reducing your carbon footprint? don't drink outside the box

As if wine needs another reason for us to love it, here's one more: Boxed wine is good for the environment.

This week's New York Times wine blog rekindled my love for all things boxed wine - it's cheaper, it stays fresh longer, and despite the reputation of Franzia and other similarly low-quality wines, there is actually a pretty good selection of high-quality wines that just happen to have bag-in-box packaging. There's a box of cheap sangria in my fridge right now, and it brings me great happiness - it may not be Moet et Chandon, but it's palatable both financially and gustatorily. As one blogger puts it, "Boxed wine may be short on charm, but it is long on practicality." Pretty much the only reason bottled-and-corked wine is so popular today is because of the perception that these wines are finer. Glass packaging may actually be bad for the product - glass allows light through which may degrade the wine, and the cork can seep into the liquid which can taint the flavor.

But my favorite pro-box argument is that boxed wines have a smaller carbon footprint that bottled wines. How exactly, do you ask? Through three main routes:

(1) Less gasoline emissions due to cheaper transportation. Boxed wines weigh less per liter of liquid than bottled wines (cardboard is lighter than glass). Also, greater quantities of boxed wine can fit in cargo areas due to their rectangular and easily-stackable shape, whereas bottled wine is fragile and oddly-shaped, making it difficult to ship. More wine for less gas means fewer carbon footprints!

(2) Cardboard and glass are both recyclable - but it is oftentimes more difficult to locate glass recycling facilities. Also, neighborhood recycling collectors sometimes won't pick up glass because it's too dangerous for the collectors. Cardboard, in most cases, is easier to deal with recycling-wise.

(3) When you open a bottle of wine, you have to finish it within about 48 hours. When you open a box, you've got at least a month. People are more likely to toss out day-old bottled wine due to spoilage - thus, boxed wine can reduces burden created by waste.

Let's not forget that boxes and bottles both contain wine - and while the product may not be identical in flavor, their ingredients are pretty similar. And the health-promoting effects of these ingredients are pretty well-publicized, when consumed in moderation. Because boxed wines are generally less expensive, this allows a greater number of people - of a greater range of income - to benefit.

Boxes do have their environmental drawbacks - the plastic bag inside the boxes is usually not recyclable, and more labor is needed to assemble these boxes (which corresponds with greater manufacturing emissions). But these are tradeoffs which, in the long run, may not outweigh the pro-box arguments.

So would it really be so outrageous to suggest that policymakers subsidize American wine manufacturers who box their wines? In a few years, America will probably be the biggest wine producer in the world, so it's important to think about how this global industry operates. We're trying to be a more environmentally responsible nation, and if there were incentives to try and change the perception of boxed wines, more wineries would box better-quality wines, quality sellers would keep more boxed wines in stock, and more consumers would switch to this packaging style. A decade or so ago nobody with class would even dream of drinking beer out of a can - but breweries knew it was an easier format to ship, and aluminum was easier to recycle. Eventually people came to allow cans to be an acceptable packaging (even New Belgium's Fat Tire is now sold in cans!). Maybe the boxed wine revolution needs a little subsidizing - or just a subtle policy push - in order to get rolling.

Oh, and technically, the most environmentally prudent way to consume wine would be to have your own glass jug and fill it up yourself at local wineries. No cross-country transportation, reusable container, and support of the local business economy. While it's a great idea, not everyone lives near a winery, and I'm not even positive if the owners allow this kind of transaction. I've personally filled up a growler at Lazlo's, a local microbrewery back in Nebraska. Maybe I'll try my luck with the jug at Bishop's down the road.) But it's how many families get their wine in France, and maybe U.S. wineries can accommodate (or at least publicize that they accommodate!) this technique soon.