Basically, winemakers would start with what they wanted for an end product and try to push the wines in that direction through a variety of technologies. What you end up with is the supermarket tomatoes of the wine world. Wines that are colorful and look pretty, but are lacking in flavor and completely soulless.

Can you remember your first experience biting into a perfectly ripened tomato handpicked from the garden? It’s this type of profound, yet simple experience that draws us out into the farmers’ markets and back into our kitchens this time of year. Fortunately, this same type of illuminating experience can still be found in the world of wine, if you know where to look.

Today’s most innovative and compelling winemakers all seem to have one thing in common–they are redefining what it means to call a wine natural. Admittedly, the term means something different to everyone. It covers the range from sustainable, organic, and biodynamic growing methods to natural techniques of fermentation to blatant (and often baseless) green marketing propaganda.

Forgetting about rules and regulations I think we all know what natural is when we taste it. It’s the difference between a supermarket tomato and the one from the farmer’s market–there’s just more there.

A wine that is gently crafted, rather than manipulated, allows the personality of the grapes, the region, and that growing season to shine through. These wines have the ability to transport you in one sip to the hillsides where they were grown, just like a summer ripe blueberry takes me camping in New Hampshire and a briny oyster sends me to Cape Cod.

Natural wines are often made in tiny quantities and aren’t supported by flashy advertising campaigns, so you might not be familiar with the labels or perhaps even the grape varietal or the region, but they are definitely discoveries worth seeking out.

Read about Kerri Platt and The Wine Bottega

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The new wave in wine packaging is even more difficult for some consumers to get their head around, but I promise that the benefits outweigh any silly snobbery. Folks, it’s time to stop thinking outside the box and simply drink what’s inside of it.

First made popular in Australia and synonomous with Franzia in the United States, box wine is now moving from plonk to posh. (For any of you uber-traditionalists shaking your heads, might I remind you that at one time wine was stored in goat skins and I don’t think any of us would eagerly return to those glory days!)

This is a topic that has intrigued me for many years, to the extent that I wrote my Master’s thesis on premium box wine. Needless to say, it has been incredibly exciting to finally see the vision become a reality.

This year we have seen the explosion of high quality wine in 1-liter Tetrapaks, like you see for soymilk or stock, as well as 3-liter bag in boxes from around the glob

Why is this a good thing? Please allow me to explain. A standard 12-bottle, 9-liter case of wine weighs about 45 pounds, half of which is packaging. A case of Tetrapaks, however, is only 26 pounds and contains 3 extra liters of wine. Think about all the fuel wasted on transporting those heavy bottles around the globe. In addition to the environmental friendliness, box wines are also friendly to your pocketbook and your lifestyle. We have seen wines that would retail for $12 a bottle sell for $30 a box (the equivalent of 4 bottles), so basically an $18 discount. For boating, backpacking, and other outdoor activities, box wines offer a safer and stable alternative to fragile glass.

Saving the best for last, the bag in box wines stay fresh for up to a month and a half after opening! The bag collapses as the wine is poured and the spout prohibits the ingress of oxygen. This means if you just feel like having one glass of wine with dinner, you don’t have to worry about wasting the rest of the bottle.

Need a cup of wine for a recipe? Box wine should be a pantry staple. Throw some in your soup or sautée and enjoy a glass while you cook. I assure you that we are talking about great quality, artisan wines, not mass produced industrial alcohol. Many of our customers were skeptical when we first started offering an array box wines, but the rave reviews and repeat sales speak for themselves. So, what are you waiting for?

Interestingly, I meet so many culinarily adventurous people who limit themselves to just two “spices” when it comes to wine. For white it might always be chardonnay and for red, pinot noir. Or perhaps it’s always pinot grigio and cabernet sauvignon. Whatever the combination, this red and white duo is just as black and white as sticking to salt and pepper.

So, for 2010 it’s time to make a resolution to work on spicing up your wine selections. Trying new and unusual grape varieties doesn’t need to be shocking to your palate.

It can be as easy as substituting sprigs of rosemary for thyme while roasting chicken: similar and equally delicious, just a bit of a change from the normal routine. The equivalent might be trying a citrusy, herbal vermentino from the island of Sardinia instead of your tried and true New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Just like experimenting with garam masala or cilantro, a new wine is an inexpensive way to travel and get a taste of a new culture.

So here is your homework: make your wine rack as interesting as your spice rack.

For beginners: On the white side, look for an erbaluce, verdicchio, or gewürztraminer. For reds, experiment with nero d’avola, cabernet franc, or carmenere. Don’t stress out if you can’t find the exact grape recommended–the idea is to experiment! Your local wine shop should be able to launch you on your adventure with some interesting suggestions.

Take it up a notch: Spaghetti and meatballs with Chianti is a classic, but a smoky aglianico grown in volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius will transport you to Naples (where pasta is said to have been invented). An Argentine malbec with steak tips instead of a California cabernet will have your taste buds tango-ing instead of ho-hum-ing.

For additional inspiration, here are some food and wine pairing suggestions featuring popular recipes on Plummelo. Let us know how it goes! And let us know if there are recipes on Plummelo for which you’d like wine pairings.

Kerri Platt is the owner of The Wine Bottega, located in Boston’s North End. The Wine Bottega provides recipe and wine pairing suggestions on Plummelo.com.

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