SUSTAINABILITY GETTING ACTIVE IN THE INDUSTRY

Sharing Our Knowledge In Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Casella Family Brands was recently invited to participate at the 2023 Sustainable Wine Roundtable Climate Change Series Conference, being the first of three events. Casella’s Sustainability Manager, Sarah Braude, joined a panel to discuss how companies can strategically manage climate change, starting with measuring their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Drawing on Casella’s recent undertaking in these areas, Sarah shared the company’s experience in developing a GHG emissions inventory. This inventory consists of both direct operations, but also for the entire wine portfolio life cycle.

Sarah said, “it was great to share our insights on how to measure GHG emissions of both products and operations. We are in a strong position armed with both types of emissions data, and it’s fantastic that we can share our experience with companies looking to do similar.”

Other areas discussed at the Roundtable included the cost versus benefit analysis of emission reduction initiatives, engaging the right expertise in your business to implement emissions reductions, and connecting employees to customers’ expectations in climate change management.

The Wild World Of Wine Packaging

The wine industry is thousands of years old and inherently steeped in strong traditions, including how it is stored and sold. Before the first glass bottle was formed in 1,600BC in Mesopotamia, wine was stored in clay flasks called amphorae. Clay didn’t offer much flexibility in terms of market differentiation or complement the taste profile like glass does. Glass bottles still reign supreme, but new entrants and reinvention of old classics in the packaging race are appearing as more brands focus on lowering their greenhouse gas emissions footprint. However, there is a lot more to consider across environmental, winemaking, taste and aesthetic impacts. P Packaging company Packamama has come out with a ‘flat wine bottle’ made from 100% recycled PET (‘rPET’). Its emphasis is on plastic lightweight bottles because of their greenhouse gas emissions savings (a glass bottle takes a lot more energy to make and move around). This writer thought it made a good cricket bat, but this is one change in wine packaging to watch. Will consumers latch on? Currently, the closure is not recyclable, so that is one technical hurdle that needs to be overcome, along with the implications on taste and propensity to end up discarded outdoors. Whilst some people love its portability, others think that the wine’s taste is impacted, with the format not lending itself to ageing of wine and being better suited to consumption close to purchasing.

A Aluminium canned wine continues to grow in popularity by catering to the single-serve segment. Full 750mL aluminium bottles have also made a new market appearance. Similar to PET bottles, these formats are lighter than glass, easy to transport, recyclable and harder to break. Aluminium, like glass, is also infinitely recyclable – unlike plastic. CCL, a manufacturer of these bottles, says that "with higher thermal conductivity and chill retention than glass and plastic, aluminium bottles cool quickly and stay cooler for a longer period of time". Some additives and byproducts in wine, such as copper and sulphur dioxide, can react with the aluminium – causing issues with taste and smell. A liner is typically installed inside the can, but more acidic wines can also erode this, making it a better choice for ready-to-drink wine with short shelf lives. materials. Although, recycling of the bladder can be problematic, and usually needs to be put in the general waste bin meaning the materials are not recovered or reused.

C Cask Wine, or bag in box, is still featured on shelves since its inception in South Australia in 1965, with Covid-19 catalysing a resurgence. They usually consist of a plastic or foil bladder inside a cardboard box. It is suitable for large quantities of wine, with the ability to maintain an air-tight seal for long periods of time (around 1 month) with use. It is also a tick on the GHG emission side, with lower emissions compared to other formats due to its less energy-intense

K Kegs are used in the hospitality industry for wine and beer on tap - eliminating the need for individual bottles and packaging. We are seeing more BYO container wine refill stations appearing, inspired by the humble keg. The Drink Hive, ReWine, Glou, P&V, Cowpunk and Fourth Wave Wine are just a few players in the refillable wine space. Accolade has also been trialing distributing Banrock Station wine to bars in 4.5-litre glass containers that can then be sent back, washed and refilled. This is not a new concept, with the milk industry’s refill being prevalent after World War II, due to bottle shortages. There are legal, health and safety barriers to overcome but are we seeing wine take a foray more seriously into this space?

A ‘All-Cork’ wine bottles, made entirely from cork, were also a more radical (and still theoretical) idea proposed in recent years. Cork is harvested from the bark of the Cork Tree (with no harm to the tree itself if done correctly), which regenerates every 10 years. Like its cork closure counterparts, some kind of binder material is needed to stop absorption and leaking of the bottle and ‘stick’ the cork together, this can be natural or synthetic (e.g. plastic) based. Unfortunately, cork is hard to recycle and requires separate collection outside of our curbside recycling bins and so usually ends up in general waste bins.

G Glass bottles are made from 100% recycled glass content and/or lightweight. Recycled glass has a lower emissions footprint but can be competitive to source and, on average in Australia, most glass bottles contain 30% recycled content. One small UK brand, WiseWolf, has debuted a bottle made from 100% recycled glass. Bottle lightweight also continues to improve, including our supplier Orora’s 330g glass bottle and 680g sparkling bottle options. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which distributes alcohol across Canada including some of our brands, last year introduced requirements that 750ml glass bottles could only have a maximum weight of 420g. Lightweighting is certainly taking off and challenging consumers’ perceptions that better wine is in heavier bottles!

I International travel is back! A few Italian brands have joined forces with the manufacturing company, Frugal Bottle, to release wine in a paper bottle. To ensure an adequate moisture barrier, the bottle is lined with plastic which subsequently makes the whole thing hard to recycle depending on where you live. Is this just a bag-in-bottle or something more?

N Nothing to put here … But wine in TetraPak has been released by a few small brands. Tetra-Pak is a container with 6 different layers of aluminium, plastic and paper. It protects the liquid from light, oxygen and other factors allowing typical refrigeration to be avoided e.g. milk. Tetra-Pak is durable, lightweight and space efficient, but some consumers feel it negatively impacts taste and smell. Unfortunately, these packs are not recyclable in Australia and many other markers due to all their different components which is a major drawback and limitation. Like other formats above, it is not suitable for ageing wines.

G ‘Goon sacks’ is a colloquial term for bag-inbox wine but it seems to be being replaced by a fancier concept these days, with the evolution of ‘pouch’ wine. The same concept is sweeping across the laundry detergent and yogurt aisle so don’t get them mistaken! Whilst lending itself to single-serve convenience, they are made of soft plastic though which can’t be put in your curbside recycling bin.

Wine has a number of technical barriers to consider when it comes to packaging, which is why glass has remained so popular. Taste, shelf life, ageing, moisture barriers and oxidation are just some of the considerations needed to sell good wine. Sustainability is another consideration to sell good wine – questions like do you prioritise recyclability, water usage, emissions, material availability or economics are all at the forefront of wine packaging discussions. Finding a balance is certainly challenging and it is clear there is no one right answer. For now, the industry is in experimentation mode with consumer preconceptions being challenged by new ideas and formats. How will it all play out?