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54 WINES&VINES May 2016 PACKAGING Gold medal for Silver bottle The Napa Valley-based Wagner Family of Wine is well known for standout packages, including the hyper-dipped wax topping of its Belle Glos single-vineyard Pinot Noir wines. Wagner Fam- ily recently revamped the bottle for its Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay. Charlie Wagner, owner/winemaker of Mer Soleil, told Wines & Vines, "The bottle really tells the story of this wine: no oak, with aging done in concrete tanks." Originally marketed in a matte gray ceramic bottle to capture the story, "We evolved to a glass bottle about six months ago. Glass enabled us to shift to a twist top. It's both lighter and recyclable— two huge advantages for consumers and trade," he said. The glass story in itself is fascinating. Ow- ens-Illinois (OI) acquired and restored a glass factory in Kalama, Wash., after it was virtually destroyed in a 2009 fire. There, Wagner said, "We worked closely with some great people in the development of a custom bottle shape and molds, and we've been happy with all aspects of the glass so far. We are using what is called transition glass, which is made while the furnace is changed from one glass color to another. Normally the bottles created in color transitions are out of 'commercially saleable' color specification, as they migrate slowly from one (traditional) saleable color to the next. "All the energy and time used to create those bottles is wasted; they are crushed and re- melted into the next furnace load. Since we are coloring the bottles in a secondary process, we can take sustainable advantage of these color variations. The bottles are perfect in every other way, and some of the glass colors are quite beautiful, just different. After manufacture, the bottles are spray- and electronic-discharge coated at TRI-S in Tualatin, Ore., for the undercolor gray, then UV-screen-decorated there. "Both the spray and UV process are low-energy coating technolo- gies that require no high-temperature ovens to cure the inks. We worked closely with TRI-S through multiple iterations to get the color, texture and sheen of every aspect of the label exactly as we wanted it," Wagner said. Silver started out with a screwcap but evolved to a cork finish when the makers adopted a ce- ramic bottle. "The move back to a glass bottle with a twist top is not just more convenient but really suits the wine, which has a crisp freshness that makes it ideal for consuming young," Wag- ner said. Guala Closures provides the screwcap, made to custom dimensions that are smaller (6mm shorter skirt) than usual and give a stream- lined, sleek look to the bottle. This brings an added benefit, saving 10% in aluminum. "Response to the twist top has been extremely positive. Lots of people actually expect a twist top with this style of wine," Wagner said. Silver retails for $24 per bottle, and ap- proximately 47,000 cases per year are pro- duced. The new package, Wagner said, "was Outstanding Wine Packages Eye-catching inspirations from the Unified Symposium and beyond By Jane Firstenfeld T he annual Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, Calif., provides an exhaustive exposition of industry suppliers from the vineyard through the tasting room. The Wines & Vines crew scours the tradeshow floor in search of new ideas to source a year's worth of stories, returning with suitcases full of informa- tion and contacts. While Mer Soleil Silver started in a traditional glass bottle, the brand's owners transitioned to ceramic to mimic the concrete tanks used for winemaking. Recently they switched back to glass to accom- modate a screwcap closure.