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The resulting Select Bio closure, made from sugar cane, is scheduled for release in 2014. "We became very interested in the idea of plantbased polymers," explained Jeff Slater, director of global marketing. "Particularly those derived from sugar cane, where we could have the same kind of performance as engineered corks, but made from plant-based material." Trinity Oaks in St. Helena, Calif., part of the Trinchero Family Estates portfolio, recently started using a plant-based polymer capsule, made from EarthFirst PLA (polylactic acid) film, created by Ukiah, Calif.based Maverick Enterprises. "The PLA capsules are made with corn," said Jim Huntsinger, executive vice president of production. "They're very sustainable because (corn is) an annual crop, and the corn used for PLA is less than 0.5% of the annual corn crop." WHERE'S THE MARKET? There's been an increase of wine products entering the market recently that producers claim are "green," including Biodynamic, organic and earth-friendly options, but are wine consumers actually paying attention? Nelson A. Barber, associate professor at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, has researched this subject. His report, " 'Green' Wine Packaging: Targeting Environmental Consumers," published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research in 2010, found that consumers' ideas of themselves as environmentally aware and willing to put down money for their convictions, are often belied by their actual buying behavior. Buying "green" still isn't a common action for many consumers, Barber said. In addition, consumers often don't realize that wine production is filled with problems for the environment, and feel that buying green is for a fringe demographic. Price and quality are still the main deciding factors across demographics, Barber noted, and packaging won't make a difference when it comes to deciding which wine to buy. "Regardless of who you are, strongly pro-environmental or don't care, price and quality are unequivocally the most important drivers. You can't say, 'This is a great product, it's good for the environment,' if you can't convince consumers that the quality of the product is going to be unchanged, or if it's more expensive, that the quality has improved." But brand owners seem to be seeing a worthwhile investment in becoming environmentally friendly, and letting consumers know it. For Fir Wine 's Firs t P e rfe ct Clos ure WINE'S FIRST PERFECT CLOSURE 831 Latour Court, Suite B1 Napa, CA 94558 facebook.com/vinperfect w w w. v w m m e d i a.com J a n - Feb 2014 | p 707.252.2155 f 707.252.2166 vinperfect.com V INE YA RD & W INE RY M A NAG EM EN T 123