French wine producer Boisset has announced it will be bottling Beaujolais Nouveau only in plastic bottles this year - at least for the US market.

Available as of the third Thursday in November, the 2008 vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau by Boisset will be despatched to the USA exclusively in PET containers. Bearing in mind the high cost of transport, and the fact that the wine is rapidly consumed, the producer feels this is a good alternative to the glass bottle packaging used so far. The CO² footprint is also improved by the change, as the production of glass is more deleterious to the environment than that of PET. It appears the company does not plan to change its packaging for Beaujolais wines sold in European markets. (WF)