Good Chemistry: Green Tips for Better Health, from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Boxed Wine: Think Outside of the Bottle

I can’t think of anything I love more than a fine glass of wine. Its one of those things I can justify on every occasion: “I worked really hard today, I earned this.” “I had the worst day ever, I deserve the pick me up.” “I got the promotion! Let’s celebrate...” You get my point.

But I also consider myself a responsible drinker. I drink wine in moderation, I never drive after more than one glass, and I purchase the ever-so-classy, but more importantly, eco-friendly boxed wine.

photo credit: George Marks / Getty Images / Photo Illustration Gloria Dawson

photo credit: George Marks / Getty Images / Photo Illustration Gloria Dawson

I know what you are thinking—“Gross! There’s a reason why Box O’ Wine is cheap.” Not so quick, my friends. As a responsible and environmentally savvy wine lover, I’m here to tell you the times are changing.

One reason to go boxed has to do with cork. Fine wine used to be a long process, but with modern technology, wine production is being accelerated all over the world. This has created a greater demand for cork. “In years past, cork was harvested from trees eight to ten years old. Now corks are made from four year old trees grown in forests which are too large due to increasing demand,” reports Steve Swan of Bay Crossing.

These younger corks have a tendency to contain a “dead spot" little pocket of bad cork, which reacts with the wine as it rests in the bottle creating a compound known as 246 Trichloricanisol. This compound causes the wine to be tainted, aka, “corked wine.”

Another reason try to boxed wine is because there are now many more brands to choose from (meaning you don’t have to resort to Almaden-- ew).

French rabbit Chardonnay tastes great and its packaging is made of 70% paperboard, a renewable resource. They also plant one tree for every 4 wines sold!

Three Thieves Bandit Pinot Grigio is another fav, whose wine comes in “lightweight, portable and eco-smart containers.”

And anything from Boho Vineyards is delicious, whose 3L Premium Cask package outer cardboard shell is made from 95% recycled material with soy-based printing inks and results in 85% less landfill waste. 

Still not convinced about boxed wine? Check out these reviews

Cheers, to earning that glass of wine and protecting the environment!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

 

One Response to “Boxed Wine: Think Outside of the Bottle”

  1. Numbers Manfredi Says:

    Good post! This is a really interesting blog which you have.

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