(image sourced from PackagingNews.co.uk)
Tim Atkins, wine writer for the Observer, recently started a boycott – calling out producers who use unnecessarily heavy bottles to make their wine seem more prestigious in the article “Seeing the Light”. Common in Chile, Argentina, and Spain, but also found in nearly every wine producing region in the world, producers will reserve heavy bottles for their higher-end or icon level wines. In a time when wineries are beginning to go carbon-neutral and spending money on environmental projects, these bottles burn more energy to ship around the world.
Rock heavy bottles have never made sense to me. Despite the large carbon footprint they leave behind and the pain in the ass they are to serve or carry around anywhere, they exist for one reason: so people will have a preconceived notion that the wine in the bottle is going to be high-end. “But if they spent all this money on a fancy bottle…” If your wine is as great as you think it is, put it in a regular bottle, let it speak for itself and stop playing mind games! Besides, that’s what advertising and label design are for.
Check out this new Bag-In-Box design, the “FreshCase” – probably one of the most attractive and space conscious I’ve seen yet. Here’s a little video featuring it on YouTube. Hey wait… I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you guys put your cheap Sauvignon Blancs and all the other wine that’s being drunk immediately in something like this and then you can put your big fancy wines in NORMAL BOTTLES?? Obviously there’s still a problem with how consumers view these new packages, but hopefully we’re not too far off.
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5 Responses:
October 27th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I’m not about to start a beer vs wine thing because I appreciate the merits of both. However, wine needs to take a note out of the craft beer book and get on the green train as best as possible. When companies like New Belgium are out there creating their products with as much carbon neutrality as possible its giving the whole booze business something to strive for.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Hey Chris, that’s great that there are beer makers moving in this direction. There are wine producers as well, but practices and mentalities like this don’t help.
Bringing up beer vs wine merits, have you read Eric Asimov’s article today??
http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/a-plea-for-peaceful-coexistence/
October 28th, 2009 at 5:54 am
I agree with you. I too hate heavy bottles. In fact, I often find that the wine inside the bottle is this over-produced, conventional, bomb that I would rather not swallow. Heavy bottles to me speak volumes about the producers wine making philosophy and it’s often not one I agree with.
-cheers
October 28th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Vinosseur, I’d agree with that. The use of these bottles does seem to speak for the mentality of some of these wineries. I just saw the gigantic “Rubicon” bottle for the first time yesterday. Man that thing is hefty.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I read that the other day and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t have a great knowledge of wine but I know enough to know I like it. I think the biggest issue with those wine and beer lovers who bash on the other form of beverage is lack of education. The more one knows about something the more they tend to appreciate it.