Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/670021
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m BY DANIELLE BEURTEAUX Eco-Packaging Evolves 3 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 016 ow do consumers know if a wine is really environmentally sustainable? With so many factors along the production chain that can impact the envi- ronment — from using pes- ticides in the vineyard to shipping heavy boxes of filled bottles long distances — creating and maintain- ing an ecologically sustainable pro- gram is a challenge more producers are accepting. Those efforts include packaging that's sustainably produced, recy- clable and reusable. Last year, TricorBraun WinePak, a packaging producer based in Fair- field, Calif., began offering a certifi- cation to wineries that were using ecologically produced Ardagh Group ECO Series glass bottles, which are lighter weight, use recycled glass and are made in factories with clean-burning furnaces. If 90% of a winery's bottles are ECO series, TricorBraun issued a certificate tes- tifying to its green practices. The idea came from the winer- ies, says Heidi Cook, WinePak's business development manager based in Coquitlam, B.C., who wanted something to display in a tasting room that would show customers sustainable practices. "Most of it is good marketing and The wine industry might be slow to a dopt change, but environmentall y sustaina bl e packaging choices are becoming more common.