Sam's Club to Offer Wine in a Barrel

Move over boxed wine -- Sam's Club this week will begin offering wine in a barrel.

The retailer will carry Sonoma. Calif.-based Red Truck Wines' new three-liter Mini-Barrel, a trademark- and patent-pending barrel design featuring the iconic wine-barrel shape, complete with rings, staves, a wood-grain look, and burned-in imagery and typography.

"The Mini-Barrel by Red Truck represents a real breakthrough in both concept and execution," said Dex McCreary, senior merchandise director, Wine and Spirits, Sam's Club, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart. "It is just the kind of quality and value proposition we like to offer our members, and it brings an innovative and authentic new design to wine enthusiasts."

The Mini-Barrel features an easy-pour spout with tamper-proof protection that requires no tearing or “fishing” to get to it. A patent-pending Opti-Flow incline built into the barrel ensures that all wine gets to the spout, so there's no tipping to get the last glass. The Mini-Barrel will be available at additional retailers nationally later in 2009.

The 2007 Red Truck Red Wine is a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot made by winemaker Charlie Tsegeletos. In 2008, Food & Wine magazine named the wine's 2005 vintage one of the Best American Wines $15 and Under.