Monterey Wine Co. said it is the first American company to agree to buy equipment needed to make paper wine bottles.  It expects to receive the machine in January and hopes to be shipping paper bottles by the spring.

It bought the equipment form Frugalpac, which designs and manufactures paper wine bottles as an alternative to glass, in hopes of decarbonizing the wine industry.

Malcolm Waugh, CEO of Fruglpac, which makes the machinery, says their bottle’s carbon footprint is 6-times smaller than a traditional wine bottle.

“By choosing this package, you're starting to make an impact on carbon and you're not actually having to change your behavior,” Waugh said.

“This package looks and feels like a glass bottle. It will pour the exact same way. You can store it in a refrigerator, you can store it in a freezer.”

The Frugalpac bottle weighs less than 3 ounces, which is almost five times lighter than a glass bottle.

Shannon Valladarez , Monterey's general manager, said all the bottles will use component sourced from the USA.