Yellow+Blue Wines=Green

At Wine Riot 2, I found a number of wines that intrigued me and which I thought might be of interest to others as well. One of the first tables I stopped at belonged to Yellow+Blue Wines. What caught my eye was that the wines were in tetra paks, pictured above. I previously extolled the delights of boxed wines, and tetra paks share some similarities. Kind of a more adult juice box.

Tetra Paks are better for the environment. They are made from 75% paper harvested from responsibly managed forests. For shipping purposes, they are lighter and less bulky than bottles. A case of bottled wine weighs about 40 pounds and holds 9 liters of wine while a case of Yellow+Blue weighs 26 pounds and holds 12 liters of wine. The Tetra Paks actually hold one liter of wine, as opposed to the usual 750ml bottle. Plus, Tetra Paks are very portable, with the danger of broken glass. Great for camping trips, taking on a boat, etc.

The colors Yellow and Blue combine to make Green and this company is devoted to being environmentally conscious, beyond just the Tetra Paks. Their wine makers only use certified organically grown grapes as well as traditional, natural winemaking processes.

But all of that means little if the wines don't taste good. And Tetra Paks wines in the U.S. don't have a good reputation. They are often seen as simple, commercial plonk. So what about the Yellow+Blue wines?

They currently have three wines, a Rosé (Spain), Malbec (Argentina) and Torrontes (Argentina). Each sells for $10.99 for 1 liter. I tried the Rosé and Malbec.

The 2008 Rosé comes from the Alicante region of Spain and is a blend of 80% Monastrell and 20% Syrah. It was fermented in stainless steel, sees no oak and has an alcohol content of 13.2%. It has a nice pink color with a pleasant nose of strawberries and some citrus. On the palate, it was a definite Old World style Rosé, dry but with delicious fruit flavors, strawberry, watermelon and almost peach. It was crisp, had some mineral notes and a good finish. A very good Rosé, and an excellent value at this price. I highly recommend it.

The 2008 Malbec comes from the San Juan Province of Argentina. It is made from 100%, was fermented in stainless steel and then age for six months in large, oak barrels. It also has an alcohol content of 13.5%. The Malbec had a fruity nose with hints of spice. It had a very bold taste, spicy with black fruit flavors and hints of chocolate. The tannins were mild and it had a lengthy finish. Another very good value wine.

The Yellow+Blue should please many wine lovers, and it is good to see Tetra Paks of this quality now being made, especially when the wines are also organic. I suspect Yellow+Blue will produce more wines in the future and I will keep my out for them. They certainly are very good values at only $10.99 for a liter. I recommend that you check them out.

With box wines and Tetra Paks, will the wine bottle become an endangered species?