Conventional glass bottles nonetheless dominate, however there may be additionally a rising concentrate on the environmental credentials and way of life benefits supplied by high quality wines in bag-in-box, cans, paper bottles, returnable glass bottles and different so-called various packaging codecs.
Main wine writers within the UK lately signed an open letter spearheaded by the Wine Merchants for Different Codecs (WTAF) group, which stated a better concentrate on viable alternate options to conventional glass bottles might considerably lower the trade’s carbon footprint.
Because the market develops, the 2023 version of the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) is giving producers an thrilling alternative to have wines in various packaging blind-tasted by main specialists alongside their friends in conventional glass for the primary time.
Now in its 20th yr, DWWA is the world’s largest wine competitors, and the transfer will assist to benchmark high quality on this rising sector of the market.
Ronan Sayburn MS, co-chair at DWWA 2023, stated, ‘I believe for people who drink wine on a comparatively common foundation, the bottle rely monthly can get fairly excessive.
‘Despite the fact that glass is totally recyclable, with none degrading of the product, it nonetheless makes use of power to recycle. So it’s nice to see increased high quality wine now be packaged in various, lighter containers and hopefully extra winemakers will observe go well with.’
The choice packaging market: a snapshot
Some producers really feel glass can nonetheless be a part of the sustainability equation, and glass bottles are thought-about vital for wines meant for long-term cellaring. Different producers provide each standard bottles and various codecs.
The image additionally varies by market. Bag-in-box (BIB) has a big presence in Sweden and can be comparatively outstanding in France, for instance, whereas a brand new era of quality-driven BIB wines has solely lately emerged within the UK.
Oliver Lea, co-founder and managing director of UK-based BIB Wine Firm and a founding member of the WTAF group, advised Decanter that suggestions from shoppers exhibits high quality is essential before everything, with sustainability and way of life elements then coming in.
Lea believes the UK BIB and various packaging market has sturdy development potential. He stated that is because of the compelling case for decreasing carbon emissions, but in addition the attraction of not having to open an entire bottle to get pleasure from a very good wine.
‘While you’ve acquired 4 to 6 weeks to drink a field, that may work rather well,’ he stated.
‘I believe the start-ups in containers, and in cans, paper bottles, returnable glass bottles and kegs and all the things within the UK are literally actually thrilling, by way of high quality of wine, communication and all the things that goes with it,’ he stated.
Current developments
‘We actually wished to concentrate on the winemakers and high quality of the wine,’ stated Kiss of Wine founder Jennifer Browarczyk. Photograph credit score: Kiss of Wine.
Jennifer Browarczyk, the Berlin-based founding father of premium canned wine specialist Kiss of Wine, advised Decanter she has acquired vital curiosity from airways and the journey retail sector.
She famous a number of benefits of high quality wine in a single-serve format, together with the potential for winemakers to achieve new drinkers. ‘I believe cans is a very nice manner of attracting a youthful crowd,’ she stated.
Extra producers at the moment are getting in contact, she added, recalling how some beforehand wouldn’t take her calls. Kiss of Wine operates its personal canning line and lately opened this as much as third-party shoppers.
Amongst different current developments, UK-based paper bottle producer Frugalpac introduced in November that French distributor Someplace in Provence would turn into France’s first filler of Frugal Bottles, on a contract foundation.
In the meantime, When in Rome, a specialist in providing Italian ‘craft wines’ in bag-in-box, cans and paper bottles, has launched a marketing campaign to boost additional funding through Crowdcube, as a way to assist new listings within the UK and enlargement into Asia.
There are lots extra examples of exercise within the sector, as highlighted by Rupert Pleasure on this current Decanter article.
Different wine packaging within the US
Rob McMillan, government vice-president and founding father of Silicon Valley Financial institution’s Wine Division, used trade knowledge to estimate the choice packaging market’s dimension.
‘I consider the US wine enterprise is about $61bn on the retail degree,’ he advised Decanter. ‘Right now glass makes up about $47bn of the market, so various packaging together with PET (plastic), tetra pack, can, and others, [is] accountable for $14bn.’
Causes for producers to embrace various packaging vary from decrease prices to a want to enhance environmental credentials, he stated.
However he highlighted ‘social boundaries’, amongst different challenges. ‘Some traditionalists don’t suppose wine might be put into something apart from a bottle,’ he stated. In a US wine retail market struggling for quantity development, he prompt canned wine could also be ‘topping out in development’.
Kenny Rochford, co-founder of California-based canned wine producer West + Wilder, stated the group wished to ‘make wine extra accessible’ and as a enterprise it additionally helps parkland and wild areas. West + Wilder was seeing development, he stated, however he added, ‘We do see a variety of manufacturers enter the market after which peter out.’
Each Rochford and BIB Wine Co’s Lea famous the significance of creating various codecs extra outstanding in retailers. ‘One of many largest challenges is that retailers insist on maintaining all cans collectively in a “can part”,’ stated Rochford.
Judging on advantage
Many within the sector really feel that the wine ought to be judged on its advantage, whatever the packaging kind.
Going up towards bottles is enjoyable, stated Browarczyk, ‘simply because it feels such as you’re not being categorised as a canned wine, you’re being categorised as a wine, and that’s form of the place we wish to take it long-term’.
DWWA 2023 takes a lead
Entries to DWWA 2023 that characteristic wines in various packaging can be blind-tasted by main specialists alongside their friends, together with these in conventional glass bottles, to precisely benchmark wine high quality.
Judging of wines at DWWA is organised by nation, area, color, grape, fashion, classic and price-point.
DWWA 2023 co-chair Michael Hill Smith MW stated, ‘Judging alternatively packaged wines alongside these bottled in glass can be an interesting experiment.
‘Will these alternate options “lower it” in wine high quality phrases when tasted towards these bottled in conventional glass? Is there a canned wine that can greatest these in bottle? Time will inform.’
Different packaging codecs allowed for DWWA 2023 embrace:
Bag in Field (as much as 3L) – amount required: 2
Wine Pouch (as much as 3L)- amount required: 2
Aluminium Can – amount required: 4
Carton (eg. Tetra Pak) – amount required: 4
Paper Bottle (as much as 1L) – amount required: 4
PET Bottle (as much as 1L) – amount required: 4
DWWA and sustainability
The inclusion of other packaging within the judging course of additionally cements the DWWA’s popularity as a frontrunner on sustainability points.
On the awards, all plastic and cardboard is collected and recycled, whereas each bottle is crushed and remelted, able to be remade into usable glass. All leftover wine can be collected, recycled and bought again into the nationwide grid as gasoline, as this Decanter Youtube video on the method explains.
Study extra about how the DWWA judging course of works.
