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Vino for Outside: Clif Bar Wine

By STEPHEN REGENOLD

Clif Bar & Company is known for its energy gels and namesake bars. But alcoholic beverages? A division of the company, run by husband and wife co-owners Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, grows and sources grapes in Napa Valley and produces a line of red and white wines under the guise of the Clif Family Winery.

This spring, the Clif winery has a new offering made to appeal to oenophiles headed into the outdoors. The winery’s Climber Pouch varietals, a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, come in strong-sided and backpack-friendly pouches. There is a hole on top made for clipping the pouch in with a carabiner.

clif wine copy.jpg

Clif Climber Pouch wine

The packaging, made by a company called AstraPouch Inc., is environmentally smart and convenient for taking camping or backpacking. Unlike a glass bottle, the pouch cannot easily break. It is lighter weight than glass.

After it’s open, the pouch, which has no cork, is simple to reseal. There’s a small button to push on the pour valve; press it to let the wine flow, and release the button to seal the container closed.

Clif cites that wine will stay fresh for up to one month after the valve is first opened. Another bonus: Once done with the wine, a camper can roll up the pouch and pack it away — no empty bottles to tote along down the trail.

On the sustainably side, Clif touts an “80 percent lower carbon footprint” and significantly less waste generated than the two glass bottles that the 1.5-liter Climber Pouch replaces.

clif wine pouch.jpg

Push-to-pour valve reseals for safe transport on the trail

Cost of the Climber Pouch (www.climberpouch.com) wine is $16.99 for either the red or the white, both of which — in my admittedly somewhat uncultured opinion — are great. Don’t ask me to get into adjectives and tasting descriptors. But Clif cites its white as a “crisp, unoaked Chardonnay” with flavors of grapefruit, melon and apple. The red is advertised as “juicy” and “alive with blackberry jam, plum and black currant flavors.”

For me, the Clif vino was not just mediocre but good wine. The price is fair. And the pouch container is a deal-maker for anyone who wants to bring a couple “bottles” on a trip into the great outdoors.

—Stephen Regenold is founder and editor of www.gearjunkie.com.

Commenting on post : Vino for Outside: Clif Bar Wine
Posted by Paulo - 05/26/2011 10:44 AM

Not that I often take wine on the trail, but this is a great concept.

It’d be nice to come across it in smaller quantities. Say 500 ml for two people.

Posted by Laidlaw - 05/26/2011 11:10 AM

There was a company 5 or 6 years ago that was doing the same thing for beer. I wish they’d bring that back, I haven’t seen it in ages, but it was basically beer in capri-sun-style pouches. Backcountry bliss…
—Mark

Posted by DRoy - 05/26/2011 08:34 PM

Paulo,
Check out French Rabbit Wines. They package some wine in cardboard “Juice boxes”. You can get little 250ml four packs. Decent wine too.

Posted by Jonathan - 05/26/2011 09:56 PM

The Platypus PlatyPreserve Wine Preservation System (27 fl. oz.) is another cheap option.

Posted by gnarlydog - 05/26/2011 10:12 PM

flash news from Australia: we invented the wine in a box. Clif has just done a more pleasant packaging and possibly a higher quality content (the Ozzie wine is usually plonk). Our wine comes in 4 lt (real rubbish), 2lt (a bit better). The spent wine bladders are often used as camp pillows :-)
or cheap water containers (they puncture eventually).

Posted by Jonas - 05/31/2011 06:59 PM

I was just about to order it to try it out until I saw that shipping was nearly just as expensive as the product itself! Guess I’ll have to go with the Platypus instead…

Posted by Tiffany - 05/31/2011 11:35 PM

I found a bottle of the Clif Wine in Ohio, of all places, and it was surprisingly tasty. I’d pick this up in a second to haul outdoors. Way to go Clif!

Posted by mitmax - 06/01/2011 10:05 AM

is the clif pouch reusable?

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