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48 WINES&VINES May 2016 PACKAGING free SO 2 halved and there were no discernible faults up to 102 days of preservation. Twenty- three percent of the samples had faults, and 50% of them were traceable to oxidation for wines packaged for more than 200 days, where free SO 2 had reduced by 75% compared to the starting value. The hedonistic assess- ment of wines in BiB was lower than that of similar wines in glass bottles. PET PET polyethylene terephthalate (a polyester commonly known as "plastic") is a low-cost, light, transparent and resistant material that is widely used for food and drink packaging as well as early drinking wines. It has a low resistance to heat and light and can be perme- able to gases. PET bottles can be single-layer or multi-layer. Multi-layer PET bottles have been developed to improve protection from oxygen, although they are more expensive and more difficult to recycle. They are made up of a PET structure with three or five layers of resin, which can be made using copolymers of ethylene vinyl alcohol or Nylon MXD6. Studies, research and experimentation Multi-layer PET bottles (OxSc-PET, i.e. barrier against oxygen) have been proven (Mentana et al., 2009) to have a performance similar to glass and superior to single-layer PET bottles. The influence of these materials on Apulian red and white table wines with a shelf life of about six months, preserved for seven months at 15°-18° C, has been studied and compared with glass bottles. The OxSc-PET bottles give more protection against oxidation and sensory properties than the single-layer ones, espe- cially for red wines. The same research group (Pati et al., 2010) compared the performance of PET bottles made from different materials and closed with screw- caps for a Merlot (35%)/Montepulciano (65%) wine produced in Apulia with carbonic macera- tion. It studied 0.3 mm-thick PLA 7000D bottles (i.e., polylactic acid), which are potentially more environmentally friendly than PET (single layer with a thickness of 0.3 mm) and glass. The samples were preserved for four months in the dark at 15°-18° C. The wine aged in PLA bottles experienced more rapid loss of quality than that in PET and glass bottles. It was calculated that the quantity of oxygen that penetrated the wine in the four months was nine times higher in PLA bottles than PET ones (98.4ml compared to 10.7ml). This resulted in a reduction in total SO 2 , wine browning, increased absorbance at 420 nm and an increase in volatile acidity. ARTICLE FROM IL CORRIERE VINICOLO Editor's note: This article is published as part of Wines & Vines' cooperative editorial effort with Il Corriere Vinicolo, the leading Italian wine industry publication (corrierevinicolo.com). Il Corriere Vinicolo is edited by Unione Italiana Vini, the largest Italian wine trade associa- tion. On a regular basis, our two publications will share key articles in order to give readers a broader view of important wine industry topics in Italy and North America. PET and PLA bottles are best used for wines expected to be consumed within three months from the date of packaging. s c i e n c e a p l a t f o r m f o r p r o g r e s s 67th ASEV National Conference June 27–30, 2016 Portola Hotel and Monterey Marriott Downtown Hotel Monterey, California USA i N C l U D E S : Managing Water in California Vineyards Symposium June 28, 2016 Portola Hotel JOiN NOW AND SAVE! Member registration fees are significantly lower than non-member fees. Apply online! American Society for Enology and Viticulture Visit Our Website for Updates on the 2016 Program | www.asev.org | 530-753-3142