Wine in a box isn't a new phenomenon. I remember seeing boxed wines in family-oriented restaurants at least 30 years ago. The boxed wine back then wasn't very good and neither was the quality of the packaging, but it served a need.

These days, the technology for boxed wine is much better. The liners and spigots maintain an air-tight seal even as the box empties. And the wines don't taste of plastic. Companies like TetraPak have also developed smaller wine boxes, similar to some juice cartons, that are small and light enough to be carried in a hiker's backpack. However, for the most part, the quality of the wine one finds in boxes has not improved all that much.

Some box wine companies, such as Black Box, have been edging toward goodness. Yet, I've still not found a boxed wine that I could truly recommend. For now, the only boxes of wine I can get behind are those that hold twelve bottles.

I'm not alone in this view and the topic of a high-end, or at least very good quality, boxed wine was raised at last week's Symposium for Professional Wine Writers. Tom Johnson of Louisville Juice was one of the instigators of the conversation, asking who might produce the first $80 box of wine. Eric Asimov of the New York Times offered his thoughts on boxed wines yesterday in his column.

If wine blogs should not be evaluated on the basis of sales they generate, how should a winery or other prospective advertiser determine which ones to support? The precise answer will vary a bit based on factors related to the winery or advertiser. What is their market position, price point, target demographic, etc. Of course, questions like that are pretty standard to the planning of any promotional program.

That is as it should be. Blogs are not so different from other types of media or promotional opportunities. The key differentiating points are that 1) anybody can publish a blog and 2) they tend to take a more personal approach to their subject matter than would a magazine or newspaper. That being the case, why not apply standard metrics for social media to blogs?

The topic of Bordeaux en primeur is hot right now. The current stir started with an article in Decanter. The article is about Americans (finally) realizing that buying futures in Bordeaux wine isn’t always a good idea, even in excellent years. The article seems to have been prompted, at least in part, by U.S. wine resellers that are wondering what they are going to do with all the 2008 and 2009 Bordeaux they’ve committed to buy, since they can’t get rid of their ’05, ’06, and ’07.  “The conviction that en primeur in a great vintage is always worth buying has been shaken and probably destroyed,” said Michael Glasby of Premier Cru in the pull-quote that launched a thousand tweets.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has announced new policies requiring full disclosure of sponsorships related to blog articles and reviews. Beginning in December, bloggers who are paid to mention, review or otherwise promote a product must make that completely clear to readers. Failure to do so can lead to fines of up to $11,000. (See this Washington Post article for more information on the new FTC rules.)