Why the weight of your wine bottle is important

Until recently, much of the focus in the wine business has been on reducing carbon emissions in the vineyard and winery. Yet the biggest contributor to a wine’s carbon footprint is the transportation and production of glass bottles.

Both size and weight matter. As with other sectors of the economy, much of the wine industry has been very slow to change. But in recent months I have come across wine packaged in Bag-in-Box, Tetra Pak, plastic bottles (flat for better storage), small cans and even flax bottles.

All of these work, especially for wine that will be consumed soon after purchase – ie the vast majority of wine. However, we are quite conservative when it comes to wine, and it seems likely that the glass bottle will be with us for some time. Even with this, we can use lighter bottles.

English wine writer Jancis Robinson has campaigned on the issue for many years and always includes the bottle weight in her tasting notes. Sustainable Wine Roundtable is an industry-led organisation that has been doing good work in the UK and elsewhere. Members commit to changing 80 per cent or more of their bottles from 550g to 420g, representing an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, by 2026. As members include the state monopolies in Sweden and Finland as well as some big supermarkets in Europe and producer countries too, it could make a difference. It is estimated that the measure could cut a retailer’s wine carbon footprint by as much as 25 per cent.

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Estimates vary, but the Sustainable Wine Roundtable believes that between one-third and one-half of a wine’s carbon emissions are caused by glass. Recycled bottles are better, but still need to be reformed. Lighter bottles cost less to produce, use less glass, and seem to be sturdy enough to transport around the globe.

In the past, it was often believed that consumers preferred heavier bottles, seeing them as an indicator of quality. But this is disputed and most of those producers who switch report no loss of business. So the next time you buy wine, check out the weight of the bottles before buying and go for the lighter option.