It is a preposition used in that context. It also can be an adjective meaning very appropriate.
I think he’s talking about reusing bottles. But, no, glass in my recycle bin is thrown into the landfill. Some areas do recycle glass. They reuse glass like beer and Coke bottles in Mexico which always made a lot more sense to me.
I assume this comment was in reference to my affinity for nice packaging on good wines. For me it’s more about respect to the terroir and the wine than about ostentation. If it’s a truly special bottle, typically made in very small quantities, I think the wine deserves a meaningful packaging, the same way you put a proper frame on a nice piece of art.
I know this, but I also know that when I studied English at the university, my text would’ve been red-penned by our (British, Irish and American) teachers and professors, had I used the word in this manner. To me, it is one of those many words in English that are misused in lieu of a quite similar word that sounds similar to seem more educated.
However, I guess it could be argued that it thus becomes part of the language once enough people start using it the wrong way. That’s how languages evolve.
And for me, that sounds absolutely silly.
Typically when I get a bottle wrapped in silk paper or whatever, I just rip the paper off immediately and throw it in the bin. If I would have my way, all still wines would be bottled only in lightweight Bdx, Burgundy or flute bottles. Those massive broad-shouldered wanker bottles are the absolute worst and shouldn’t be allowed to exist.
Wasteful and/or overly extravagant packaging I’m not the biggest fan of. Such as those tall and ridiculously heavy GG Riesling bottles that are thankfully going out of fashion. Ain’t no one got space for that, not to mention the waste of glass.
I do think however that there’s something to be said for thoughtful, well-designed packaging. A balance can be found for sure.
I think you are talking about reuse, not recycle.
Can anybody cite any functional benefit from wax capsules? They are my packaging bête noir. You either spend a couple of minutes warming the wax with your hand before driving the screw through it in the hope that the top part comes off in one piece as you draw the cork, or you slice and chip away at it with bits of wax going everywhere , even into the bottle as the cork comes out if you’re not careful.
But apparently showing respect for the terroir doesn’t extend to forgoing cutsey nicknames for the vineyard… ![]()
Bottles are the worst because of the environmental impact and the practical impact. Yes, for example, the bottles SQN uses for its Eleven Confessions estate wines look cool, and I can appreciate that, ditto the long-time Turley bottles, and so on, but the fact remains that lightweight glass is significantly less carbon-intensive, and regular old standard Bdx bottles fill the practical need of storage in bins, racks, what have you much better than any other bottle shape. I can do without the cool to have the practical benefit of bottles that fit more easily into a wide variety of storage options.
(Bubbles of course are an exception due to the need for thicker glass to contain pressure.)
OWC are different in that they fill an important practical need as well, for many who store wines in OWC stacked on the floor or on shelves. But I don’t need to pay extra for a hand-crafted inlaid-walnut OWC just because the wine inside is extra-groovy.
Nice labels are a different issue as they don’t make the wine any less practical to store and I can appreciate them when they aren’t over the top.
Tissue paper is mostly a waste and mostly goes into the trash as soon as the wine is taken out of the box. It can be handy for preventing damage to the labels, but that is mostly needed only when the bottle is oversized, so get rid of that and you don’t need tissue.
In the end, there’s a difference to me between an OWC that one might get with a case of Bdx (be it Cru Bourgeois or First Growth), which is bottled in a standard Bdx bottle, and some of those over-the-top presentations from Napa wineries with the overly fancy box, booklets printed on fancy paper in the box, engraving and detail all over the box, label, booklet, etc., super-heavy bottles with super-fancy labels, individual tissue, etc. Particularly when a single wine has all of that, it turns me off, as it seems to be designed to convince me that (rather than foolishly spending excessive money on grape juice) I have fabulous taste and I’m to be congratulated as a man of wealth and taste who has purchased a true, rare, hand-crafted luxury good that is easily worth twice the $500 a bottle price. Pass.
Make two different versions of the same wine. One in a fancy package and the other in a normal bottle, and charge $20 more for the fancy one. Or even $100 more (that way the purchaser can also brag about how much they spent for the bottle). Some reviewers who don’t realize it is the same wine inside and think the fancy one is the “reserve bottling” will also probably give more points to that one than the “regular.”
Make two different versions of the same wine. One in a fancy package and the other in a normal bottle,
I remember when Plumpjack first sold Cabernet for $100 with a cork and $110 screwcap. I found that a worthwhile statement.
I purely hate paper wrapping. Precious seconds are lost ripping it off, then a few more putting it into my paper recycling can.
My local paper (The Harpswell Anchor) comes out monthly. Last month they tracked material left at our recycling center / town dump.
Bottles are sorted by color and melted for re-use. ![]()
And yes, I favor light-weight bottles, would be happy to go to mid-weight if the bottles are to be reused as light-weight bottles are clearly more fragile.
Agree on a preference for lighter bottles. PYCM has always been an annoyingly heavy bottle and because of that I quit buying the wine. If more people voted with their checkbook, producers might change.
On the topic of wax, yes I do like it and more modern waxes are easy to remove. And less waste compared to foil.
Very simple, light bottle, no foil, no paper
I am pleased to get recycled boxes
Looking at it from another perspective, I will admit that occasionally I’ve had a wine poured from a cool-looking bottle and thought “gee, that’s a cool-looking bottle.”
OTOH, I’ve had many of the world’s great wines over the years, and not once have I ever thought “Gee, this '82 Mouton or '90 Latour or '74 Martha’s or '93 Richebourg would taste even better if it had been poured out of a heavy, cool-looking fancy bottle.”
IMHO the most important part of packaging is the cork. This is the place for the producer to spend the extra $.50 a bottle
I found a good paper that I will give it’s own thread.

