New packaging in wine | The true weight of glass

If you want your wine greener, it may not be served in a bottle.

The deposit for wine bottles is coming to Quebec next year. Despite this measure, more sustainable production in this industry inevitably requires lighter glass bottles. Or even different packaging.

Could we find great wines in wineries?

It’s not tomorrow that you’re going to find reds from Bordeaux or Burgundy in a winery. Because these vintages can be kept for years and wine boxes are not made for aging.

“But more than 90% of wines are consumed in the first week of purchase,” says sommelier Michelle Bouffard, organizer of the Tasting Climate Change summit which was held in Montreal last week, in front of more than 300 professionals from this industry at the search for best practices, from vine to glass.

If, as soon as we talk about climate change in viticulture, we think of the effects of warming for winegrowers, we must not neglect to measure the impact of the bottle itself, she says.

“Up to 40% of a wine’s carbon footprint comes from its packaging,” explains Michelle Bouffard.

The solution to reducing this footprint involves lighter bottles, but also more creativity and openness in the containers used. The problem is that they face tough prejudices from consumers.

“What do we associate with winemakers here? », asks Michelle Bouffard, who firmly believes that the vinier is still synonymous with a low-end vintage for the majority of Quebecers. And it is high time for this to change.

How much does a bottle of wine weigh?

The glass bottle therefore weighs heavily in the energy balance of wine. It must be produced and transported to the vineyard; then, to the retailer. Whether in the same country or on the other side of the world.

A typical average 750 milliliter bottle weighs around 550 grams. But things are changing: in Quebec, the SAQ began to reduce the weight of its bottles in 2012.

According to the state-owned company, today, 83% of its wines priced below $25 are in light glass bottles – this represents 40% of the bottles sold at the SAQ.

The first challenge of making the bottle lighter is perhaps not technical: we cannot get away with it, light glass can seem more “cheap” in the eyes of certain producers and even certain lovers of prestigious vintages.

“Convince fine wine producers to bottle in light glass bottles? We are not there,” declared Marie-Hélène Lagacé, vice-president of public affairs and communications of the SAQ, who participated in the summit on wine and climate change.

In addition to perception-based reservations, there are some technical challenges.

Champagne, for example, offers a major challenge to bottlers, since its pressure can reach six to eight bars.

“We cannot put people’s safety at risk,” says Pierre Naviaux, from the sustainable development department of the interprofessional Champagne wine committee.

The bottles have still been entitled to a reduction in weight: since 2011, the industry standard in Champagne has increased to 835 grams whereas it was 900 grams before.

What is the future of alternative packaging?

“It’s true that there is this perception that the wines are of lower quality,” concedes Jody Bogle, vice-president, consumer relations, of the Bogle group. This American company presents some of its California wines in aluminum bottles weighing 80 grams (empty).

Jody Bogle believes this perception is changing, however, particularly among younger consumers, even more so for outdoor enthusiasts who appreciate the convenience of alternative packaging.

Change sometimes comes in unexpected ways. In 2022, the Chianti region found itself with too much wine for the number of bottles available, reports Italian winemaker Frederico Cerelli.

However, Chianti is protected by an appellation which specifies that it must be sold in bottle. Faced with the situation, the authorities allowed an exemption, and producers were able to put their wine in boxes and bags, says the Tuscan winemaker, in an interview at the summit. “Wine bars were already serving Chianti by the glass,” he says. For the consumer, it made no difference. And still don’t do it, since the exception is still permitted.

The increase in more sustainable packaging is an excellent thing, provided that the life cycle of the product is assessed, warns Barry Dick, of the British supermarket chain Waitrose.

If we present false good ideas, in particular by offering lighter packaging that is difficult or not recyclable, this will only fuel confusion and skepticism, he says.

Waitrose is one of the signatories to an international agreement (Bottle Weight Accord) aimed at reducing the weight of bottles to 420 grams by 2026. The American chain Whole Foods has also signed the agreement.

Barry Dick is a specialist in bulk wine imports. This is also a way of doing things that is one of the preferred options, he says.

The amount of wine sold in bulk worldwide is increasing, with Spain being the largest exporter of bulk wine, followed by Italy and Australia.

The SAQ does not bottle wine, but is very favorable to bulk wine, its representative, Marie-Hélène Lagacé, said during the summit. “It’s definitely an option to consider,” according to her.

And if we want to offer this option and change consumer perceptions, the vintages bottled here should display it very proudly on their bottles, believes Marie-Hélène Lagacé.

Before recycling, isn’t it better to reuse?

The deposit of wine bottles begins in March 2025 in Quebec. It will then be possible to return your bottles to all authorized drop-off points – and not just to the SAQ where you purchased your Barolo.

“This means that we will have the obligation to recycle all of these 300 million bottles of wine that we put on the market each year,” explains Marie-Hélène Lagacé, vice-president of public affairs and communications at the SAQ. According to her, the best thing to do would be to break this recovered glass and make new bottles locally, which will then be filled here.

This will not be done without challenges, particularly since our capacity to manufacture bottles is limited.

But before thinking about remaking bottles, we should rather reuse them, insists Amélie Côté, source reduction analyst at Équiterre.

If the industry wants to stand out, it would be a good idea to do so on a uniform bottle, rather than launching new packaging. “This is the solution that we should prioritize,” she said, “the marketing of reusable and standardized containers. »

It would be a great option for local wine or wine bottled here, says Amélie Côté. Even if it means adopting eco-fiscal measures to encourage producers and importers to move towards this option.

“But the trend,” she concedes, “is unfortunately towards the diversification of containers. »

This is also the case in beer: in 2009, 83% of beers bottled in Quebec were in reusable glass containers. In 2022, it had dropped to 15%, relates Amélie Côté.

“We forget that glass is made from sand. It becomes a highly exploited resource which has certain limits. »