To bag or not to bag? That is the question.
![IMG_2122](https://sherrycompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_2122.jpg?w=225&h=300)
One of the current controversial subjects popping up with the Consejo Regulador, and shaking up Sherry in general is the Sanlucar bodegas right to self determination especially in selecting the format of distributing the wine in larger quantities, or better known as the Bag in Box conundrum. I write my opinion in the following lines to see if there can be a way back to logic and unification, before things turn for the worse.
A group of bodegas from Sanlucar have adamantly defied the Consejo’s rule that Sherry can only be contained and commercialized in glass bottles, prohibiting the usage of Bag in Box Sherry. The positions are clear, the Consejo will not cede an inch and in fact rewrote the rules to leave no doubt of previous interpretation in a meeting that confirmed the change in wording by member vote. The Sanlucar bodegas comprised of a mix of houses, stands by Bag in Box, and the independent right of selling and distributing with what they feel is the more convenient and modern sanitary receptacle for Manzanilla Sherry in particular.
My opinion regarding this situation is clear, coming from an American background and point of view, I regard Sherry as having much larger problems to focus on, especially the declining sales everywhere around the world. How could it be this little rip in the fabric of Sherry is beginning to cause a tear in the overall organization and a rift between what is essentially the same?
My solution is to test and measure. It is absurd to base oneself on either the Consejo or the Manzanilla rebels’ opinions. Opinions are just that, one sided thoughts that cut out the other picture. The Consejo states its case against Bag in Box in regards to image, prestige, and the optimum quality Bag in Box lacks to provide. Manzanilla touts the effect on buying bulk, convenience, and excellent sales quantification. The time has come to lock the leaders of both sides in the beautiful Consejo offices over some fine tapas and Sherries, and hammer out a solution.
If by the Consejo’s own logic the Bag in Box is a negative image, a fault on the overall prestige of Sherry, then let each individual bodega decide for its own. Some bodegas will decide in favor of selling in this format, and according to the Consejo, will suffer a “lower quality” image, and damage their own reputation.. let them. Many other bodegas will not bother, taking heed of the Consejo’s advice and continue only selling in glass, and coming up with bottles like the Versos from Barbadillo. Many bodegas I feel will test and measure, seeing if their Bag in Box fits in a certain tier of customer segmentation, or if it provides a direct solution to customers who have a problem, and even compete in different markets that they are not currently in. If this works and the numbers are stacked in favor of the bodega, how can the shift toward innovation (not just in packaging format) and other initiatives be stopped by the Consejo? How can an organization that was created to protect, promote, and to represent the private interests of all the registered wine-growers and sherry firms impede any successful initiative working in favor of a bodega?
Sherry Company
Further reading:
http://www.sherry.wine/origins/consejo-regulador
http://jerez-xeres-sherry.blogspot.com/2016/03/4316-manzanilla-rebels-seek-public.html