#Is wine safe to store in plastic plus#

Traditional wine corks are made from cork oak trees that grow thick bark. OK РІР‚В¦ so how else do plastics contribute to my eco-conscious Friday evening happy hour? Tree Cork or Plastic Cork? Fortunately, itРІР‚в„ўs no longer primarily РІР‚Сљplonk.РІР‚Сњ Even Wine Spectator rates some of them and has nice things to say. That adds up to a lot of wine sold in plastics. Then thereРІР‚в„ўs also quite a bit of wine served in casual restaurants that starts out in a box РІР‚В¦ uh, I mean bag.

wine market from 2009 to 2014, when it reached 17.5 percent of all wine sold by volume. A study of non-restaurant sales figures conducted for found that the boxed wine market doubled its share of the U.S. While boxed wine may not have the same cachР“В© as bottled wine, itРІР‚в„ўs actually becoming quite popular. Plus, the plastic pour spout just feels a bit safer in my kitchen or backyard-no messy concern about shattered bottles. So I can waste less wine-and I hate wasting anything, especially food and drink.

That bag and the plastic spigot do a good job of protecting the wine from oxygen, so the wine typically lasts longer than bottled wine that tends to go bad over time when the wine mingles with air after opening. The box basically is used to hold a bag that is made from plastic. What about wine-in-a-box? No plastics there, right? Well РІР‚В¦ of course, the wine in those boxes is not really touching the cardboard (duh). However, offering wine in plastic bottles is a much more common practice abroad, so perhaps we will see a greater shift in the future as global sustainability goals advance. Still, based on the wines stocked on store shelves, you probably already know that plastic wine bottles have not taken the country by storm, as some predicted a few years back. Sounds great РІР‚В¦ recyclable, lightweight, shatter-resistant, helps reduce fuel costs and emissions. You can check out this video in which one of the makers of these little bottles reviews some of the advantages of this lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative.Р”Р„nd what about recycling? Plastic bottles are widely recycled across the U.S., and their recycling rates continue to grow.

Been on an airplane lately? You may have noticed that single serve wine bottles made of plastic now are the norm.

You can watch the Naked Winery winemakers drop a plastic bottle of wine and discuss its advantages in this video. Plus, this helps reduce fuel costs and emissions from shipping all that wine (so I can feel good about helping the environment while hiking through it to my campsite with my lightweight bottle!). The plastic bottles typically are much lighter than glass, which makes them easier to tote.

Naked Winery in Oregon sells numerous wines designed for outdoor use, such as concerts or camping.

Some of the advantages-reduction in carbon footprint, less packaging-are explained in this video from the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

Boisset Family Estates claims that its Fog Mountain brand offered the first California wine in a one-liter PET bottle.

wineries actually do sell their wines in bottles made with plastic, typically PET, the same type of plastic used for soft drink bottles.

#Is wine safe to store in plastic plus#

And recent innovations in plastics are helping keep wines fresh and yummy РІР‚В¦ plus lighten their environmental load. And, in fact, many wines already are sold or shipped in plastics. Many leaders in the wine industry have been asking the same questions and working hard to improve sustainability in their operations. Which led Professor Plastics (me!) to wonder: why not offer wine in plastic containers? I know my kitchen floor and walls would appreciate that.Р”Р„nd could lightweight plastics contribute to sustainability (and my eco-conscience)? I mean, given studies showing that plastic packaging can help reduce waste, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions, could plastics help reduce the environmental footprint of this global industry? Then one day I dropped a wine bottle, and it shattered at my feet. When I think of wine, I typically envision the glass bottle: its lovely shapes, the iconic РІР‚Сљplunk!РІР‚Сњ when pulling the cork, the solidity of that heavy container in my hand.