by Prime Tap, a mobile bag-in-box and pouch- filling service based in Napa Valley, Calif. Lamer notes that when he started, he thought he'd have to buy a filling machine, which start at $20,000 plus change parts, filter housings, fittings, etc. More importantly, he is a sales and marketing guy, so bottling is not his specialty. He clearly needed someone knowledgeable to perform bag filling and sealing. Lamer says, "Refermentation is a real risk. Everything in the wine industry is sanitation, and one mistake can cost you a fortune." He notes that small quantities of bags and boxes are easy to procure, and far fewer packaging vendors are needed when doing bag-in-box. His brand is growing, and Lamer notes, "Having a company like Prime Tap to get you started allows you to tinker with new packaging formats. All of these alternative types of wine packaging are growing. Americans are really far behind, like with screwcaps." Miguel Avina is the operations manager for Napa Valley-based Prime Tap Wine, a bag-in-box and pouch-filling service Avina started in 2014 with Bill Campbell. Their highly portable filling equipment fits on a small trailer. Prime Tap typically fills 500- 1,200 packages per shift in sizes from 1.5 liters to 9 liters. Avina explained that he "gives brands the tools to get started." Prime Tap has grown rapidly to serving 20-30 wine customers. Their setup allows brand owners to try out the bag- in-box format or pouches without any capital outlay. Like run- ning a bottling line, a bag-filling line requires experience that none of his clients have, nor care to have. Avina explains that it's taken him two years to become proficient in running the line. "Filling bags is completely different than filling bottles. Oxidation and refermentation are real risks. Typically SO 2 levels are raised, and dissolved oxygen must be managed. A sterile filter cartridge is a must." Working with Prime Tap is similar to working with a mobile bottler. Customers book a date and supply their own packaging materials and labels. They will need to pick bag suppliers such as Astra Pouch, Scholle or Smurfit, spout location (center or n ANDY STARR Niche Packaging Services Let You Test the Market Winemaking