Sustainability for winemakers is a complex issue and takes collaboration across the value chain. When two companies, both rooted in innovation and sustainability join forces, they can reduce the environmental impact of products and create a more sustainable future.
This is what happened when a French winemaker focused on creating a sustainable cuvee opted to package their wine in a brand-new lower weight, lower carbon glass wine bottle from O-I called B0 Estampe™.
“This project is the result of a strong partnership to act together for the winegrowing of tomorrow and shape a more sustainable future,” said Sandrine Sanchez, Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at Union des Vignerons Des Côtes De Rhône.
Creating a Sustainable Wine
The Union des Vignerons Des Côtes De Rhône is a cooperative of 200 winegrowers in the Rhône wine region of Southern France.
The Union has “pledged to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the battle against climate change and have adopted environmentally sound practices to protect our region, its people, and our business,” according to The Union’s website. It is “fully committed to sustainable viticulture” and is the first cooperative winery to carry out carbon assessment across all three scopes.
As part of its sustainability commitment, The Union set up a commission of young winegrowers to look at disease resistant grape varieties. These grapes don’t require additional pesticides – not only making them organic – but the chemical reduction minimizes the environmental impact.
The work into the disease resistant grape varieties resulted in a new La Resistance cuvée – a wine that demonstrates The Union’s commitment to sustainable practices.
A Sustainable Glass Wine Bottle for a Sustainable Wine
The brand wanted everything about the wine to be as sustainable as possible – from how the grapes are grown to the glass wine bottle itself.
“This light-weighted Estampe bottle fits perfectly into our approach of sustainable development,” Sanchez said. “This is a concrete application of our commitment for the respect of our environment and more particularly of our objective – to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions … it’s hard to make it more sustainable.”
Sanchez noted the bottle’s lack of capsules, that its cork is 100% bio sourced, made at the O-I’s Labegude glass making plant about 12 miles (20 km) away, and has a lower-carbon footprint as contributing factors to choosing the B0 Estampe™ bottle.
B0 Estampe™: An Innovative, Sustainable Wine Bottle for French Winemakers
Estampe is designed to be right-weighted, functional, sustainable, and stunning.
“This project is the crossroads between two innovations – it’s disruptive and virtuous,” Sanchez said.
The bottle design is also unique – it’s modern, elegant, and there’s nothing quite like it on the market. The design was tested by more than 200 French wine customers, and the results were overwhelmingly positive – 84% said they could purchase wine in the bottle, and more than 70% said they preferred the B0 Estampe™ bottle shape over a class bottle shape, according to a Toluna consumer survey conducted by O-I.
The bottle’s carbon footprint and reduction plan is validated by the Carbon Trust and its validated, eco-designed 75 cl bottle meets their criteria for low carbon packaging. The residual footprint is offset by the purchase of carbon credits and supports things from orchard planning in France to restoration projects in Brazil.
The innovative glass wine bottle joins an array of O-I’s existing lighter weight glass bottles across the company’s global portfolio. Lightweight wine bottles have been designed by O-I to meet customer demands for smaller impact while still protecting the taste and experience of the wine.
