What’s behind the wine trade’s resolution to reduce the weight of glass bottles?

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Sustainability is one of the biggest focuses of the wine business. Most countries and regions have adapted wide-scale measures, such as Napa Green, Sustainability Code of the Chilean Wine Industry or Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario, that govern soil to bottle issues regarding climate action, environmental stewardship and social-justice matters.

But few of these certifications extend to the biggest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint (estimated to range from 30 to 60 per cent) – the production, packaging and transport of glass bottles. Recently, the use of heavy-weight containers for wine has come under increased scrutiny as the wine trade is calling attention to the use of “bodybuilder bottles” to add a perception of quality to their flagship wines.

Earlier this month, esteemed wine writer Jancis Robinson spoke to the members of the Circle of Wine Writers about more ecological forms of packaging and the advantages of lightweight wine bottles. Last week, Napa Valley-based writer and educator Karen MacNeil announced she would no longer write about wines that come in “massive, heavy bottles.”

This isn’t a new subject for the wine world, but it’s notable that recent messages are aimed at consumers as much as the industry. Robinson first wrote in 2006 about the actual and environmental price paid for heavy bottles considering the energy and raw materials needed to manufacture, and then to transport them before and after use. Soon after, she started including bottle weights as part of reviews on JancisRobinson.com.

“If we can make consumers aware of the downside of heavy bottles, we will be doing the planet a service,” Robinson explained during the Circle of Wine Writers online discussion.

This topic is making news again owing to an October, 2023, agreement between retailers, such as Laithwaites, Waitrose and Whole Foods Market, to reduce their average bottle weight to less than 420 grams by the end of 2026. The news release from industry body Sustainable Wine Round Table reported the average bottle weight today is approximately 550 g. Lighter glass requires less raw material, specifically less sand, a non-renewable resource, which is melted together with other ingredients that determine the properties of the container.

Dr. Peter Stanbury, the Sustainable Wine Round Table’s U.K.-based research director, suggests two main reasons wineries embrace wrist-busting bottles. Wine producers and marketers think that their customers associate heavy bottles with wine quality. They are also nervous about increased breakage if they reduce glass weights.

But Stanbury said consumer research suggests big bottles aren’t necessarily seen as a luxury item by consumers. A great number of the most successful wine brands, such as collectible French wines like Château Latour, Château Margaux and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, use lighter bottles compared with the nearly one-kilogram containers used by certain producers in North and South America and some parts of Europe.

Consumers are more likely to consider price, personal recommendations and a familiar name when making wine-buying decisions. “If your company thinks bottle weight is the number one factor, fire your marketing department,” Stanbury said during an online briefing to announce the new bottle weight alliance.

Sparkling wines are a separate issue because strong glass is required to withstand the pressure created by the secondary fermentation in the bottle to prevent explosion. Several producers are working to reduce the weight, including Champagne Telmont, which is using newly developed 800 g bottles. (Conventional bottles used by sparkling wine producers are 835 g.)

The wine trade could have just consulted the LCBO, which was an early proponent of mandating its suppliers use lightweight glass, starting in 2010. Depending on the style of bottle, the LCBO restricts products that come in bottles that weigh more than 420 g (460 g for fluted or hock bottles like the ones used by riesling producers in Germany, Alsace and other parts of the world). Lightweight glass has proven to be just as durable in transport.

The Ontario monopoly’s decision was a cost-cutting move influenced by ergonomic benefits for its employees through reduced case-weight handling, fostering more sustainable distribution, and working in line with sustainability efforts governing its suppliers and partners in the beverage alcohol industry.

The LCBO Lightweight Glass Bottle Program originally focused on 750 ml volume products that retailed for less than $15. The success of the program has seen it expand, as of April, 2022, to products $19 and under as well as one litre and 1.5 litre glass bottles, regardless of retail price. Large brands, such as Kim Crawford, Mouton Cadet and Zuccardi, switched to lighter bottles to maintain their listings at the LCBO, with many companies using the same bottles for markets outside of Ontario as well. (Other liquor boards and retailers have followed suit with similar packaging policies.)

The exceptions to the LCBO’s mandate, however, risk reinforcing the heavier bottle, higher-quality wine correlation for consumers. Specialty releases sold through the Vintages listings and online offerings don’t have to conform, opening the door to wines that can weigh as much as a kilo when empty. Beyond environmental concerns, wine collectors often complain that these oversized formats often don’t fit in conventional wine racks or fridges.

Wine is a sensory and emotional buy for consumers. The purchase impulse could be triggered by how people feel about the brand or label or a consideration of the status it conveys in social settings.

No matter what impulse is guiding buying habits, the weight of the bottle has never been an accurate indication of the quality of the wine inside. (It does however affect the price and environmental impact in carbon emissions.)

Based on the far-ranging discussions happening now, the wine trade may soon wish to consider how they package and transport value priced or so-called everyday wines. Conventional glass bottles of various shapes and sizes could be reserved for age-worthy, premium wines that benefit from cellaring. For a market like Canada, where most bottles of wine are consumed within hours of purchase, using glass bottles of any size or shape might be seen as wasteful for inexpensive wines.

There has been some embrace of innovative packaging, such as containers made from recycled plastic or aluminum and lined paper or putting better quality wine in boxes and cans. These alternatives to glass offer greater convenience and choice, with lower carbon emissions involved in making and transporting them compared with the equivalent glass bottle.