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44 W i n e s & V i n e s M A R C H 2 0 1 4 A s the economy hobbles back to a normal stride, wine consump- tion and brands continue to grow, but nothing is as certain as uncertainty in the wine industry. Despite growing competition from alternative packaging in ever-new guises—bag-in-box, pouches, boxes, single- serve PET ready-to-drink vessels and more— glass bottles remain the industry standard. We contacted leading suppliers of glass wine bottles, who shared their observa- tions, opinions and predictions about their industry. Our respondents include: Marty Sychowski, president of All Ameri- can Containers, Pacific Coast; Jean-Pierre Giovanni, VP sales and marketing, West Coast, at Bruni Glass; Erica Harrop, president of Global Package LLC; David Schwandt, VP sales, wine category, at Saxco International; Suzanne Gordon, sales manager for TricorBraun WinePak; Bob Parise, vice president, sales, at Veral- lia North America, and Cynthia Fisher, sales manager at West Coast Bottles. Bottle buying patterns Based on experiences from recent years, our supplier panel discussed bottle pur- chasing patterns. As always in packaging, advance planning is advantageous. Schwandt confirmed: "Each new season brings changes to the buying habits of our customers. We actively listen and shape our supply programs to meet changing needs. Changes in harvest timing and quantity, changes in consumer behavior and demands have resulted in changes. We are responding by reducing lead-times, improving availability and identifying new value sources." "As always, we are an agriculture-based industry, and we always have fluctuations in ordering based around the time that har- vest happens to fall," Sychowski said. In 2013, he noted, "Harvest happened to come early, which meant that wineries Winery Glass-Buying Patterns Evolve Suppliers see bigger demand for 2012-13 vintages and return to luxury bottles By Jane Firstenfeld P A C K A G I N G