Gotta confess – I am betwix and between on this topic. Intellectually I understand the almost desparate need for a greener world – but decent wine in cardboard boxes? Here’s some facts.
The manufacture of glass bottles consumes natural resources and contributes to greenhouse gases. Additionally the process produces nitrogen oxide, sufur dioxide, and tiny particles that can damage the lungs. Sounds nasty.
Then there is the whole issue of transportation. Most American wine is produced on the West Coast and most wine consumers are on the East Coast 3,000 miles away. With glass bottles one half the weight is the bottles. With case of cardboad boxed wine, 95% of the weight is the wine. One 750 ml bottle has a carbon footprint of 5.2 lbs. A 3 liter box which is 4 times the size has a footprint of only 2.5 lbs.
Here’s the fact that really caught my attention. If 97% of the U.S. wine that was meant to be consumed within a year or two was packaged in cardboard, it would be the equivalent of removing 400,000 cars from the road. That is a staggering number.
So intellectually the story is very clear. But I am still having a hard time. I am no snob – totally accept the screw top for wines not meant to age. However, what box wine I have tasted has been pretty poor. If a producer and label I trust experiments with cardboard, I am game to try again. I will keep you posted.
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Box wine is gross–much like Dunkin Donuts box’o'joe. And I had a tough enough time accepting that.