We all want to be making more sustainable purchasing decisions but it can be
incredibly hard to know how to do that. When it comes to wine
buying organic seems like the obvious solution but there's actually a lot more to consider
when it comes to buying a wine with the lowest possible carbon footprint.
According to International Wineries for Climate Action, packaging and transport combined, account
for over 40% of wineries' carbon emissions. Most wine is packaged and shipped in glass bottles.
Glass has been around for thousands of years. It's sturdy, transparent,
neutral, inert, it is the best vessel for preserving wine's aromas and flavors over
time so it's best for fine wine. It's also infinitely recyclable and reusable.
But glass has a few major problems. First of all it is incredibly energy intensive to manufacture.
Sand melts to form glass at a whopping 1700 degrees celsius. This is the same
temperature a space shuttle reaches when it reenters earth's atmosphere!
Starting with recycled glass obviously lowers carbon footprint substantially but glass recycling
temperatures are also very high, and unfortunately some of the world's most populous countries
(like the US) have very poor glass recycling track records. Glass bottles are also very heavy. More
and more eco-conscious producers are switching to lightweight glass (around 400 grams) but there are
still many premium bottles that weigh in at over a kilo. The shape and the weight of glass makes them
incredibly expensive in terms of cost and in terms of carbon emissions to transport around the globe.
Happily many alternative forms of wine packaging exist now. Exhibit A! I've got PET bottles. I've
got some cans here, wine and wine seltzer, and some wine pouches. Now, I know. I feel some of
you shuddering at the mere thought of drinking wine out of plastic or out of cans and it was true
until recently that the quality was not all that great in these formats; cheap but not all that
cheerful! Shelf lives were often incredibly short, with freshness and flavors fading very quickly,
and certain formats like PET for example needed quite high levels of sulfur at bottling,
but the quality and the technology of these formats has come a long way. The PET bottles are
now multi-layered with oxygen barriers and oxygen scavengers meaning far less sulfur is required at
bottling and shelf life has extended dramatically (from 18 to 24 months depending on the wine). PET
and wine pouches require far less energy to manufacture versus glass. They're lightweight
(an empty PET bottle can be up to 10 times lighter than the same volume of glass bottle)
and they're compact so their carbon footprint in shipping is far lower. Finally they are virtually
unbreakable which means far less waste. Aluminum cans are energy intensive to manufacture,
like glass, but are infinitely recyclable with high rates of recycling worldwide. Like PET they
are far lighter than glass so less carbon is emitted during transport. They are sealed under
pressure with minimal oxygen ingress so remain fresh for quite a long time at low sulfur levels.
Overall, the topic of sustainable wine packaging is a tricky one with no perfect answer. Today's
pouches and PET bottles are recyclable but only to a certain extent which means that end of life
disposal is still a problem, however many wine experts still agree that all - environmental
factors weighed together - they are still a more environmentally responsible choice as compared to
a glass bottle. For wines that you plan to consume quickly rather than age consider these formats.
They also have some great side benefits! Unbreakable PET bottles are great for pool side
sipping and you can freeze the bottles to make really good wine slushies. Wine pouches are light,
they're easy to transport, and after opening they stay fresh for four to six weeks so you can enjoy
glass here and there without worrying about the bottle going off. Cans are a great single
serving options and they don't require glassware which makes them good for al fresco situations,
so try out a pouch or a can or a PET bottle and let me know what you think. If you can't find
any wines you love in these formats, at the very least, try to avoid buying heavy glass bottles.
Heavier bottles do not equate to better wine. They are unnecessary and unethical. As always thank you
so much for watching. If you like this video and you want to keep learning more about wine,
consider subscribing to my channel and hitting that notification bell and until next time, santé.