In our increasingly eco-conscious culture, more and more people are trying to figure out the greenest method for different things. How about wine packaging? In the past few years, boxed wine is gaining steam as a practical way of packaging wine. Because of various benefits and sleek packaging design, boxed wines are less and less associated with being a cheap box of Franzia. Oh yes, I said Franzia.

But a debate has now surfaced as to which method of wine packaging is greener? Bottling or boxing wine? Lets take a look at some facts.

Bottled wine is heavier and less efficient that boxed wine from a packaging perspective. Unless you’re buying wine local (In a bottle), a lot of energy has been used shipping wine so that it arrives safely for your consumption. In fact, it has been said that if you live on the East Coast, buying wine from Europe is more eco-friendly than buying wine from California. This is because of the boat ride the wine is getting from Europe rather than the long truck ride from California. Since so much wine travels incredible distances, the burning of fossil fuels really adds up.

Some wineries have worked towards lighter bottles to bottle their wine in. Fetzer Vineyards in California have reduced their carbon footprint by 14% by using lighter bottles. Lightening wine bottles by 3.3 ounces will reduce a vineyard’s glass usage by 2,100 tons. Wow.

Though lightening the weight of the wine bottles is good, boxed wine ends up being tons lighter in weight than the lightest wine bottles out there. Boxed wine is also closeable which makes it last longer than bottled wine- reducing the temptation of feeling you have to finish a bottle of wine within hours of the time it’s corked. But boxed wine isn’t perfect. Boxes don’t work for aging wines. You cannot let vintage wines age in your basement in a box.

The biggest advantage that bottled wine has is that it’s easily recycled. You’d think that boxed wine would be just as easy to recycle but it’s not. Especially in the US where we are so far behind in that regard. Although adding up the energy it takes to melt and transport glass for recycling and the low-volume landfill use that boxed wine uses, it’s hard to see it as a clear cut advantage.

So it seems that the answer to which is a greener packaging method for wine, boxed wine comes out on top. But will it be the preferred wine packaging of the future? I have to admit, there is something to be said about browsing hundreds of labels in the wine store and bringing one home and corking it. But the fact that boxed wines don’t sacrifice taste and stay fresher longer is attractive as well.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you had boxed in wine recent years and what was your experience with the taste?