A Deep Dive into Paper Bottles
The rise of alt. packaging in China
For Beverage Daily, Rachel Arthur delves into paper bottles, who's trialing them, consumer acceptance, manufacturing, recycling and where they are currently being sold. Vino Joy has a very interesting look at alternative packaging on the rise in China; the result of a maturing market. The 164th edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine sale is set to mark an historic moment, the first fully certified organic vintage.
Packaging
Bordeaux, France: Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac is reducing its bottle weight 38% from 815 to 490 g after a four-year collaboration project with glass manufacturer Verallia. Vitisphere
The bottles were presented during En Primeur tasting week for the 2023 vintage and will be used starting with the 2022 vintage.
Global: Rachel Arthur delves into paper bottles, who’s trialing them, consumer acceptance, manufacturing, recycling and where they are currently being sold. Beverage Daily
As most people in the trade know, paper bottles are essentially 750ml versions of bag-in-box shaped like a bottle.
The main advantage is the light-weight – 83g for the Frugal bottle – verse 350-400g for some of the lightest weight glass bottles on the market.
The bottle is made from recycled paperboard (about 90%) and manufacturers are working on increasing sourcing from FSC paperboard; the main criticism from an environmental perspective is the plastic bladder inside.
From April 2025, the plastic liner in the Frugalpac paper bottle will be sourced from a monomaterial PET pouch, in hopes this will increase recycling rates. Editors note: The reality is very few municipal recycling programs can effectively recycle almost any type of soft plastic.
Absolut and Johnny Walker have both been trialing the paper bottles; per Frugalpac brands have seen sales in their ranges where they’ve introduced the new packaging increase 700%.
Scaling up and manufacturing them is key; Frugalpac now has a factory in Ipswich and has partnered with manufacturers in Canada and the US to produce them.
A key part of their growth plan is to sell to sell their local production hubs.
China: A very interesting look at alternative packaging on the rise in China. VinoJoyNews
In May this year, Huadong Winery, a wine producer based in Qingdao, China, launched “Xianpu” (literally translated as “fresh grapes”), a keg wine available in local restaurants. With just a twist of the tap, diners can fill their glasses straight from the keg, providing a fresh and casual wine experience.
Priced at RMB 680 (US$95.67) for a 5-liter keg, Xianpu is marketed for casual occasions like hotpot, barbecues, camping, parties, and buffets, emphasizing a “down-to-earth” appeal. S
hanghai Fuga Wine Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Fuga), one of China’s top 50 wine importers, introduced the popular boxed wine brand Franzia to China.
Franzia has sold over 50,000 units on JD.com, China’s leading e-commerce platform.
On the alcoholic drinks delivery platform Waima Wine Delivery (歪马送酒), Franzia consistently ranks among the top-selling wines and currently ranks fifth most popular wine in the platform’s wine category.
Li Yajun, CEO of Merveille Business in Shanghai notes: ” The wine market in China is quite unique. Business consumption has driven wine development, leading to an initial flourishing of prestigious wines. However, in mature markets, we see a proliferation of diverse types of wine becoming popular and well-developed. The increasing emergence of various wine types today indicates that China’s mass consumer market is expanding.”
US: Drinks Insider podcast interviews Amy Troutmiller, the CEO of Really Good Boxed Wine.
Amy explains how she and co-founder Jake Whitman created a premium boxed wine brand and tapped into consumer desires for convenience and value, especially among older demographics.
Marketing
UK: Talk of sustainability inevitably returns to one key question — how do we bridge the gap in consumer understanding? The Drinks Business
Panelists at this week’s Sustainability in Drinks conference grappled with how to shape green messaging.
Stephen Cronk, founder and CEO of Maison Mirabeau described the current certification climate as the “Wild West”, explaining that for regenerative viticulture alone, there are 10 different certification agencies in operation, making the messaging to consumers even more convoluted.
Phrases like “living soils” are more consumer-friendly than “regenerative”, she argued, being less technical. Talk of biodiversity, too, helps engage the end consumer “because they understand what it means”.
Brands and businesses need to strike the right balance. Cronk admitted that it’s hard to bring these discussions to the consumer when you’re positioned as a lifestyle brand from Provence — it’s a question of how to tell the story “without being preachy”.
