Thirsty Earth launches in paper wine bottles

Kingsland Wines has acquired the exclusive rights in the UK, Eire, Holland and Nordic countries to the new paper wine bottle called GreenBottle in which it is launching its own wine label Thirsty Earth.

The GreenBottle for wine consists of a fully recyclable or compostable paper casing. The same shape as a standard wine bottle, it contains a plastic neck piece and foiled plastic liner, comparable to those used in bag-in-box wines, a format that consumers – especially those in the Nordic countries – are familiar with.

The bottle has good insulating properties and offers a shelf-life to match that of a BiB. After use, the bottle can be easily separated so that the paper element can be disposed of separately to the plastic.

While GreenBottle will cost the same to producers as a standard glass wine bottle, the major advantage will be in savings in transportation: a GreenBottle weighs 55 grams, compared to about 300-600 grams for a glass equivalent.
GreenBottle is also non-breakable and, the company estimates, has a carbon footprint of 10% of that of a glass wine bottle.

Martin Myerscough, whose idea it was to make a paper wine bottle, says: “The best thing about GreenBottle is that consumers just ‘get it’. We’ve found that if you offer them the choice of a paper bottle or a plastic one they’ll choose paper every time.”

The bottle certainly attracted a great deal of attention on Kingsland’s stand at the recent London International Wine Fair. Kingland Wines’ Richard Leaver told The Drinks Report that talks were taking place with key retailers but “we are still at the stage where we have change parts for machinery on order, so we won’t have complete full production until August. However, we aim to be in the market by October and launching in the US, Holland, Finland and Swedish markets within in this calendar year.”

Kingsland Wines’ first wines under the new label Thirsty Earth are a Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and an Southern Australia Shiraz, which will launch in the UK in October with an RRP of £8.49. “The idea is that we over-deliver on the wine quality,” said Julie Hall, GreenBottle sales director.

Meanwhile in the US, a major retailer is launching a Californian wine on July 4 in GreenBottle with an RRP of US$14.99-16.99.

12 June 2013 - Felicity Murray