No one likes change. Especially if the change involves something that can be expensive and is fun to drink in the dark by a roaring fire. (How romantic!)

I’m talking about wine, of course!

I’m not an oenophile by any means. Although I’ll admit I enjoy sipping a glass of crisp, oak-y, Frei Brothers Reserve Chardonnay 2007 while I sit in the dark, in my jammies, and read The Frugal Oenophile.

Up until now, I’ve been pretty content with buying my wine in a glass bottle. But I’m also committed to doing my part to ensure the planet’s future as well, so I’ve been thinking about making the switch to wine stored in PET bottles.

I’ve heard a number of confusing pros and cons about the use of PET plastic bottles for wine, so I went poking around the web to find out more.

According to The Wine Aanorak, an online wine magazine, how we store wine has actually been debated for a long, long time. In fact, even glass bottles are a new idea in wine storage.

From The Wine Aanorak:
Alternative packaging for wine is nothing new. Indeed, glass bottles themselves are a relatively recent innovation in the history of wine, dating back to the 18th century. Prior to this wine was transported in bulk, and sold from barrel or clay amphora, moving to more temporary storage media at destination, such as the wineskin. It’s worth bearing in mind that much today’s wine still never sees a bottle, but is drunk close to source.

The introduction of glass as a storage medium changed wine as we know it: while the notion of aging wine is not a new one (old Falernian of Rome springs to mind), bottles sealed with corks made it possible for the current fine wine scene to develop.

In recent years, moves have been made to replace glass, which while being excellent at protecting wine from the ingress of oxygen, is heavy and has a tendency to break. There has been a shift to bag-in-box for cheaper wines, as well as more radical options such as Tetrapak and cans.

But the latest development - is the appearance of standard sized PET bottles on supermarket shelves...

Why is this so newsworthy? Well, there are two main reasons. PET, a plastic which has the more formal name of polyethylene teraphthalate, has been used for wine before, most commonly with small 25 cl bottles, and also with 1.5 litre bottles of plonk from the south of France. But this is the first time that wine in standard sized 75 cl bottles has been presented in plastic on supermarket shelves.

The second reason it is newsworthy is because of the current interest in reducing carbon dioxide emissions... It’s likely we’ll see more of these plastic wine bottles on supermarket shelves, even if consumers take a while to get used to them. The major supermarkets are all talking very seriously about reducing carbon footprints of the products on their shelves, and with published commitments to reducing emissions, they’ll be the drivers of such change - perhaps even ahead of consumer preferences. [Of course, their hope and expectation is that consumers will welcome these initiatives.]

PET bottles are sturdy and unbreakable, which is a plus already. They’re also smaller and lighter than glass bottles, which means not only are they easier to store, but they cost less to ship and use less fossil fuel to transport.

However, wine stored in PET bottles may have some disadvantages, too.

For instance, some argue that PET allows oxygen penetration of the wine, which may cause wine to age improperly or loose freshness more quickly. Also, many people say that wine from plastic bottles has an “off” taste, which may affect not only enjoyment, but also investment. (Who wants to buy a case of a good vintage only to have it lose value or be thrown out because no one will drink it?)

The decision about using plastic to store wine may be one that is made for us, eventually, considering the environmental implications of glass versus plastic. But even if you’re a purist when it comes to your libations, you might want to test the waters, so to speak, and give wine stored in PET a try. I’ve listed a few recommendations from Wine.com below. Cheers!

Paraduxx Napa Valley Red Wine 2006

Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Red Wine 2005

Louis Bernard Bonus Passus Cotes du Rhone (PET bottle) 2007

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005