“Wine Technology of the Future” is a series on The Academic Wino that features new inventions and patents that attempt to make your wine experience easier and more enjoyable. Previously on this series, we’ve introduced the “self aerating wine bottle”; the “corkscrew with integral intelligent thermometer”; “wine dispensing and preservation device”; and most recently the “multi-stream wine aerating device”. Today’s invention is the “Wine Bag Carrier” invented by Jerry Griffith from Loudon, TN. The patent was filed on March 16th, 2012 and was published on October 11th, 2012.
According to the inventor, this wine bag carrier was invented as an alternative to the current bag-in-box wine packaging. Specifically first, the author noted that the cardboard box that holds the plastic bag of wine inside is bulky and the same size regardless of whether or not the bag inside was full or empty. He cites that this is an issue for those lacking refrigerator space. Second, the author cites the wine bag carrier was invented to act as a literal carrier of wine from place to place. The bag could be worn on one’s shoulders for convenient travel and use in a variety of places.
Figure 2 from US Patent 0255971
The patent’s design indicates that the bag is insulated, thereby allowing the carrier to be transported out and about and still maintain the coolness of the wine inside. Just think—you can be our own personal travelling bar whenever you wished! The design of the bag is also such that as the wine is consumed, the sides of the bag may compress (unlike a cardboard box) allowing a greater utilization of space in one’s refrigerator. By compressing the bag, getting the last little bit of wine at the bottom of the bag is much easier to remove than it is when it is contained in the incompressible cardboard box.
I’m not going to lie; this invention is really straight forward and simple. It’s not a fancy complicated aerator or wine preservation device: it’s a bag. Simple concepts sometimes make great designs!
The wine bag carrier is designed to be insulated, with a bottom and two insulated sides. On one of the sides, there is an opening designed to fit the tap of the bag containing the wine. The inventor noted that the size of the bag is large enough to fit the standard wine-in-box-sized plastic wine bag. The bag is also outfitted with a messenger bag-style strap that one can easily wear around one’s shoulders. In addition, the bag is equip with a tap that protrudes from the side of the bag for easy pouring and is protected when not in use by a circular flange (i.e. a little cap).
Figures 4 and 5 from US Patent 0255971
What do you do when you’ve finished the bag of wine? The wine bag carrier is designed to unzip from one size in order to remove the empty bag and replace it with a full bag of wine. One would think having this cloth wine bag carrier would result in a decrease in waste due to not having the cardboard box housing the bag, however, since stores don’t sell the plastic bags of wine separate from the cardboard boxes, one would have to purchase a box of wine and then remove the bag from the cardboard to place in the cloth wine bag carrier. The cardboard box is then still waste and the cloth wine bag carrier hasn’t reduced the waste at all. If one were to sell the plastic bag of wine without the cardboard box, then the amount of waste produced could be reduced.
This could be a fun accessory and conversation piece for parties, picnics, sporting events, or any other get together that involves people getting together to enjoy a bit of the grape and each others’ company. In all honesty, it’s probably not something I would purchase for myself, but I think it certainly has its’ place in the economy. This product reminds me of the product already on the market, the “Menu Baggy Winecoat” (click for a description), though the wine bag carrier looks to be a little easier to carry due to its strap across the shoulders/back instead of the clutch-like handle on the Winecoat.
What do you all think of this invention? Is it something you could see yourself purchasing and using? Please feel free to leave your comments!
Patent Source: United States Patent Application Publication Number: US 2012/0255971 A1; http://patents.com/us-20120255971.html
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