Wine Packaging
Wine Containers
Wine containers are an integral part of brand identity and an important factor in influencing consumer purchasing decisions and ultimate satisfaction with the product. Consumers continue to exhibit an overwhelming preference for glass bottles, but their acceptance for alternative packaging is growing significantly.
Glass Bottles
Glass bottles are the most popular way to package wine today. While glass bottles have traditionally been used to store wine, they also serve another important function. The bottle is what affects the aging process of wine. Glass bottles protect the quality of the wine by reducing oxygen permutation through the container.
Bottle Shapes and Sizes
Traditionally, wine bottles are made in three major shapes; the Burgandy type, the Alsace type, and Bordeaux type (Figure 12.1). These names, of course, indicate the origin of these shapes. According to the tradition, each varietal wine is held in a certain type of bottle. This means that most of the world's wines are bottled in one of the above three shapes, according to the region. For example, the Burgundy bottle is most often used for Chardonnay and quite often Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir.
Bottle Colors
It is important to mention that light may cause some photochemical reactions in wines, which will accelerate wine aging. Red wines which contain high concentrations of anthocyanin and other phenolic compounds are more susceptible to these reactions. Therefore, wine that is to be aged for a longer time should be kept in a colored bottle.
Light Weighting
While consumers are asking for greener and more economical packaging, so are winery owners. In the last few years glass manufacturers have begun to slim down their bottles producing a greener and more economical bottle.
PET Bottles
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles can be filled similarly to glass bottles. Advantages are in mass production: the empty bottles are delivered as a small preform to the bottler. Stretch blow machines heat up the preforms and blow them to their final shape and volume using pressurized air. This saves transport volume. The empty bottle can be transported by neck handling and air conveyors to the filler. Volumetric fillers assure the filling volume.
Bag-in-Box
Bag-in-Box (BIB), or box wines, first made their way onto the wine scene in the 1960s where they were traditionally used to package generic bulk wines which, at the time, were considered cheap. This type packaging is comprised of one or more layers of high-barrier flexible films known as the bladder which is nestled in a paperboard container. The air tight bladder and the spigot are both able to protect the wine during short term storage.
Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak for wine is marketed as environmentally-friendly and is becoming very popular with wine consumers (Figure 12.2). It is an excellent form of packaging, of low cost, having a good oxygen barrier and a good shelf life. The structure of the packaging material is important, consisting of a laminate of polythene, cardboard, aluminum foil (the oxygen barrier), and another layer of polythene (to protect the aluminum).
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