In the past few months we've heard of all sorts of wine innovations, from single-serve wine glass to canned wine to Hello Kitty branded booze, and now there's another one to add to the list. Courtesy of the French, who led the world in wine production until the resurgence of new world wines from countries like New Zealand, South Africa and Chile, American wine-lovers can expect to see self-serve wine vending machines headed to their locals supermarkets.

Inhabit.com reports that the machines, designed in 2008 by French wine enthusiast Astrid Terzian, were born to relieve a public concern for both the environment and the economy. To prevent waste, supermarket shoppers bring their own containers, pull their carts up to the so-called wine pump, throw in a few Euros and out comes the wine. There's no word on the varietal of grape that's flowing through the pumps, but we can only hope it's a rich Bordeaux blend. And if the report that shoppers can choose to pump either 500 or 1000 metric litres per transaction is indeed accurate, we're pretty amazed. Forget gallon containers; the French must be bringing their own oak barrels to the supermarket. Talking about loving your wine.

Christie Bishop also blogs for PardonMyCrumbs.com.

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