DAN'S WINE BLOG- THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS

Friday, April 14, 2023

?We kick off this week with the concept of re-fillable wine bottles.

?GERMANY:?The German Wine Institute (DWI – Deutsches Weininstitut) believes that there are over one billion bottles of wine bought in the country each year. They estimate that the bottle accounts for 45-48% of the CO2 footprint of the wine. The vast majority of these bottles are used only once, with a percentage going to landfill and the balance being recycled by melting them down and remaking.?Returnable/reusable wine bottles of 1.0 litres have been used for many years in Germany and it is estimated that the washing centre in M?glingen washes around 24 million bottles a year. However, 1.0L bottles are not as popular as they used to be and their use is declining. Therefore a new 750mL bottle has been designed which was launched at ProWein 2023. The aim is to have a standard reusable bottle with the word, “Reusable”, embossed in the glass.

?The German Federal Environment Agency advises that returnable bottles can be refilled up to 50 times. This measure will somewhat reduce the number of bottles produced each year, however, given that much if not most of the wine consumed in Germany is imported, the real success of refillable bottles will be dependent on the EU Government pushing/adopting them as a standard. Watch this space, as in a few years’ time it may well be necessary to bottle Aussie wine into re-usable bottles if one is to sell wine to the EU.

?This is a small part of the quiet revolution that is starting to build momentum in wine packaging. Other revolutionaries include: Paper bottles, premium 1.0L casks, wine pouches, wine in cans and the sensational, Packamama flat recycled PET bottles.

?None of these new wine “bottles” are going to replace the traditional wine bottle in the near future, but they are each in their own way a step towards sustainability and Carbon Footprint reduction and should be embraced wholeheartedly for the planet’s sake.

?THE TASTING:?This afternoon I will be attending the Wines of Adelaide tasting of wines from Alsace, Bordeaux and Champagne, which are looking for Australian distribution. These will be showcased alongside some Aussie new release wines, which include the outstanding wines of George’s Folly.

The French wines will be formally judged by the crew from Australian Wine Showcase Magazine and appear in an upcoming issue.

?Those who know me, know that I am smitten by the wines of Alsace and recently participated in the global Alsace Digitasting where they sent us a number of 30mL sample bottles of various wines and we were able to have a real time video tasting with the producers. ?I was fortunate enough to be able to have a video tasting with the affable, Remy Gresser, of Domaine Gresser – producers of cracking Alsace wines.

?Alsace is renowned for its sensational Riesling and delicious Pinot Noir (different style to Burgundy). ?However the region also makes some utterly divine Pinot Blanc and some of the world’s best Gewürztraminer (which is a brilliant wine to accompany spicy Asian food).

?Well that’s it for this week, have a great week, stay safe and remember when possible enjoy #emergingvarieties.?Cheers, Dan T.