"There is a devil in every berry of the grape," says the Koran. To the environmentally conscious, the wine bottle is not much better. At about 400 grams, a typical glass bottle is around eight times heavier than a plastic one. It therefore takes more energy to transport, and so entails greater emissions of greenhouse gases, which could be reduced by switching to lighter packaging.
Connoisseurs tend to flinch at the notion of drinking wine that comes in a plastic bottle or--heaven forbid--a box. But mass producers have succeeded in trading corks for screw caps, even for some more expensive bottles, without ruffling too many feathers.
New receptacles are now testing the limits of such open-mindedness.
Source: The Economist, http://www.economist.com