The Bib Gourmand in gastronomy: when Alain Passard reassures everyone

There are anecdotes that flip a conviction on its head. Vincent tells this one.

Before launching LET IT BiB, there was obviously one question that kept coming up: the BIB (Bag-in-Box) is great for everyday use, for evenings with friends, for enthusiasts who want to drink well without breaking the bank. But for serious fine dining? For restaurants that pay attention to every detail of their menu?

And then Vincent learned that Alain Passard—chef at L'Arpège, three Michelin stars—had asked his winemakers to package his wines by the glass in bag-in-box.

Not to be trendy. Not to save money at all costs. For a simple and concrete reason: consistent quality by the glass, from the first pour to the last.

Why use BIB for wine by the glass, even in high-end restaurants?

The question isn't "is the BIB good enough for a starred restaurant?" The question is: "is the wine served in the tenth glass of the same quality as the first?"

With an opened bottle, the answer is often no. Oxygen does its work, the wine evolves—sometimes well, often not. The 8:30 PM customer is not drinking exactly the same wine as the customer at noon.

With a BIB, the airtight bag guarantees that it is. Each glass poured is identical to the one before it. For a chef who cares as much about the plate as what accompanies it, this is a technical argument that makes sense.

The other reason—and it matters just as much to Alain Passard as it does to Vincent

Alain Passard is also the man who took meat off his menu in 2001 to build a cuisine entirely around vegetables and his own gardens. Ecological commitment is not a posturing for him—it is the common thread in everything he does.

The BIB fits exactly into this logic. A bottle of wine is about 500g of glass for 750ml of liquid—meaning nearly a third of the total weight exists only to contain the wine. The BIB, meanwhile, is composed of over 90% of its actual contents. Less material to produce, less weight to transport, less energy spent on every delivery. A truck of BIBs transports significantly more wine than a truck of bottles for an equivalent cargo volume—the difference is reflected directly in transport-related emissions.

As for waste: the cardboard is recycled through standard channels. No specific collection, no glass to store in the back kitchen before removal. For a restaurant that receives several deliveries a week, that's one less waste stream that isn't visible on the menu but is visible on the bottom line.

For a restaurant working with winemakers in organic, biodynamic, or sustainable farming—winemakers who have made strong choices regarding their practices—the BIB extends that coherence to the packaging. That is not insignificant.

What this changes for you

We aren't saying you should put your entire menu in BIB. We are saying that for your by-the-glass selection—the references you change, rotate, and open on demand—the BIB is an honest answer to a real problem.

Your customers don't see what's behind the bar. They see what's in their glass.

Our professional offer

3L and 5L BIBs for restaurants and small events. Prices excluding VAT. Fast delivery across France.
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TO LEARN MORE

• Restaurants and wine bars: why the BIB is your best ally for wine by the glass
• BIB in the hospitality industry: savings, convenience, sustainable commitment
• Hotels, caterers, event planning: how the BIB simplifies your beverage logistics
  
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