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Pick of the week

Botter Family Luca Nero d'Avola ($12.85, No. 613604). This red shows a supple, silky texture and bright blackberry and plum-like flavours, with a hint of herbs and licorice.

In the space of a year, cardboard wine boxes have gone from ridicule to run-of-the-mill. They're everywhere, and consumers are embracing the new, single-bottle Tetra Paks for the sake of convenience and environmental friendliness (they weigh less then glass and are 100-per-cent recyclable).

The popularity of boxed wine has got to the point where glass manufacturers are starting to go on the defensive. The U.S.-based Glass Packaging Institute recently sent me results of a survey it commissioned on the subject of glass versus paper and plastic, and you can guess the basic result. An overwhelming majority of Americans who expressed an opinion -- 96 per cent -- prefer glass over paper or plastic containers for their wine.

The general preference for glass isn't surprising, but what is strange about the survey is that consumers cited not the romantic appeal or elegance of glass, which would be defensible, but concerns over "quality, purity and preserving the taste" of the wine. That's misguided. Today's high-tech paper containers have completely inert liners, so there's no contamination or discernible plastic flavour. And, ironically, soft cardboard containers can preserve the taste of an opened wine much better than glass. That's because the cardboard boxes can be squeezed to expel excess air -- the most common spoiler of wine -- before the screw cap is twisted back on. You can't do that with rigid glass bottles.

Unfortunately, in spite of my fondness for Tetra Pak cartons as a packaging format for lower-priced wines, most of the Tetra wines launched into the Canadian market over the past year haven't had much, content-wise, to recommend them. They're of the type I call soda pop wines: one-note wonders with a hidden dose of residual sugar and a flavour more candied and artificial than natural. I've been moderately impressed by one white, Vendange chardonnay from California, but the reds have been mediocre.

No longer. A line of three new Italian boxed wines, two reds and a white, was just introduced to the Ontario market and they're terrific for the money -- clean, fresh and polished. And they have an added plus: They're made from organic grapes, grown without chemical fertilizers, weed killers or insecticides.

Developed for the Canadian market by producer Botter Family in conjunction with Toronto-based importer The Case for Wine, the playfully packaged wines are called Alex, Anna and Luca, after the siblings in the third grape-growing generation of the Botter family. The lineup features a pinot grigio-chardonnay blend from the northern Veneto region, an earthy sangiovese from the central Marche region and a robust nero d'Avola from the southern island of Sicily. They all come in one-litre, tall-format Tetra Prisma boxes and cost $12.85 each (the equivalent of $9.64 for a standard 750-millilitre bottle).

Lloyd Evans, a former LCBO rare-wine buyer and partner in The Case for Wine, has one of the sharpest and most sophisticated palates I know, so it's no wonder these wines are good. We're talking bona fide wine, here, not a cloying, chemical fruit cocktail.

Botter Family Alex Sangiovese ($12.85, 613612) is a medium-bodied red made from the grape responsible for Chianti in nearby Tuscany. Smooth and juicy, it offers up fresh flavours of red cherry, plum and strawberry and crisp acidity.

Botter Family Luca Nero d'Avola ($12.85, No. 613604). Slightly fuller and darker than the sangiovese, this red shows a supple, silky texture and bright blackberry and plum-like flavours, with a hint of herbs and licorice. It's an excellent value.

And Botter Family Anna Pinot Grigio Chardonnay ($12.85, No. 613620) is fruity and fresh, light-medium bodied, hinting at honeydew and citrus flavours, with brilliantly crisp acidity. It's a terrific, summer-styled white and better than many pinot grigios costing several dollars more.

I'll be reporting on some interesting summer drinks in next week's column, so here, one week in advance, are a few selections to watch out for in next Saturday's Vintages release of fine wines in Ontario. The big price-quality surprise for me is Mazzei Serrata di Belguardo 2003 ($19.95, No. 594887). Here's a seductive, deliciously balanced Italian red from the owners of the excellent Chianti house, Castello di Fonterutoli. Medium full-bodied and rich with blackberry and black cherry fruit, it's enhanced by a subtly woodsy note, fine, gritty tannins and a tangy finish.

Also from Italy is the tangy, lively Tenuta Santa Anna Chardonnay 2004 ($16.95, No. 531681), a light-bodied but full-flavoured, herb-accented chardonnay that's a great change of pace from all those heavily oaked versions from the New World.

From California comes the excellent Zaca Mesa Estate Bottled Syrah 2002 ($29.95, No. 687475), full-bodied and meaty, with rich liqueur-like plum flavour and a nuance of licorice.

Among the various pinot noirs on offer, I liked Domaine Taupenot-Merme Chambolle-Musigny 2002 ($53.95, No. 1214), a fairly concentrated red Burgundy with smoky cherry, beetroot and earth flavours and good length.

Another two pinot noir standouts come from New Zealand. Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2004 ($37.95, No. 994251) is medium-bodied and jammy, with concentrated, upfront raspberry fruit and a hint of earthiness. Margrain Rivers Edge Pinot Noir 2004 ($26.95, No. 684258) is on the lighter side but beautifully balanced, with a silky elegance and a liqueur-like fruit flavour of raspberry and plum -- very polished and nicely priced.

Also good for the money is Tinhorn Creek Pinot Noir 2003 ($16.60, No. 530709).

Among whites, don't miss Quarry Road Sauvignon Blanc 2005 ($18.95, No. 694844), light and quite soft and round for a New Zealand sauvignon, showing ripe peach and honeydew flavours and a tangy finish.

One of the best buys is Cono Sur Chardonnay Reserve 2005 ($13.95, No. 590802), medium-bodied and crisp, with peachy-citrus nuances, honey and pineapple.

And the best choice in offbeat whites is Les Vignes Retrouvées Blanc 2004 ($13.95, No. 525451), a southern French blend of uncommon grapes arrufiac, petit courbu and manseng. This gold-medal winner at the Concour Général de Paris is light medium-bodied, with honeyed-floral notes and juicy citrus, finishing with crisp acidity and a hint of mineral.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com