Observer wine critic declares boycott of heavyweight glass bottles

Tim Atkin, who is the wine critic for The Observer, declared in his column yesterday that an increasing number of producers were packaging their wines in “disgracefully heavy” bottles.

Instead, he encouraged wine buyers to buy wine in bag-in-box, plastic, Tetra Paks or lightweight glass – advice that is likely to upset some in the glass sector, which argues that its products beat those in other materials due to its high rate of recycling.

He also suggested that consumers buy wines that are shipped to the UK in bulk and bottled here; this has been one of the key projects of Wrap’s Glassrite project, which has helped Waitrose implement a bulk-importing model for its Chilean Virtue wines.

Atkin claimed that the problem of overweight bottles was most likely to be found in Spanish, Italian and Argentine wines.

He said that in those countries, “anyone who makes an icon wine weems to come over all macho and purchase the thickest glass available”.

He said: “In an effort to arrest this runaway trend, I’ve taken the decision not to recommend anything on these pages that comes in a heavyweight bottle… I will not hesitate to name and shame.”

Champagne and other sparkling wines would, however, still be acceptable in heavy bottles because “the wine style dictates the choice of package”.

In a series of other tips to keep the carbon footprint of wine drinking as small as possible, Atkin encouraged readers to buy from carbon-neutral wineries or to support the UK’s burgeoning wine industry in order to keep transportation to a minimum.

To read Tim Atkin’s full article, click here 

For a full insight into drinks packaging, click here to read Packaging News‘ Drinks Report 2009

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