In
last week’s blog on wine sustainability, there were some numbers that concerned
me. Over 300-million cases of wine are purchased each year. While that’s great for the wine industry in terms of wine sales,
those cases account for over 3.5 billion wine bottles; with only 30% of those empty bottles ever recycled. That means a lot of wine bottles end up in the landfills.
So
what are some of the newer options available for wine packaging
instead of using the tried and true glass bottle?Several exist – and one of the newest is a wine bottle made from paper.
GreenBottle,
http://www.greenbottle.com a UK-based
company, signed a deal in 2012 with independent wine supplier, Kingsland Wines
to produce the first paper wine bottle.
The bottle is paper on the outside and lined inside with a foil pouch
similar to the foil bladder wine boxes have. When emptied, the paper can be recycled or composted and the
liner can be recycled.
The
eco-friendly bottle would weigh in at 1.94 ounces compared to a 750ml glass
bottle, which weighs almost 18 ounces empty. That means energy and carbon savings during manufacturing
and shipping. And the price is equivalent to that of a glass bottle.
According
to British inventor Martin Myerscough, the paper wine bottle is for wine that
people will “buy and drink,” those selling for less than $10 a bottle. The shelf life for the paper wine bottle is
between 9 to 12 months.
Besides
the green impact, wine chilled in the paper bottles stays cooler for longer on
the table, than wine chilled in glass bottles. UK grocers expressed an interest in the product and the
British public expected to see it on store shelves by last fall. GreenBottle did not reply as to
why the delay.
Tetra
Pak www.tetrapak.com is another eco-option to the glass bottle. Tetra
Pak is similar to a wine box but more like a milk carton. Made primarily from paper, 92% less
packaging is used in this carton container than in a glass bottle to deliver
the same amount of wine.
Tetra
Pak use about 5% of the energy for production that a glass bottle does and has
5% of the CO2 footprint.
Besides
being environmentally friendly, Tetra Pak is more cost effective than glass;
the square-ish shapes are easier to stack on store shelves, and more portable
for the consumer. The containers
are made mainly from paper, a renewable resource, and are lighter in weight
than glass. This means less fuel and fewer emissions when shipping.
According
to the company, it would take 52 semi-trailers to transport 1 million empty
wine bottles. It would take only 2
semi-trailers to transport 1 million Tetra Pak wine cartons.
Tetra
Pak wine cartons are in use in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Africa, Asia and South
America. Wines that are packaged in Tetra Pak containers include Bandit, French
Rabbit, Yellow+Blue, Bota Box, and Vendange.
The
wine pouch offers another eco-choice.
Made from plastic, the wine pouch is easy to carry, with a handle as
part of the design. The pouch is
20 times as light as a glass bottle and uses about 20% of the energy during
production that a glass bottle does.
The
wine pouch is great for those wines you buy and drink often, offering a minimum
shelf live of 9 months before opening and up to one month after.
AstraPouch
http://www.astrapouch-na.com of
South Africa was developed as a wine glass packaging alternative. The wine pouches are flexible, stand up
on the shelf and hold the equivalent of two 750ml glass bottles.
According to AstraPouch, one truckload of empty pouches is equal to 14 truckloads of empty
glass bottles. AstraPouch is recyclable and currently in use in South
Africa, Australia, the U.S. and the UK.
Wines
sold in pouches include the Climber by Clif Family Winery, Bud Naked, Eco Vino,
and Glenor.
Stack Wines http://drinkstack.com of Newport
Beach, California has a ‘green’ approach totally outside the box, or
pouch. Their VinoWear stacked
containers are packaged in a shrink sleeve. The sleeve zips apart to reveal four 187ml stackers – stemless wine ‘glasses.’ Snap the glasses apart and peel off the foil for a
go-anywhere glass of wine.
The
glasses are made from a high quality plastic that is lightweight and
shatterproof, giving each container the look and feel of glass with the practicality
of plastic.
Instead
of a case (12 bottles) of wine bottles, Stack Wines offers twelve stacks
packaged in a case box. Both the
box and the individual wine ‘glasses’ can be recycled.
Other
green bottle options include PET wine bottles, boxed wines, bag-in-box (BIB) wines, even mini barrels like Red Truck Wines offers.
Of
course, the only way any of these green alternatives will be truly successful
is if the wine consumer will accept them.
While the Boomers and Gen Xers have some interest in sustainability, it
may be the Millennials that decide what we drink our wines from in the future.
Paper
rosés anyone?
~
Joy
Wine
in a pouch is another easy way to transport your favorite beverage to the park. Eco-Vino is an economical, and green, way to
enjoy the Helibiker red table wine or a chilled Chardonnay on a hot day. Sold
at select Trader Joe’s.
Borrowing
from the beer industry just made sense and now wine in a can is another option
for a picnic vino. Union Wine Company
offers Underwood Wine in a 375 ml can, about half a bottle, available in Rose,
Pinot Noir and Pinto Gris.
I
know, boxed wine is so '70s. But wait, Black
Box is not your daddy’s vino. These wines have won over 40 gold medals and
27 Wine Enthusiast Best Buys. Available in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec,
Shiraz, Chardonnay, Pinto Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Red Elegance, one
3 liter box contains four bottles of wine that will last for at least four
weeks after opening.Look for them at your local grocers.
With
the Fourth coming up, and plenty of burgers and potato salad on the
menu, grab a wine that’s perfect for a picnic, and enjoy the fireworks this weekend!
