"Greening" The Packaging A Bit
Since 1998 I have been putting our most expensive Pinot Noirs in heavy glass. I liked the "presence" conferred by the size and heft of these oversize bottles.I have re-evaluated this position. A number of considerations have led me to the conclusion that these bottles are no longer appropriate for the majority of our wines.
First, most people don't notice the heavy bottle until it is pointed out to them. This suggest that the conveyance of a sense of "worth" is subliminal at best. When I have had consumer feedback on these oversize bottles it has mostly been negative: the bottles don't fit in some wine racks.
Second, a case of wine in this oversized glass weighs 50 pounds, compared to about 37-38 pounds for standard glass. I have been really fortunate that I have not injured my back after 22 years of throwing around big and heavy stuff in the winery, but I am starting to feel it when I have to restack a pallet of this heavy glass. I'm developing a new appreciation for the strain this weight may impose on the folks who work for me.
Third, it is self-evident that the extra weight is not environmentally-friendly. Fourth, and related to point #3, is that the costs to manufacture (and so the cost to purchase) this heavy glass has increased dramatically in the last year and a half.
Bottom line, glass that was arguably justifiable at $16/case – when we were producing only about 500 cases of Pinot a year – is far less so at $24/case, as we grow toward 1,200 cases a year of Pinot Noir.
To be sure I am still going to put some wines in heavy bottles – very limited and exclusive lots, and charitable donation packages that get etched and painted – but it will only be on the order of 100 cases a year or so.
posted 5/28/2008 09:40:00 PM
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