France: Gérard Bertrand has launched French Cancan, a new line of organic and Brut Nature sparkling wines. Press release via Wine Business
Napa Valley, California: Grgich Hills Estate at Rutherford will host an exceptional lineup of organic experts at a Napa Green sponsored afternoon event Thursday Nov. 7. Organic Wines Uncorked
The list of speakers including Anna Brittain | Executive Director | Napa Green, Bernat Sort Costa | Regenerative Organic Research Manager | Grgich Hills Estate and the full agenda here.
Champagne, France: Maison Telmont hosted the first Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) forum in Europe. Press Release via Wine Industry Insider
Organized in partnership with the ROA, this event highlighted the benefits of organic and regenerative agriculture, as well as the urgent need to expand these practices.
Maison Telmont is the first French Champagne house to apply for “ROCTM” (Regenerative Organic Certified®) certification.
Great Britain: WineGB has released its first Sustainability Impact Report, coinciding with the International Day of Climate Action. Harpers
The report highlights the rapid growth of the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB) scheme, which now covers 43% of the UK's vineyard hectarage.
The findings reveal that 62% of surveyed wineries are using renewable energy, and over half of WineGB’s producer members have adopted its Carbon Calculator to monitor their carbon footprint.
However, only 19.4% have secured government funding for sustainability projects, signaling a need for stronger support.
Avignon, France: Pauline Vicard recaps LVMH’s World Living Soil Forum, a two-day gathering of global experts, researchers, institutions, trade associations and companies from the food and beverage industry. Areni Global
Key take aways include – understanding the nature of organic matter - Mathilde Boisseau, Wine and Vineyard Director at Cognac’s power-house Hennessy, shared insights from their study in soil biology and recycling of organic products.
He said all the plots where nitrogen was lacking had a deficit in particular organic matter — the young, rather coarse organic matter (50 microns to 2mm) which degrades and regenerates rapidly in the soil. “This transitional organic matter, made of leaves or vine shoots, is highly energetic, and fundamental to our viticulture objectives.”
Another highlight was on lack of focus on rootstocks - “In Champagne, almost 85% of vines are planted with 41B,” explained Frederic Gallois, Vineyard and Supply Director for Moët & Chandon and Ruinart, adding that while it was certainly the right choice 50 years ago, it is now a limitation, “because it does not cope well with the competition brought about by more sustainable practices, notably cover crops.”
He added that they are now testing nine different rootstocks in different situations, “to understand their ability to adapt, and then work with our nurseries to find the ideal selection for each plot.”
Viticulture
EQIP provides financial assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits; including improved water and air quality, irrigation efficiency, reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, forest restoration and creating or enhancing wildlife habitat.
CSP provides producers to earn payments for actively managing, maintaining and expanding conservation activities integrated within their agricultural operations.
The next USDA-NRCS application cut-off date for these programs is November 15, 2024.
Switzerland: A recent Swiss study has found that biochar, a substance gaining popularity in agriculture for carbon storage and soil improvement, does not effectively reduce methane emissions. AgTechNavigator
The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FIBL aimed to investigate the hypothesis that feeding biochar reduces enteric methane production, improves milk quality and nutrient digestibility among other benefits.
The experiment involved a 36 day study where 8 dairy cows were fed a diet with and without 1% biochar.
Global: A new study, named ‘Eco-innovation minimizes the carbon footprint of wine production’, claims that “most studies often overlooked the resources in farming practices, biogenic emissions, and wastewaters” in the overall reduction of winery carbon footprint. The Drinks Business
As such, the researchers have set out to demonstrate that innovations, including constructed wetlands and the use of Phycosol - constructed wetlands and microalgae, utilize an often overlooked resource loop to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
According to data cited by the study, the main contributors to carbon footprint are viticulture (27%), winemaking (23%), and wine bottling (50%).
However, the study also claimed that traditional assessment approaches often underestimate the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with winemaking.
The discrepancy often arises from overlooking elements including CO2 from fermentation, wastewater and soil carbon fluxes, the study claimed. “A more holistic approach to assessing the environmental impact of wineries is necessary,” its authors argued.
They proposed the use of constructed wetlands and Phycosol, which can transform wastewater into products like biofertilizers, to improve carbon emissions.
Burgundy, France: The 164th edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine sale is set to mark an historic moment, as it will present the first fully certified organic vintage, produced from the challenging 2024 vintage. The Drinks Business
The complete conversion to organic farming is the culmination of the exceptional work carried out by estate manager Ludivine Griveau and her team over the past ten vintages since she became its Regisseur in 2015.