Wine industry collaboration delivers innovative sustainable packaging solution for Australian sparkling wines

A new sustainable wine bottle developed in South Australia is set to reduce hundreds of tonnes in packaging every year – and that’s just the beginning!

Endeavour Group’s wine bottling and packaging arm Vinpac International has partnered with Australian glass packaging company Orora on a new lightweight 750ml sparkling bottle – the first of its kind in Australia.

“To have an Australian-made innovative sustainable packaging option for our customers is important to us. By collaborating with Orora to produce a lighter weight sparkling bottle solution that will provide a combination of commercial and environmental benefits for our customers is really exciting,” said Vinpac International’s Commercial Manager James Vallance.

Although red, white and rose wine bottles have been available in lightweight options for some time, sparkling wine is traditionally bottled in heavier, more premium packaging.

The first, Australian lightweight option for bubbles has been manufactured at Orora’s state-of-the-art facility in Gawler, South Australia, and was tested at Vinpac’s facilities in Angaston in March. It weighs 580g, which is 100 grams less than a standard sparkling wine bottle an approximate 15 percent total reduction in weight

The bottle retains the same look and feel as a standard 750ml sparkling bottle, which means there is no need to change labelling or other packaging elements.

The sustainable bottle has been welcomed by Pinnacle Drinks, the supplier arm of Endeavour Group. Pinnacle Drinks is now releasing a number of brands in the lightweight sparkling bottle, including the popular Minchinbury sparkling range. The 2021 vintage has been bottled in the sustainable packaging and will be available in BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores later this month. 

“To have the Minchinbury sparkling range first to market is really exciting as it is a trusted brand. Australians have marked special occasions and celebrations with a bottle of Minchinbury for over a century and to see the brand now move into a more sustainable packaging option is an exciting new chapter,” said Pinnacle Drinks Assistant Brand Manager Nicola Demetriou.

There are significant environmental benefits by switching to this bottle, and Pinnacle Drinks estimates it will remove 320 tonnes of packaging from its supply chain which equates to around 62 cars off the road each year.