Boxed wine anyone? For most Californians, the thought of consuming wine from a box is sacrilegious. Instead, we prefer a day of scenic drives and tastings in Napa or Sonoma. However, Three Thieves wine enthusiasts have a box any Californian would be willing to sip from. Wine lovers, meet the new Terta Pak wine containers from the Bandit brand of wines.

Bandit wines like a rich merlot, delicate chardonnay, or a robust cabernet sauvignon, are stored in Tetra Paks eco-packaging with a look and feel similar to the packaging of typical chicken stock box containers. The box is using Tetra Prisma, a brand of aseptic box material, which contains 70 percent paper, and greatly reduces the energy otherwise used to create glass bottles. Additionally, because the Tetra Pak boxes are so lightweight, transportation of them involves less weight and more efficient use of fuel preventing additional air and greenhouse gas pollutants.

The concept behind the Bandit wines in Tetra Paks comes directly from the founding concept of Three Thieves: convenience. Three Thieves was started by three average guys who believed that "were everyday folks who needed a great wine to go with a drive-thru meal, a Sunday afternoon with NASCAR, or to celebrate the kids staying with their grandparents for the weekend"

So, in order to enjoy a pinot grigio at a NASCR event or while hiking, Three Thieves had to provide wine in a more convenient distribution system, enter the Tetra Pak. With no bottle to recycle or cork to unscrew, the box is perfect for transporting and enjoying wine responsibly for nature and human life. "No bottle, no opener, 96 percent wine, 4 percent packaging; and less energy use," says Charles Bieler, a founding thief.

Three Thieves estimated that by using Tetra Paks, the Bandit brand is reducing the packaging waste associated with bottled wine by 90 percent and saving fuel and emissions as 26 trucks filled with empty wine bottles equals just one truck filled with empty Tetra Pak cartons.

Smarter packaging for all food products is a much needed step in greening lifestyles. If each container brought home from the produce section, the canned goods isles, and the wine shelves can be biodegradable, made using recycled materials, recyclable, and/or reduce the amount of resources including the energy required to produce and transport those products to the market, then manufacturers are making huge strides in environmental preservation and waste reduction. If consumers can eliminate taking out their trash by recycling their products, what household wouldn't be a happier place with wine in hand?