This page is fully or partially automatically translated.
Make an appointment with
So that you can make an appointment, the calendar will open in a new tab on the personal profile of your contact person.
Create an onsite appointment with
So that you can make an onsite appointment, the appointment request will open in a new tab.
The end of the disposable bottle in sight?
Many winegrowers were quite happy for beer, soft drinks and fruit juice to be marketed in Germany in returnable bottles as a matter of course, whereas wine was just as naturally not. The number one argument against reusable bottles was – as was often heard in other beverage sectors in the past – a marketing factor: individual bottle shapes would, it was assumed, increase the value of the product inside. Fine wine in standardized bottles? Many winemakers do not want to put their customers through that. According to the German Wine Institute, there are over 100 different wine bottles in circulation in Germany.
Something is happening with the wine bottle
But is this attitude still justifiable in times when sustainability is a top priority everywhere? At least it is beginning to crumble. Because the figures speak for themselves: the State Institute for Wine and Horticulture in Veitshöchheim, together with ClimatePartners, has calculated the carbon footprint of a 0.75 liter bottle of wine. Surprising (or not): Almost half, namely 48 percent of the 900 grams of CO2 produced per bottle, is attributable to packaging and bottling. 32 percent is generated during the production of the disposable glass bottle alone. That is more than the work in the vineyard causes throughout the year.
So if you want to make wine more sustainable, you have to tackle the issue of bottles. And recently, winegrowers, wine merchants and consumers have indeed started to take action. Let's take a look at two very different initiatives.
The reusable pool bottle for wine from Baden-WürttembergReusable pool system made in Baden-Württemberg
At ProWein 2023, the Weinheimat Württemberg eG association presented a green, 0.75-liter reusable pool bottle for wine, which is to be used nationwide. The reusable pool is to be operated by a specially founded Wein-Mehrweg eG. This, in turn, is backed by ten founding companies that, with 5,200 hectares, represent over five percent of Germany's total vineyard area.
Up to 50 cycles should be possible
According to the initiators of the first reusable wine pool, particular attention was paid to the stability of the bottles when developing the bottle, as each one should be able to be refilled up to 50 times. The first model has an MCA screw cap – but other variants with corks are to follow.
Wein-Mehrweg eG is promoting the deposit system by claiming that supply bottlenecks for new bottles can be avoided (good for winegrowers) and that returning the bottles automatically binds customers (good for retailers). The reusable bottle could also be financially worthwhile from the moment it is used at least five to seven times. One-way bottles cost winegrowers between 30 and 80 cents, the deposit bottle costs 40 cents, but then 15 to 20 cents per fill are added for transportation and rinsing.
And, of course, there is the ecological aspect: not only does reusable packaging save resources, it could also eliminate the need for secondary packaging – for example in the catering sector – if wine can be supplied in reusable bottles and matching crates.
In terms of product quality, wine is also in first-class hands in returnable beer bottlesOrganic wine from deposit beer bottles
The Galler organic winery from Kirchheim an der Weinstraße is going it alone for the time being. It is forging ahead and has recently started bottling wine in beer bottles. In brown, long-necked 0.5-liter reusable beer bottles with crown caps that can be returned to any deposit machine.
This may sound strange at first, but it makes sense to winemaker Ansgar Galler: after realizing that the disposable bottle is the biggest CO2 driver in the wine industry, sales of his "2/4 wine" bottle, as he calls the collection in the beer bottle, have taken off. So far, there is a cuvée of Sauvignac and Johanniter as well as a Pinotin, a type of Burgundy. A disposable bottle for wine cannot be the long-term solution, he says. However, the wine in the beer bottle is more than just a symbol; it should be seen as a signal to the wine industry that reusable bottles are THE way forward here too. According to the winery's website, it is necessary to "adapt the packaging to the needs of the times".
