Anyone who’s emptied a box of Franzia is familiar with the wine pouch. Its hidden nature makes it feel like a secret or even a punchline in drinking games like Slap the Bag. It seems on its face like a funny or unexpected container for wine, but as it turns out, bags are one of the oldest forms of storing wine. You can find references to wineskins throughout history, ranging from Hemingway, a couple of centuries back in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, and reaching even further to Ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures.
Is it, potentially, weirder that we haven’t been using wineskins as much in modern times? Pouches are light, user-friendly, and they keep wine fresh—so, why the hell not? Mind you, classic wineskins were, unsurprisingly, made from the skins or bladders of animals, which begs for an alternative. Plastic has been the go-to for brands like Franzia, VRAC, and Maivino, but it’s one of the most wasteful materials around. Can it be sustainable?
Young Jerks’ charming, ergonomic, surprisingly eco-conscious design for Medly’s wine pouches has us not only thinking the bag is back but also that it might be a superior vessel. While its plastic container might seem less environmentally friendly than glass, its weight poses its own problems. Just one pouch of Medly is much lighter than the four bottles of wine it can fit inside, taking a huge chunk out of the product’s typical weight.
