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MANA GEMENT Perk Up Your Packaging E very year for our November issue, Wines & Vines asks wine industry suppliers to send brief updates about their newest products and services, which we organize by cat- egory (see page 55.) This year, we pored through dozens of early submissions in search of fresh ideas to help readers con- sidering changes to their wine packaging. Whether you're contemplating a com- plete redesign or hoping to improve your existing operation, we hope these inno- vations will feed your creative instincts. For details and pricing, please contact the suppliers. Short runs for custom bottles Glass bottles still dominate wine packag- ing, but traditional needn't mean stodgy— or even standard. Verallia USA has developed new technology at its Seattle, Wash.-based glass plant that economically customizes stock bottles in quantities as small as 1,500 cases. Working with Verallia designers, FlexRun clients can alter bottles with customized embossments, varied shapes, finish options or unique punt designs. The FlexRun service, according to Verallia, is ideal for product launches or market tests, commemorative or limited edition bottles. Clients can choose from antique green, Champagne green, dead leaf green or flint-colored glass. Katie Gerber, Verallia's wine sector marketing manager, said the first bottle run came off the line in June. She explained that Verallia's redesigned equipment means that changing bottle embellishments requires only two sections of iron for the mold vs. the traditional eight, reducing costs accordingly. Clients pay a premium to create the mold, but molds become their property, so the cost can be amortized over time and multiple runs. "The sections last for a long time," Gerber said. How would you adorn your bottle? "I think most wineries would want to add their brand name," Gerber said. An AVA might add its name to a bottle, allow- ing member wineries to share the cost. 36 WINES & VINES NOVEMBER 2012 Cool new options for bottles, pouches, labels and design By Jane Firstenfeld In 2011 Sutter Home switched its entire production of 187ml bottles (2.2 million cases) to PET. Once the design is approved, the customized bottles are quickly produced. "Believe it or not," Gerber said, "it's ex- actly the same as any custom bottle time: It actually takes less time." PET, please It's ironic that the wine industry in the United States remains reluctant to adopt packaging innovations until they be- come established in the Old World. Like screwcaps and bag-in-box, PET (Poly- ethylene terephthalate) wine bottles and single-serve packages took hold in the European market more quickly than they did here. Amcor Rigid Plastics of Ann Arbor, Mich., which claims to be the largest supplier of U.S. beverage bottles, already dominates the soft drink market. Amcor hopes to take advantage of wine industry interest in lightweight bottles and recy- cling by bringing PET to the table as a legitimate packaging option. PET bottles are about one-sixth the weight of glass, a fact that airlines already have embraced by opting for 187ml PET bottles for in-flight service. Napa's Sutter Home Family Vineyards began using PET as a glass replacement for airline wines in 2005; as of 2011, the label switched its entire 187ml produc-