Even slightly different bottle shapes/sizes would wreak havoc with an automated filling, corking, and labelling system, which almost all wineries use, even if a mobile bottling truck.
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I would love to watch Mr. Wonderful crap all over this idea on Shark Tank.
Maybe the best idea is inventing a system where that wouldn’t be the case!
But honestly, I just wish standardization were implemented. Like the 12oz soda can.
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I would be even happier to buy your wines if you implement this change.
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I’d welcome the idea and do my part to get the bottles back for reuse. It’s something I value.
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Seems like the OP has exactly this idea?
No a less rigid bottling process.
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Saw this today:
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Cool. Nice that Revino is featured. I also love the idea of 800g Champagne bottles!
Nice article, thanks, @J_Patrick_Lynch !
I’m all for refillable bottles, but not sure how this would work for those of us not near wine country. Certainly shipping the empties back is not environmentally sound. Someone mentioned a bottle drop site, and I guess that could make it worthwhile to ship a large amount of empties, but where are these sites going to be? Probably not where I live, I’d guess.
Beer makes more sense, at least for local use. I remember being in Mexico many years ago and the beer bottles were all of varied shapes and sizes because they were reused. Growing up in St. Louis, Anheuser Busch used to use refillable bottles at the bars close to the brewery. Noticeably heavier bottles and thicker glass, much like old school soda bottles. If the wine bottles are similarly heavier it raises the question of whether the tradeoff is worth it.
Good question. In Oregon, Revino has partnered with ORBC, the nonprofit that manages all the bottle drop stations (we have a bottle bill deposit law offers 10cents for certain bottles (doesn’t include wine bottles)). So in addition to wineries accepting bottles, there are hundreds of bottle drop locations. My understanding is that the company will start expansion to other States that have a similar bottle collection process and infrastructure. Wikipedia is showing 10 states with bottle bills, CA CT HI IA ME MA MI NY OR VT
Thanks David. So I guess at that point it becomes a question of whether enough of your production goes to places from which the bottles can be recovered. To the extent the bottles are more expensive, if they are more expensive, the issue then becomes loss from those bottles sent to places where they cannot be recovered. This is in additional to loss from breakage and simply being thrown away.
Overall it sounds like a great idea which simply might be difficult to implement. I’d gladly advocate for this if I was in a location where using the system was feasible.
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I love the concept if the kinks can be worked out. Know a bottle deposit concept has been lobbied for in WA multiple times over the years and was always for it.
Of course there is massive missing infra in states that don’t have it in terms of drop locations, processing, distribution, cleaning. Possible Automation can help with some of that e.g. vending machines that validate, collect, and collate bottles- pay out deposit, etc. - but still need have significant space requirements in retailer locations, etc.
Alternatively if there is a way to partner with the waste management industry who is (theoretically) already sorting recyables- that might be way easier in a state like WA. Expect a good amount of loss via breakage.
Net I am all for it, and hope there is a way for it to work
True— no getting around the patchwork of State by State approaches. There is the potential for green washing if say Revino were to sell to WA wineries, but I don’t think they will do that. (Why would a winery purchase a refillable bottle in WA for example? Revino is showing research re more customers chosing the refillable bottle on the shelf, if they don’t already have a preference or preferred brand. And that rings true to me. So it can be part of a new client acquisition strategy for a winery, and perhaps even new retail account acquisition.)
I don’t drink much canned wine, so I’m not sure what market segment this targets, but 750ml aluminum bottles are coming…
As the owner of a large, modern and expensive bottling line I don’t see how this would be possible. Multiple sized/shaped bottles flying through a line at 45 bottles/minute? Bottling lines have a hard enough time operating with one bottle without something going wrong on the literally thousands of moving parts working in synch. I’m all for tech and upgrades but I would imagine we’re closer to flying to Mars than this idea.
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Every retailer and producer I’ve spoken to about aluminum warns me about reduction issues…
A brewery in Oregon used aluminum bottles like that about six or seven years ago. It didn’t go well.
How so? Was it just not accepted by customers, or did it impact quality of the drink?
For mass market wines like the Bogle example, this type of packaging makes really good sense. Much lower weight, and no one gives a damn about aging impact on wines designed to be drunk within the year of their release.