The Inconvenient Truth of the Wine Industry Seen from Paper Bottles July 31 13:42

The unusual wine bottles are now attracting attention in Europe. The main material is not glass, but paper! When a British venture company started selling at the end of June this year, it was flooded with 700 inquiries from all over the world in less than a month. Glass bottles have been traditionally used for wine bottles for 400 years. What is the inconvenient truth facing the wine industry from a paper bottle? (Reporter Tamura Galaxy, International Department)

A "paper bottle" appears!

The "paper bottle" was developed by Frugalpac, a fourth-year-old venture company located in Ipswich, a city 100 km northeast of London.

The company originally developed recyclable paper cups. According to the company's explanation, usually paper cups cannot be recycled because they use waterproof paper, but by attaching a waterproof polyethylene sheet only to the inside of the cup, it can be sorted and recycled, It means that we developed our own paper cup.

This time, I applied this idea and technology to bottles for wine. The cost was kept at the same level as the glass bottles, and we worked with an Italian winery to sell it.

"We received inquiries from all countries around the world that make wine, most of which are well-known vendors and international brands."

What is a paper bottle like? It looks just like a glass bottle, but when you pick it up, it's surprisingly light. It weighs 83 grams. It's about one-fifth of a glass bottle.

The cap is a plastic screw type, the outside is a thick paper with a thickness of about 1 mm, and the inside is a double structure using water resistant thin polyethylene. All of them are recyclable, and they are strong enough to withstand the long-term transport of wine.

The keyword is "decarbonization"

So why is there an increasing interest in paper bottles now? The background behind this is the growing awareness of decarbonization and climate change countermeasures.

Winery and wine industry groups around the world have calculated multiple estimates of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the process of wine production, bottle production, and transportation to various regions. According to it, apart from the wine production process, the gas generated from the bottle manufacturing process to the transportation process actually accounts for half of the total gas, or nearly 70% according to the estimation.

A lot of energy is needed in the process of forming glass bottles at high temperatures and in the process of carrying heavy wine bottles. In other words, it is more important for the wine industry to reduce greenhouse gases at the stage of bottle manufacturing and transportation rather than wine production in order to promote “decarbonization”.

By replacing the main material of bottles with paper, which is lighter than glass, Hulgal Pack says that greenhouse gas emissions from the process of manufacturing and transporting wine bottles will be reduced to 1/6.

Supporting changes in wine regions

However, the greenhouse gas emissions from the wine industry are not very large for the industry as a whole, and it seems that the vineyards are also contributing to the absorption of greenhouse gases, but why is the wine industry Are you actively working on climate change measures? This is due to the growing severity of damage that is believed to be affected by climate change in the wine regions.

Chile is one of the world's leading wine producing regions. In arid areas, we have cultivated vast vineyards by irrigation to produce wine.

However, it is said that the number of lands that cannot be cultivated is increasing due to rising temperatures and the progress of drought.

A major Chilean winery, Conosul, which has a series of labels featuring the bicycle mark that is often seen in Japan, has also taken urgent measures to combat climate change, such as the well water withdrawing due to drought and the water needed to grow grapes no longer being available. It is called an issue.

We have installed solar power generation facilities at five production sites, are using renewable energy, and are continuing efforts to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the transportation process to zero. Therefore, we welcomed the development of this paper bottle.

"The three pillars that we have set up since our founding are "quality," "innovation," and "sustainability." This philosophy applies to all of our fields, Of course, the same goes for bottles.''

Replace 10% of the market with paper

Perhaps it's not too long before consumers take away wine from wineries that have fallen behind climate change.

Hurgal Pack CEO warns that paper bottles can't beat glass bottles for long-term storage of wine, but they are relatively unacceptable to younger generations who are environmentally aware. I am thinking. He said in 10 years his goal was to replace 10% of the wine bottle market with glass instead of glass.

“We are proposing an alternative. Although glass bottles are traditional and function well, they are old technology from old times, such as manufacturing, recycling and energy. It hasn't evolved for the way of thinking, and I think it's a perfect product for anyone who wants to know about such environmental burdens and want to do something about it.”

After the interview

On July 13th, during the interview, British alcohol maker Diageo also announced that he will make a bottle of Scotch whiskey Johnnie Walker from next year on paper.

Last year, Carlsberg, Denmark published a prototype of a beer bottle made of wood fiber, and it seems that "devitrification" of these bottles is progressing not only in the wine industry but in the alcohol industry as a whole.

Hurgal Pack confessed that there was also an inquiry from a company that handles sake. When you hear the word "climate change," you get upset, but if you can make a modest contribution by choosing and drinking eco-friendly bottles and alcohol, familiar alcohol may be more delicious than usual. Hmm.

The new coronavirus is having a great influence on the wine industry, but I would like to support it by drinking while expecting changes in the future.

International Department press
Tamura galaxy
2013. He joined
in charge of the environmental field, the influence of the world due to climate change, covering the COP24, COP25. During the stay home period, participate in a world winery tour online.