as the classic australian invention of the cask wine turns 50 this year, the best goon bags on offer are revealed many of us associate drinking from a shiny silver bladder as our cheap and nasty introduction to wine in our clueless youth   however casks have come a long way in the past half of a century so much so that in 2015, one in every three glasses of wine drunk in australia actually comes out of a cask a stark contrast to back in 1973 when the cask hadn't taken off yet and drinking wine was only consumed on special occasions   hence each aussie only drank about 98 litres of wine per year this figure jumped to 193 litres per capita consumption over the next decade as people really got into the boxed varietal scroll down for video  drew lambert, a member of the popular wine blog, taste tested all casks that were taken out of their boxes, numbered and then pegged to the clothes line  the wine w*****s blog decided to test 10 of australia's most premium cask wine in the most stereotypically ocker way possible   hanging the bags from yet another fair dinkum aussie invention   the hills hoist clothes line   otherwise known as the goon of fortune game drew lambert, a member of the popular wine blog, taste tested all casks that were taken out of their boxes, numbered and then pegged to the clothes line drew encourages wine lovers to check out the variety of cask wines that is now on offer 'if you haven’t ventured into the cask section of your local bottle shop lately, you’re in for a treat 'cask producers have responded to the trend of consumers drinking less wine, but drinking better quality 'you’ll now find real varieties and actual vintages, and even popular regions such as mclaren vale and marlborough' but enough about educational side of things   let's find out what drew's taste buds believe are the top of the line in the cask wine world 1 de bortoli premium cabernet merlot (4 litres) $1650  score: 85  'a sensational wine with amazing balance and delicious cabernet fruit flavour of casis and oak brilliant value' 'a sensational wine with amazing balance and delicious cabernet fruit flavour of casis and oak brilliant value' 2 hardys the chronicals ‘butchers gold’ mclaren vale 2012 shiraz (15 litres) $25  score: 85  'terrific varietal flavours of plum and spice with lashings of toasty oak' 'terrific varietal flavours of plum and spice with lashings of toasty oak' 3 banrock station cabernet merlot (2 litres) $12  score: 8  'great cassis berry flavours perfect to have with meat at your next barbecue' 'great cassis berry flavours perfect to have with meat at your next barbecue' 4 yalumba premium selection 2014 chardonnay (2 litres) $13  score: 8  'i’m not surprised a chardonnay took out top honours, australia excels at terrific value chardonnay 'great balance with some lovely cool climate flavours of white nectarine, lemon and honeydew melon value plus and very smart' 'great balance with some lovely cool climate flavours of white nectarine, lemon and honeydew melon' 5 de bortoli premium reserve pinot grigio (2 litres) $10  score: 75  'great anti pasta wine with aromas of apple, pear, candy and spice flavours' 'great anti pasta wine with aromas of apple, pear, candy and spice flavours' 6 de bortoli premium reserve verdelho (2 litres) $10  score: 75  'there’s a party in my mouth! this is what you should be buying if you’re having a pool party it’s seriously fun' 'bags of fruity tropical flavours matched harmoniously with lemon and lime zest' 'bags of fruity tropical flavours matched harmoniously with lemon and lime zest' 7 de bortoli premium shiraz cabernet (4 litres) $1650  score: 75  'a full flavoured marriage of plum and blackberry flavours    a really great pasta wine' 'a full flavoured marriage of plum and blackberry flavours   a really great pasta wine' 8 ta ku 2014 marlborough sauvignon blanc (15 litres)  $24  score: 75  'not too bad considering this does herald from a cask, lovely crisp tropical fruit and gooseberry flavours matched with some grassy herbal characters' 'lovely crisp tropical fruit and gooseberry flavours matched with some grassy herbal characters' 9 yalumba premium selection 2014 sauvignon blanc semillion (2 litres) $13  score: 75  'this is almost a perfect quaffing white wine blend, definitely a fridge staple' 'there’s plenty of interesting fresh and lively tropical fruit characters matched with fresh herbs' 'plenty of interesting fresh and lively tropical fruit characters matched with fresh herbs' 10 banrock station sauvignon blanc (2 litres)  $12  score: 7  'pretty aromas of tropical candy and lime made perfect for that all important wine time on a friday afternoon on the verandah' 'pretty aromas of tropical candy and lime made perfect for that all important wine time on a friday afternoon on the verandah' 1 de bortoli premium cabernet merlot (4 litres) $ 1650  2 hardys the chronicals ‘butchers gold’ mclaren vale 2012 shiraz (15 litres) 85 $ 25  3 banrock station cabernet merlot (2 litres) $12  4 yalumba premium selection 2014 chardonnay (2 litres) $13  5 de bortoli premium reserve pinot grigio (2 litres) $10  6 de bortoli premium reserve verdelho (2 litres) $10  7 de bortoli premium shiraz cabernet (4 litres) $16  8 ta ku 2014 marlborough sauvignon blanc (15 litres) $24  9 yalumba premium selection 2014 sauvignon blanc semillion (2 litres) $13  10 banrock station sauvignon blanc (2 litres) $12 
2015 1973 half a decade australia australian 193 litres 10 years 98 litres
as cask wine turns 50 in australia   the top 20 goon bags are revealed  casks used to be cheap and nasty but have come long way in half a decade  in 2015, one in three glasses of wine drunk in australia comes out of a cask  in 1973, each australian was only drinking 98 litres of wine per year  after 10 years of cask presence, consumption rose to 193 litres per capita 