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PET Set to Revolutionise Sustainability in Sparkling Wine Packaging
Philippe Blonda of PDG Plastiques and wine trade expert Dr Enno Lippold unveiled a groundbreaking PET bottle designed specifically for sparkling wines, at this year’s Glass of Bubbly Show in London. This innovative bottle, which showcased during an engaging masterclass, signifies a major leap towards sustainability in the wine industry and aligns with growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly packaging.
Blonda highlighted the bottle’s impressive features, which mimics the traditional glass bottle, including its lightweight structure – just 90 grams compared to the traditional 900 grams of Grand Cuvées – together with its ability to withstand pressures of at least 12 bar. Attendees were given the opportunity to experience its inert taste qualities and effervescence firsthand, sampling Italian sparkling wines from Tenute Piccini 1882 packaged in the new PET format.
While acknowledging that prestigious Champagnes and sparkling wines will continue to use glass, Blonda emphasized the significant market potential for PET bottles in housing carbonated alcoholic beverages, including entry-level sparkling wines, cider, beer and non-alcoholic effervescent drinks.
From an environmental perspective, the production of this new PET bottle results in approximately 150 grams of CO² equivalent, a stark reduction from the 600 grams CO²-eq emitted by traditional 650g glass bottles for Méthode Charmat sparkling wines. Moreover, these PET bottles are fully recyclable and will soon incorporate partially recycled rPET, further decreasing their carbon footprint.
Lippold eloquently illustrated the environmental benefits: “When we think about the CO² footprint of glass bottles, it’s like leaving behind the footprint of an elephant. In contrast, this new sparkling PET bottle is more akin to a cat’s footprint, and with rPET, we’re moving towards a footprint as small as that of a mouse!»
Incorporating natural cork closures can further enhance these ecological advantages, as debated in a recent article on JancisRobinson.com entitled ‘How green is your stopper?’ Traditional sparkling wine stoppers can technically boast a negative CO² balance of up to minus -560g, as supported by recent research from KPMG, PwC, and EY aggregated by APCOR.
The session concluded that this new ‘Eco Package Combo’ (EPC) of PET bottle with traditional cork, starts it’s eco journey with an ecological balance of 400 grams CO²-eq at the winery. Its lightweight nature reduces transport emissions, allowing a 40% increase in load per truck on average, which effectively offsets the remaining emissions in the logistics chain, once the sequestered amount of carbon during the life of the oak tree is taken into account. The speakers highlighted that this EPC will therefore contribute significantly to achieving Scope 3 and Scope 2 sustainability goals from a retail perspective.
Dr Lippold emphasized “By integrating regenerative farming techniques and harnessing renewable energy sources, there is the potential to bring down the cumulative emissions of the wine production cycle. The ultimate aim is for the entire process to achieve a net-zero carbon emissions balance by process-owned activities within a few years.”
These pioneering PET sparkling wine bottles are now commercially available, and several wine producers are expected to announce their adoption of this sustainable packaging in the coming months, confirmed Blonda.
PDG Plastiques, with over three decades of experience in PET packaging, has been at the forefront of PET wine bottle production in Europe from the outset. The company’s new PET bottles for sparkling wines, available in Perle and Celeste styles, are set to debut across Europe in a 75cl format, with additional sizes to follow.
Advantages of PET over Glass:
- Lower CO² footprint
- Lightweight, facilitating storage and transportation (up to 40% more efficient)
- Unbreakable, ensuring durability and ideal for e-commerce and events
- Clear visibility for a glass-like appearance
- Logo embossing capability
- Sustainable, with the option to incorporate recycled material (rPET)
- Recyclable in a closed-loop system
Without doubt, this pioneering innovation by PDG Plastiques represents a significant step towards a more sustainable future for the sparkling wine industry, balancing ecological responsibility with premium quality without compromising the user experience.
For more information, please visit: www.pdg-plastiques.com