(Forbes) - Every so often something comes along in the wine world that makes you sit up and take notice. Once you have a closer look, that something sometimes makes you sit right back, dumbfounded, in a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that kind of way.

Ready for the latest “something”?

Magnum bottles of wine that are refilled at the winery by repeat customers.

It’s the idea of growlers — which are containers or vessels that are used to transport beverages, most often craft beer transported from its source — but applied to wine.

Wine growlers.

At first I thought, What a great idea!

And then I thought, Well, duh… If it’s already being done with other beverages (such as beer and even kombucha tea at my local farmers market), then why not do it with wine?

That’s exactly what Pend d’Oreille Winery has been doing, as I learned when I visited them in Sandpoint, Idaho a few weeks ago. Several wineries nearby also participate in similar programs. The idea to refill containers of wine isn’t new — I vividly remember a cooperative in southern Italy whose wine was dispensed from the nozzles and hoses of what looked like mini gasoline pumps — but it was the first time I’d seen the idea applied in the U.S.