Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/946131
40 WINES&VINES March 2018 PACKAGING This story began as a look into tiny bottles: 375-ml ves- sels and, almost incidentally, 187 mls. As it turns out, the tinier the better, according to wineries and bottlers we contacted. Hotel mini-fridges and airlines have made 187- ml packages more than familiar to travelers, and alterna- tives to the tiny bottles abound. Winery POV Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville, Calif., produces 1.9 million cases of sparkling wine per year. Of these, about 105,000 cases (based on 9-liter cases) are packaged in 187-ml bottles, according to Margie Healy, Korbel vice president of communications. Given the complexity of méthode champenoise production, it's not surprising that Korbel is one of just a few bubbly producers to bottle-fer- ment its wine in the tiny bottles. Healy said the market for this package showed its largest growth in 2012. To date, Korbel's largest ship year was 2015. The winery last produced 375-ml bottles (the familiar Champagne "split") in 2012, and final sales were in 2013. Korbel was producing some 10,000-13,000 cases of 375s annually but deemed the size untenable. "We were the only ones purchasing the glass from the supplier. We would have had to make a sizeable investment in glass mold costs to continue producing," Healy said. And so, 187s became the standard. Korbel markets them in four-packs with a suggested retail price of $15.99. They are sealed with pry-off crown caps, which are reliable for pressure (think beer bottles). The caps are made by Pelliconi in Orlando, Fla., with materials imported from Italy. Bottles are sourced 50% from Owens-Illinois in Tracy, Calif., and 50% Ardagh Group in Madera, Calif. There are no neck labels on the 187-ml bottles. The back labels are square, and front labels are smaller than 750s, but other than that, graphics are very similar. Fort Dearborn in Montreal, Quebec, produces 70% of the labels, while Multi-Color Corp. in Napa makes 30%. The four-packs are assembled by Graphic Packaging in Oroville, Calif. Fetzer Vineyards also uses 187s for its Anthony's Hill brand, according to Fetzer chief operating officer Cindy DeVries. The package size has proven to be a "stable" Single-serve Packages Surging Mini bottles are taking their share in glass, PET and other formats By Jane Firstenfeld O nce opened, 750-ml bottles pose a problem for many wine drinkers, who perceive that quality goes down when wine isn't consumed within a day or two. Good bag- in-box (BiB) wine offerings are marketed as an alternative. BiB packages are known to preserve wines with their original flavor profiles for longer periods after opening, but brand and varietal choices are still limited. And BiBs, which normally contain 3 or 4 liters, may represent too large a commitment for casual consumers, although they are significantly less costly per unit than similar wines in 750-ml bottles. Treasury's Uppercut wine blends make use of the fun and casual can format with a new, comic book-inspired design.