POSSIBLE OK FOR THE USE OF BAG-IN-BOX CONTAINERS FOR ITALIAN DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN WINES

Bag-in-box containers may soon be allowed for Italian denomination of origin wines.
The bag-in-box container was invented in Australia several decades ago as an alternative wine container to traditional glass bottles. It is composed of an airtight plastic sack with an airtight tap that is placed inside a cardboard box.

The potential go-ahead for this form of packaging was announced by the general secretary of the Italian Wine and Vine Confederation, Paolo Castelletti, who explained that after a meeting between the Italian national and regional winemaking sector and the Italian Minister of Agriculture, a draft of the new decree had been drawn up.

The text foresees that holders of denomination of origin certification will have to make a formal request for authorization of the use of alternative containers to glass bottles and that bag-in-box containers must have a capacity of at least 2 liters (decreasing the amount from the original minimum of 3 liters).

The decree specifies that some types of denomination wines like “reserve”, “superior”, and other specific tradition wines, will not be allowed to use the alternative packaging.
The decree would make it possible to modify the rules of individual DOC regulations through a procedure that would allow for individual producers to present their specific cases for a request to modify the regulations of a denomination that would undergo an approval process from the Region or Province that they located in as well as from a national committee created to safeguard the disciplines of DOC and IGT wines.