Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/816747
PACKAGING INTERVIEW 56 WINES&VINES May 2017 consumer at the high quality level at which it was delivered. Most of us in production would naturally like to standardize on fewer formats for bottles, labels and closures, but pure efficiency is not the only issue. Brands have different strate- gies, and consumers have different levels of ac- ceptance regarding closures for different wines. We use Amorim for corks, the Stelvin clo- sure from Amcor for screwcaps and various types of Saranex liners. We select the type of liner we're going to use based on the oxygen transmission rate, or OTR, for different prod- ucts. The SO 2 levels happen to be the same between corks and screwcaps, but that does not derive from a recipe. It's based on data compiled on the wines involved with each type of closure. Specifically, we run studies of up to 24 months to determine the OTR with the closures we use, so that we know exactly how they perform with different wines. This process determines the SO 2 levels. Q What other alternative packaging are you using, like bag-in-box or kegs? Sobbizadeh: Some of our brands export wine to Europe using bag-in-box packaging. (We don't sell bag-in-box in the United States.) Typically, that means 1.5-liter or 3-liter formats, but we also send 18-liter packages to the U.K. Scholle is our supplier for bag-in-box, using a proprietary formula based on PET for the bag. The packaging includes our recommended use-by date, which is 12 months from the date of produc- tion. We selected that time period after a lot of testing. Bonterra Organic Vineyards has an on- premise program in the United States that uses kegs for the Sauvignon Blanc, which, of course, is best when it's really fresh. We contract with Free Flow Wines to fill them. We like kegs for the freshness and also because they are reus- able, which eliminates waste and energy use required for recycling glass. Q Label redesigns are generally the pur- view of marketing, but what has your involvement been? Sobbizadeh: The shift to new bottling lines and pressure-sensitive labels is an opportunity to increase the sustainability of our labels and POPPING BOTTLES AT 39,000 FEET F etzer started packaging wines in 187 ml PET bottles some years ago for its airline clients, which wanted the plastic bottles for safety reasons and because they weigh less than glass. The format is inte- grated into Fetzer's bottling line, and "there are no real challenges or com- plications with pro- ducing this format compared to, say, a 750 ml bottle," says James Sobbizadeh, the company's director of produc- tion. The bottles are sealed with a short screwcap and can be recycled. "Today, we con- tinue to produce this format for nu- merous markets," Sobbizadeh says, including retail in the United States and abroad. —continued from page 53