Pouches, PET, and aluminum packages are taking their place alongside glass as wine continues to innovate new traditions.

The once stodgy wine industry is currently awash in packaging innovation. Few of these novel packs are more unusual than the 2-L stand-up pouch shown here with a handle up top and dispensing spigot at the bottom. Shelf Impact! spotted it in South Africa’s Packaging and Print Media, and the publication was kind enough to “share” it with us.
Saflite Packaging of South Africa, a division of Astrapak Flexibles, developed the pack in concert with its first commercial user, The Company of Wine People. That South African firm packs Versus Unplugged—white, red, and rosé—in the 2-L pouch and markets it at supermarkets in South Africa. The winery has exclusive rights to the pouch for six months.
The benefits? The reverse-printed, clear polyester pouch is easy to open and pour, cools quickly, is lightweight, reseals easily, and keeps wine fresh for a month after opening.
Sustainability is also a driver. The winery claims that, compared with two 750-mL glass bottles, a single pouch’s carbon footprint is 80% smaller and represents 90% less waste in a landfill.
In France, the Boisset Vins & Spiritueax winery’s latest innovation is its launch of Yellow Jersey, a line of fine wines in a 750-mL lightweight PET bottle, from MPI Packaging and Constar International.
Like Boisset’s French Rabbit in a 1-L Tetra Pak container, the development of Yellow Jersey was driven to a large extent by environmental concerns. Both French Rabbit and Yellow Jersey appeared first in the stores run by Canada’s Liquor Control Board of Ontario. That organization views glass alternatives such as Tetra Pak, PET, and aluminum containers as highly desirable, from an environmental standpoint, compared to glass. These glass alternatives, the board says, “reduce package weight by more than 90% compared with glass bottles. Due to their lightweight format, they also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during transport.” Only 4% by weight of what consumers bring home is packaging versus about 40% for bottled wine.
The paper/foil/polymer lamination for Boisset’s French Rabbit was launched using the promotional tag line “One smart rabbit. Savour the wine. Save the planet.”
Boisset’s next “first” in the world of wine will be an aluminum container. “Beaujolais and Macon Villages are best served chilled to about 44˚ F,” according to company marketing materials. “So why not provide those wines to the consumer or the restaurant owner in the container that is best for chilling quickly and staying chilled longer?”
One intriguing feature on the aluminum bottle is what Boisset calls the Chill Dot. “At 44˚ F, the proper temperature for serving a Macon Villages or a Beaujolais, the dot turns from white to blue,” the company says. “It tells the consumer when the wine is properly chilled.”

By Pat Reynolds, Editor, Packaging World