Premium wine packaging gets a sustainable makeover in South Australia

Wednesday 9th November – A new more sustainable premium wine bottle developed in South Australia can help producers reduce packaging and emissions.

The Australian-first innovation is the result of an industry collaboration between Endeavour Group’s wine bottling and packaging arm Vinpac International and leading sustainable packaging solutions provider Orora.

“We are excited to be able to offer significant environmental benefits and cost savings for our customers with this new, innovative lightweight bottle,” said Vinpac International Commercial Manager James Vallance. 

The new lightweight Reverse Taper bottle weighs 420 grams – 195 grams less than a standard Reverse Taper bottle, which is equated to an 18 percent reduction in emissions. In addition, bottles from the Orora Gawler facility where this bottle is produced had a recycled glass content of approximately 38 percent over the 2022 financial year. 

“We will continue to innovate towards best-practice packaging, and we are focused on collaborating with suppliers and partners like Orora to find more innovative recyclability and reusability solutions across our operations and the industry at large,” James added. 

The Reverse Taper bottle, which is wider at the shoulders than at the base, has always been a popular premium option in the wine industry

“Historically, heavier glass and deeper punt have been used for premium wines so when developing this new option, it was important to keep the same look and feel for that premium touch,” explained Orora Glass National Account Manager Chris Blanchard. 

“Sustainability is fundamental to the way we operate at Orora and represents our promise to the future. We are on track to achieve our goal of 60% recycled content in the glass packaging we produce by 2025 and our new $25m glass beneficiation plant in South Australia will contribute to a significant increase in the recycled content in our manufactured glass products,” he added.

Endeavour Group’s products and services arm Pinnacle Drinks will be making the switch to the innovative new bottle with several wine ranges, including La Poco Tempranillo and Grenache, Old Fat Unicorn Tempranillo and Cat Amongst the Pigeons Tawny.

“We are excited to be among the first to market to use this new sustainable bottle. Moving to this new Reverse Taper lightweight bottle will help us decrease our carbon footprint even further and will provide significant environmental benefits and cost savings,” said Pinnacle Drinks Director Paul Walton.

The bottles are manufactured at Orora’s state-of-the-art facility in Gawler, South Australia, and are available to wine producers from Vinpac International.

Last year, Vinpac and Orora partnered together on a new lightweight 750ml sparkling bottle. 

Endeavour Group is one of the founding members and deputy chair of the Wine Industry Sustainable Packaging Alliance (WISPA), a collaboration between the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation and key businesses across the wine industry value chain,working together to improve recycling rates, drive innovation and fuel the circular economy within the Australian wine industry.