A wine bottle made entirely from Australian-sourced 100 per cent recycled PET plastic is helping to reshape the carbon footprint of wine by targeting the industry’s environmental hotspot, the glass bottle.
In a collaboration between sustainable packaging pioneers Packamama and Accolade Wines and Taylors Wines, eco-bottles of Banrock Station wines and Taylors’ One Small Step range are for sale exclusively through select Coles’ Liquorland and First Choice Liquor Market stores nationally from this month.
The launch marks the Australian market debut of the eco-bottles.
With a nod to tradition, Packamama’s innovative eco-bottle shares the classic high-shouldered silhouette of a traditional ‘Bordeaux’ wine bottle. But when turned to the side, it reveals a slimmer, flatter profile that allows twice as many bottles to fit in a standard wine case – which means it’s much more efficient to transport.
Using recycled PET also saves weight and with the bottles being 83 per cent lighter, emissions in transport are reduced as well as the energy in production and recycling to further tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
The freight-friendly bottle has the potential to significantly reduce the road transport burden and emissions for wine in Australia.
If both Accolade Wines and Taylors Wines to switch entirely to eco-bottles, it would cut an impressive 250,000 kms of road freight a year or the equivalent of a semi-trailer travelling from Melbourne to Broome 50 times.
While the shape of the eco-bottle is a departure from the traditional round wine bottle, Packamama’s chief executive and founder Santiago Navarro is confident the time is right for Australian winemakers to respectfully challenge a couple of centuries of tradition.
“Australia is globally recognised as a leader in wine packaging thanks to break-through innovations, including bag-in-box casks and screw-top caps for wines, and we are highly motivated to launch our climate-friendly bottle at Coles with Accolade Wines and Taylors Wines,” Navarro said.
Coles Liquor Acting General Manager Customer, Trade Planning & Insights Mia Lloyd said Coles’ ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable retailer aligned with the ambition to deliver a scalable, sustainable bottle.
“We know our customers want us to do more in relation to sustainability and this collaboration will significantly reduces the carbon footprint of wine for customers every day. The lightweight and flatter eco-bottle also gives our customers a convenient new option when they’re packing for that camping or caravan holiday,” Lloyd said.
Accolade Wines, who launched the eco-flat bottle two years ago in Europe, is on a mission to improve the sustainability of the wine industry and has ambitious targets to advance circular economy packaging across its entire portfolio.
Accolade Wines Global Chief Marketing Officer Sandy Mayo said a variety of sustainable and innovative packaging solutions had been launched in the last 18 months.
“We have launched a variety of sustainable solutions including wine in cans, wine on tap, bagnums, as well as a world-first circular, sustainable packaging solution for on-premise partners.
“We chose Banrock Station to launch the eco bottle in Australia, because the environmental credentials fit perfectly with the brand’s 25 year sustainability heritage and its commitment to forging a more sustainable future for the planet,” Mayo said.
The potential for the eco wine bottle to improve the carbon footprint for winemaking is important for Taylors Wines particularly given that viticulture is one of the most climate-sensitive agricultural businesses.
Taylors third-generation Winemaker and Managing Director, Mitchell Taylor said the eco-bottle delivered a more sustainable bottle for consumers and provided another way for wineries to improve their carbon footprint.
“We know that Australian wine drinkers are very open to innovation when it provides real benefits, like this sustainable eco-bottle does,” Taylor said.
“Australia led the global change from cork to screwcap and Taylors was the first major producer to bottle all our wines under the closure.
“We believe Australians will again lead in adopting this more sustainable bottle,” Taylor said.
