Comments on: What’s Red, White & Green? Wine Packaging Greens Up

By: Gary McMahon

Gary McMahon — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:33:54 +0000

The carbon footprint conversation has many facets. Aluminum containers do not become aluminum containers until AFTER the bauxite has been extracted, mostly from South America, and mostly from open mines, THEN smelted using tremendous electric or gas energy. Same with glass containers, except the raw
material (mostly silica sand) which for domestic glass plants comes from the North American continent. Tetra pack offers lots of space and shipping advantages, but the multi-walled boxes do not recycle easily and are not currently recycled. Same with PET or PEN plastic bottles…recyclable in theory but not in practice because of the multi-layer technology. Rewashing bottles takes a large energy, environmental (even closed-loop systems require fuel for shipment to and from a winery with a stopover in a sorting facility), water and chemical toll.

I’m not arguing for one form over another, just pointing out that the conversation is not as simple as some would have you believe.

Cheers!

By: howard

howard — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:17:13 +0000

Wine bottles here in Ontario are returned to the Beer Stores (which have a long history of accepting beer bottles for sterilization and reuse by the breweries).

However, all the glass is sold and melted down.

It is high time that domestic wine producers in Ontario (led by Vincor’s winery properties, which are part of Constellation) start accepting their own bottles back for sterilization and re-use… much more energy efficient.

By: WineCountryGeographi (@winecountrygeo)

WineCountryGeographi (@winecountrygeo) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:19:24 +0000

Of course there is also Natural Process Alliance’s approach. They provide fresh wine in aluminum canisters.

http://www.naturalprocessalliance.us/

By: Denis Sasman

Denis Sasman — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:17:37 +0000

At Sassie International Vintners & Distillers we have have been bottling our wines in alternative bottles for a several of years.
Point of note we were the First Wine Company in North America to utilize a 500ml Burgundy style Aluminum bottle, but the price of aluminum killed that project and we switched to PET.
Not just an ordinary PET Bottle but one lined with an FDA Approved Oxygen Scavenger Liner. Totally unique and keeps the dreaded oxygen away from the wine and acts an additional barrier against the porosity of PET.
THE SKINNY: Modern Contemporary design ; our empty 100% Recyclable, unbreakable bottle weighs 50gr : 9L Case Weight 10kg ; Competitively Priced Premium California wine………. So why are Distributors and the chains unwilling to carry Sassie WInes?????
Or is GREEN options all hot air?
Denis Sasman

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:28:09 +0000

Interesting article on the Wall Street Journal website about bottle recycling/reuse.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512740082451866.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs%3Darticle

By: Simon McManus (@simcmanus)

Simon McManus (@simcmanus) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:13:34 +0000

The value perceived in wine is as much to do with packaging and branding as it is in other products. Would you bring a tetrapak to dinner at a friends house? Would you give one as a gift? I believe it will take government intervention such as Ontario’s maximum import weight to force a change in perception. http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/528474/ontario-sets-maximum-bottle-weight-limit

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:02:30 +0000

I didn’t know about the tax aspect — how interesting!
There are many bottle recycling programs here in the U.S., but they typically involve collecting glass bottles, melting them down and making new glass from the recycled raw materials. Reusing the bottles saves a lot of energy, but as I noted in the blog post, has to overcome many practical problems.
Thanks for your comment!

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:57:38 +0000

Thanks for addressing this topic. Alternative and “green” wine packaging is the focus with new FLASQ Wines (JT Wines based in St. Helena, Calif.). The wine is bottled in 375ml, 100% recyclable aluminum bottles. Two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is still in use today. And, compared to glass bottles, the FLASQ aluminum bottle carbon footprint is reduced by 35% due to lighter case weight during shipping. The bottles are also not crisscrossing the globe during production, as seen with many manufactured products. They stay within the United States. All compelling facts to argue using aluminum packaging. Plus, the bottles have a baked in coating, so the taste of the wine is preserved. Thanks for “listening,” and have a great day!

By: Piki Kettinen

Piki Kettinen — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 07:26:52 +0000

Welcome to Finland. We recycle all the bottles, both wine and sodabottles, including glass and pet bottles. We even get money when we take our botlles back to the store. The fun part is that our government plans taxation for the income, if you bring someone else’s bottles to the shop. Your own bottles are taxfree. Now people will leave their empty bottle findings to the forest and along pavements to avoid filling the taxform.