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PACKAGING INTERVIEW 52 WINES&VINES May 2017 W hen James Sobbizadeh graduated in 1985 from the University of Alabama-Birming- ham with a degree in natural science, he took a job with a winery that produced wine coolers in Stockton, Calif. He started in the lab and ended up as the quality-control supervisor. But that job ended, and he moved to a custom co-packer that worked with juices, energy drinks and other beverages. The job wasn't to the liking of Sobbizadeh, who realized he wanted to continue working with wine. He found an opportunity to return to the industry in 1989, when he went to work for Fetzer Vineyards in its quality-control department. He became director of produc- tion in 1995. Today, from his base in Mendocino County, Sobbizadeh directs a team responsible for bottling millions of cases of wine every year. In addition to Fetzer Vineyards, those wines include brands such as Bonterra, Little Black Dress, Sanctuary and 1000 Stories. Q Fetzer is upgrading its bottling lines. What are you changing and why? James Sobbizadeh: At Fetzer Vineyards, we have long had a mindset of controlling our own destiny in production, be- cause that gives us more freedom to innovate around efficiency, waste reduction and other business objectives while keeping product quality high. We are currently transitioning our two main bottling lines over to Em- meti lines that handle bulk glass rather than bottles in the case. This will impact our process in a couple of ways. Currently, we receive glass in the case. We place the glass directly onto the line for filling, corking, capsule placement and labeling, then return the glass to the same box in which it arrived. Following our updates, we'll be receiv- ing glass in bulk and building our boxes from scratch. At the same time, we are leveraging that change to shift to lay-flat cases and pressure-sensitive labels. All these changes have financial, sustainability and efficiency benefits. The new cases and labels are more resource-efficient in manufacture and transportation. For example, fuel and emissions savings will be realized thanks to more efficient packing of materials in trucks. In our current scenario, suppliers can pack just 2,400 fully constructed 9-liter cases of glass into a 53-foot truck. As we look ahead, we'll be able to bring in much more (glass, cardboard and partitions) per equivalent truckload. There are also efficiencies in terms of handling and flexibility. By "producing from scratch," so to speak, modifying our bottling runs based on just-in-time decisions about formatting, we can be more nimble in re- sponding to market opportunities. I can immediately change a 12-pack bottling run to a six-pack run, since I'll be making the boxes and no longer have to wait for glass to arrive in a six-pack. The marketing team benefits as well, as they can be more choosy and flexible when selecting which boxes to use with specific glass. Q How does Fetzer's dedication to green practices and certification as a zero-waste business affect your packaging choices? Sobbizadeh: We are always looking to improve the sus- tainability of our production process, and packaging choices are a big part of that. Take the shift to lay-flat cases vs. the case with one glued corner that we have been using. Going forward, every pallet of cases will be packed more densely, so each truckload will be more effi- cient. We will also take in fewer pallets overall. And because we're controlling the specifications on the cases, we can shift to shunted partitions that use less cardboard and still deliver the same quality. Pressure-sensi- tive labels are less en- ergy-intensive for our printing suppliers, because they don't need multiple passes through the printer. We're also sizing the labels to virtually eliminate wasted paper on the printing sheets. We work with Multi-Color Global Label Solutions. A CONVERSATION WITH James Sobbizadeh Fetzer rethinks bottling process to reduce waste, maximize efficiency By Laurie Daniel