Green Wine Boxes Make Europeans See Red

LONDON, Aug. 22, 2008— -- Imagine for a second that you are in Italy, let's say in the magnificent region of Tuscany.

There, you have your little villa, with wonderful pine trees around, ancient stones, the scorching sun, crickets buzzing in the garden. And on the table, slices of mozzarella, Roman plum tomatoes covered in olive oil and basil and, of course, some wonderful white wine ... served in a paper box.

Why would you want to drink quality-labeled Italian wine from a box? Ask the Italian ministry of agriculture.

The agriculture ministry has decided to allow the producers of the country's top-notch wines to sell their vino in cardboard boxes and in more refined versions of the wine box with a plastic pocket inside that protects the wine better.

The reasons are a mix of concerns about the environment and flattening sales abroad because of tough competition.

Italy's ministry of agriculture decided that allowing winemakers to sell their products in boxes could potentially open new market opportunities.

"We took act of the market's instances," read an agriculture ministry statement, "especially in northern Europe, where bags-in-box could be a useful way to promote Italian wines."

Besides, Roberto Bazzano, sales manager of a packaging company called Bag-in-box Italy, argues that modern packaging systems are as good as bottles at keeping the wine's original taste intact.

"The bag-in-box protects it from the oxidation and the damaging effects of light on the flavor," he told ABC News.

Making and transporting boxes rather than bottles is also environment-friendly.

The packaging allows wine companies to cut down their carbon footprint by 55 percent, according to the California-based Wine Group, which is known for its Franzia wine in a box.

It takes much less energy to produce and transport cardboard and plastic boxes, partly because they are much lighter than glass bottles.