The Packaging Challenge

Bedrock’s Ode to Lulu during an UnWined Alexandria event

Packaging is a huge issue when it comes to sustainability in wine, and changes away from the heavy glass bottles we’re used to can make a big difference. In fact, 29 percent of the overall carbon footprint of wine comes from the glass bottle, according to the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Here at GoodWine, we are curious what winemakers and wine industry folks think about other ways of packaging wine, and when we saw a post that Bedrock Wine Co. made on Instagram about putting one of their scrumptious wines in a box, we were curious to learn more. Below is an interview that Bedrock’s Morgan Twain-Peterson MW graciously did with us back in March:

GoodWine: What was the original thinking that led you to try the bag-in-box format?

Morgan: It has been something we have been thinking about for a while though for a long time the minimum case amount for bottling lines was way bigger than a small winery could bite off (like tens of thousands of cases).  Then, our friends at Ryme and Tablas Creek started doing it using a smaller, albeit very labor intensive, bottling solution that we opted for.  The more research we did into the environmental benefit vis-a-vis glass the more we felt like it could be a great option for certain types of wines.  

GoodWine: I know you mentioned lack of availability of shipping boxes as a challenge in your original post about this. Were there any other obstacles that you faced? How did you get around these?

Morgan: As mentioned above, the filling and packing is extremely time consuming and labor heavy at a small scale, so for true financial sustainability we will need to make more in future years.  Our hope is as demand increases more efficient, smaller-run, bottling options become more widely available.  The lack of capacity to ship direct to consumer was definitely a challenge.  Also, the very nature of the type of wine and the limited shelf life of BiB makes for another challenge- we already cannot ship to customers across a wide swath of the south from Texas to Florida because temps are too high along the route, this means they will not receive the wine until late Fall, which is after the ideal time of year to drink rose, and, closer to the end of the 12-15 month shelf life of the format.

GoodWine: What has the reaction from consumers been? From retailers?

Morgan: Overall the response has been tremendous.  My IG post on it was the most-liked, and most commented on, post we have ever done.  We have sold a ton at the tasting room and on pick-up days for local list members.  It has also been gratifying to see the speed at which CA retailers have been reordering it due to demand.  It is obviously a small sample size but exciting nonetheless. 

GoodWine: How can distributors and retailers better support boxed and alternative packaging in wine?

Morgan: I think there are two things that are extremely important.  First, something like 80% of wine is consumed within 24 hours of purchase.  This means that the vast majority of wine does not age on the shelf that long and could be put into BiB at a huge reduction in carbon footprint over glass.  Second, we need to shatter the idea that BiB is only for super cheap wines- this is why we put our Lulu, one of the top-rated and more expensive rose wines in CA, in it rather than a cheaper rose. Also, it is actually might be better for things like rose and whites as the wines stay fresher longer once opened in the fridge since the bladder pulls a vacuum as it empties exposing the wine to less oxygen.  

GoodWine: Have you measured the carbon footprint of your BiB release? I’m curious whether this is something producers could measure and make transparent in the future and also if it’s costly or logistically complicated.

Morgan: A truly comprehensive carbon footprint analysis is extremely challenging and costly for a small winery- this is usually the realm of large companies who can hire consultants who specialize in it.  That said, we know that BiB represents an 80% reduction in footprint vis-a-vis glass based on several studies.  We also know from industry wide surveys that packaging and transportation are the biggest slice of the carbon footprint pie chart.  You put those together and it is pretty clear that there is a significant decrease in footprint by using alternative packaging such as BiB over glass. 

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