Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/235941
S A C E S G I N GA R K E T I N G P L KA & M "We also sell them about eight to 10 other wine bottles: stock wine bottles for all their projects," Bolman said. At the other end of the supply chain, Total Wine & More public relations associate Courtney Rhodes explained that although the chain sells various other TH wines, it is not concerned about lack of brand identification. "We focus on the wine, not the winery," she said. In a store with more than 8,000 wine choices, none look like California Square, she explained. Since the national launch in October, California Square has performed well for the chain: The wine was poured in the gifting suite at the Emmy awards, where it was quaffed enthusiastically by thirsty stars. Extra, extra value The square bottles may look familiar, but there is no template for Truett Hurst's newest package, Paper Boy, available through Safeway since October at about $15 for 750ml of blended Paso Robles red wine and a 2012 Mendocino County Chardonnay. Even Hurst admitted it's "weird." It's also difficult to describe. It is, he said, "the world's first paper wine bottle: basically a bag-in-box liner encased in recycled cardboard with a screwcap." Manufacturer GreenBottle of London, England, sought out Truett Hurst when searching for a winery with "the chutzpah" to introduce the packaging to the North American wine market. GreenBottle claims that the bottle's carbon footprint is less than one-third of an equivalent glass bottle. According to Kopp, it is 80% lighter than a standard bottle: Although the bottles are manufactured in the UK and shipped to the U.S., "Every truckload saves 7 tons of shipping weight. The savings in fuel are enormous. Trucks carrying similar quantities of glass bottles average 7 miles per gallon (mpg); they get 8.5 mpg with these packages." Bottles are shipped from the assembly plant via ocean freight and routed by mini land bridge to California. This means rail transport of shipping containers from East Coast seaports to California for truck delivery to the Hopland winery. The arrangement permits the winery to control the movement of containers after their arrival in the United States. Transit time door-to-door is about 28 days, according to TH production manager Teresa Mengali. Paper Boy is designed to tap into and build the growing "on-the-go" wine market. "It's easy to take that bottle everywhere," Kopp pointed out. He cited Wrappers guide shoppers to Schucks white wine 106 W in es & V i ne s january 20 14 See us at Unified booth #1906