Wine

Banrock does a fair rendition of a cab merlot if that's your go.

I've also been known to produce a cask of Vok Mojitos in the strangest of places.
Travelling by kayak with nil refrigeration for lots of trips has given me somewhat of a degree in chateau cardboard delights.

I was "forced" to take cask wine to the Bathurst V8 Supercars race last year as the camping rules stated "no glass of any kind allowed". Wishing to comply to the rules and not upset anybody, I was dumbfounded to find we were in the minority at the main camping area with the majority of folk taking their favorite bottles of red or white with them.

Notwithstanding, I sampled a couple of cask wines prior to the trip and determined that De Bortoli 2l cask red was OK, as was Hardy's red in the 3l cask.
That is what we took and that is what we drank.

As for the Quality? - Well, nothing beats the consumption of wine out of a glass bottle and sipped from a glass container, even in the cheaper bottles of red.

The one potential problem with cast wine is the addition of sulphur as a preservative and this can have an impact on the end result if enough is consumed.

I would generally not choose to take cask red on a camping trip as I find it no bother to put the empty bottles back in the carton, until they can be disposed of appropriately.

Banrock Station is better than your average Chateau Plastic fare

If you pay close attention to labels you'll find out vast majority of them are not even wine. The "wine" word doesn't even show on the cask. Some of the most popular wine drinks in casks are made of fermented fish products and not grape. Sorry if this probably this is not so relevant with your post.

Hi

Yalumba Premium Merlot 2L about $12.99.

I have been taking good quality wine on trips (mainly long distance bushwalks) for years. First, purchase a couple of general cask wines (Banrocks are drinkable, more so around the campfire or after a long walk) and either drink, give away or pour out the wine. Remove cap and wash thoroughly in filtered water. Leave to dry.

Now open a good bottle of your desired plonk. Pour into bladder, cap and open the valve to express ALL the air (okay, maybe pour yourself a small drink). Without air exposure your wine will last easily for a couple of weeks. Never sit atop of a beautiful peak or beside a great trout stream drinking bad wine.

Cheers,

Mark

Hi everyone,

A bit of the topic of which cask is best and it might be sacrilegious, but I not longer take wine out bush in glass or in casks. After having problems with leaking casks (even more sacrilegious) or storing the glass bottles for later disposal when when empty, I no longer take either bush.

At home I transfer it all into coke/pepsi 600 ml or 1.25 litre plastic bottles and I've never lost a drop since.

cheers

I know that this is slightly off topic ( not cask wine) but take a bottle of this :

http://www.hartzbarnwines.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2006-Barossa-Black-Bead-Sparkling-Red-Lagrein.pdf

To celebrate something special on the road ... An absolutely top quality drop.

Jerry.

Unless someone has suddenly put decent wine in a cask I think it is better to go without, or have a single malt perhaps.

Judes: Life is to short for a bad glass of wine! buy good wine (no excuse not to in Australia) and repack it (in 1-litre milk cartons) back into the original carton.
Dr Hook