THE PLACES
perfectly if the wine is going to be shipped around the world and cellared for 20 years. But we know this is not how most wine is consumed. Whether we like it or not, much of New Zealand’s wine is now considered a fast-moving consumer good (thank you supermarkets). And depending on which study you read, 70% to 90% of wine is consumed within one or two weeks of purchase. So why are we still packaging all wine like it is first growth Bordeaux? We all love the ease and tradition of the glass wine bottle. Its invention revolutionised the wine industry – it allowed Champagne to maintain its fizz and for wine to be sent around the world. But that was 400 years ago, and wine is essentially still packaged the same way. Meanwhile, the way people drink, technology, and our environmental consciousness has changed. Is it time we rethink the single use 750ml glass bottle? The quality and technology of alternative packaging options like aluminium cans, Tetra pack, bag in box and kegs is continuing to improve. Such types of packaging offer customers more options in volume and, not surprisingly, their carbon footprint is significantly less than single use glass bottles. As an example, the carbon footprint of wine
packaged in a 500 gram glass bottle is about 1.2 kgCO2e/L, compared to a two-litre bagin-box at 0.66 kgCO2e/L or 0.54 kgCO2e/L for a 20L stainless keg reused 50 times. “But glass bottles are recyclable”, I hear you say, “and many of these alternatives are not”. True, the recyclability of some of the alternative packaging options still
“By far the biggest contributor to a wine’s carbon footprint is the glass bottle.” Nadine Worley needs improvement, especially in rural New Zealand. However, a 10% increase in recycled content in a new single use glass bottle only reduces the overall carbon footprint by 2%. All glass production (including recycled glass) uses a huge amount of energy and releases significant emissions from the melting process. Personally, I believe refillable options are an obvious choice; each time we refill or reuse anything we instantly halve its carbon footprint, whether that is a refillable keg
or glass bottle. Refillable options allow the wine industry to cut its carbon footprint while allowing consumers to keep the glass bottles they’re familiar with and the ability to purchase a volume that suits them. There have been successful refillable wine bottle trials around the world, most notably is reWINE, a project by the Catalan wine industry collecting, cleaning, and reusing glass bottles around the region. And the Californian government recently signed a law allowing consumers to bring their own wine bottles to be refilled at local tasting rooms. In New Zealand we have Green Bottle NZ offering the wine industry a glass bottle return service. Alternative and refillable packaging options will never suit all wines and situations and glass bottles will always have a place in the wine industry. But for many wines, especially those sold locally, it offers a true alternative that benefits customers and the environment. Nadine Worley is a lecturer at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) and co-founder of Fugitive Wines, New Zealand’s first organic wine brand using only alternative refillable packaging. fugitiveorganic.co.nz/
Better Biology Better Wine For strong vines, consistent yields and better tasting wines*apply: Mycorrcin – to boost soil microbes that increase root growth and nutrient uptake Foliacin – to improve foliar health and resilience in times of environmental stress Digester – to stimulate decomposition microbes to recycle organic matter fast *As used in 2021 Accolade Wines trial for proven yield increase and better tasting wine.
Available from leading horticultural suppliers
0800 116 229 biostart.co.nz NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I JUNE/JULY 2022 I
65