| Viña Errazuriz moves to lightweight bottles
Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 22 September 2008
Viña Errazuriz, the Chilean wine producer, has estimated that it will save 500 tonnes of glass by reducing the weight of its wine bottles by 12%.
The new 425g bottles, down from 485g, were shown to the UK trade at the Wines of Chile Annual Tasting and Major Buyers' Tasting earlier this month.
Minimal changes have been made to the dimensions of the bottle in the lightweighting process.
The Chilean producer will first use lightweight green glass supplied by Cristalchile for its Estate red wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmen¨¨re, Merlot, Sangiovese and Shiraz.
Estate Pinot Noir will transfer to the lighter bottle by the end of the year.
Errazuriz commercial director Carlos de Carlos said: "There are many reasons why we have chosen to move our key wines to lightweight bottles, but most important for us are the environmental implications. We have reduced the weight per bottle and this will lessen the energy used for bottle production and transportation and so help reduce pollution."
The bottles will be sold with promotional collars printed on recycled card to highlight the environmental benefits of their reduced weight. Consumers will be able to win long-life lightbulbs in return for their energy-saving suggestions.
The Errazuriz Estate was founded in 1870 and its sixth generation uses sustainable practices wherever possible during its winemaking process. |
