Alf Tumble: I am happy to promote buying wine by the case

In 2014, Alf Tumble arrived at Systembolaget’s headquarters with a bag designed to carry six wine bottles safely, without the familiar clinking. He and a bag designer imagined a practical, stylish product made from heavy canvas and Swedish leather. The response was clear: the bag cost too much, and Systembolaget could not sell something that encouraged bulk buying.

Six bottles of wine, the retailer suggested, were a little too much. Tumble now looks back at that argument with some curiosity. He wishes he had also challenged the logic of three-litre wine boxes with taps. Why was that format acceptable if six bottles were considered excessive?

The wine bag eventually developed a life of its own outside Systembolaget and has since appeared in many versions. Its original purpose was not only to transport bottles securely, but to display them rather than hide them in a rattling plastic bag. Tumble saw that as a way to reduce the taboo surrounding wine purchases in Sweden.

Systembolaget later replaced its plastic bags with a durable brown paper bag. It now also offers a reusable bag made from recycled material that can carry six bottles without the clinking. In Tumble’s view, bulk buying no longer seems to be a problem, whether the wine comes in bottles or boxes.

He also sees advantages in larger bottles. The growing number of one-litre bottles can mean better wine, less sulphur and higher quality at a reasonable price, often from quality producers. But the biggest advantage, he writes, is simple: “FEST.” At a recent birthday party, the hosts decorated the dinner tables exclusively with large bottles. It looked inviting, stylish and practical.

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FEST