Well Maybe. Schrader sent an email today - without reciting the whole email here is an excerpt:
"One of the most significant and direct ways we can reduce our environmental impact is to make small and thoughtful adjustments to our packaging – starting with bottles that, simply, weigh less. This is another initiative that has been driven, in large part, by Thomas Rivers Brown, and lighter glass means we are reducing carbon emissions at every stage of production and transport.
We are also introducing, for the first time, an alternative to wooden boxes. Each of our members will have the opportunity to receive their 2023 wines in our new Signature Box featuring a premium, elegant, eco-friendly, paper-composite design."
I kind of have mixed feelings - although I admit I like the feel of the big heavy bottles and the boxes are nice - in the end they are basically a waste for many people including me. I probably will opt for the paper boxes - maybe they will pass some of the savings onto the customer.
Well it is Constellation Brands after all so if they do it for one of their brands it is conceivable it will spread to other brands- I do think there is a lot of sentiment for many customers to cut back on bottle size and boxes. Being “green” has some merit - but cost savings probably is probably more important under the auspice of we are being environmentally conscientious. At the end of the day it is really about meeting the needs of the customer. I like some boxes in the cellar but sometimes it is overwhelming. However, if you are storing off-site boxes can be very convenient. So I do think it depends on the individual customer.
Well I sort of like them but I understand your sentiment. These are very expensive wines so I think it does convey the sense of a luxury item. I realize it is a marketing gimmick because ultimately it is what is in the bottle. But luxury items often have luxury packaging - should Cristal get rid of its gift box? Or Krug get rid of its special box for vintage bottlings. Even Bordeaux has gone to 1/2 cases and in some instances single wooden boxes for wines like Lafite. (must be others). I kind of have mixed feelings - I think some customers will like the box and others will eschew it.
You know what says luxury to me? More wine! The double deep bins in my cellar can hold 21 standard 3-1/4 inch Burgundy bottles. But only 15 of the 3-3/8 inch “luxury” Burgundy bottles will fit in the same bins. That’s a 40% difference!
The difference is big enough that I am actively avoiding wines that come in the larger bottles. I’m still buying them, but I’m buying less.
I look forward to some of my favorite producers downsizing to lighter standard bottles so I can buy more of their wines.
A number of wineries have given up on the big bottles - Bedrock is a good example. The more pressure applied to them (e.g., Karen MacNeil will no longer review wines in super-size bottles) the better.
There’s a few Berserker favorites (e.g., Goodfellow) that still use larger than necessary bottles.
My heaviest bottles are the nicer JB Neufeld reds and the Once & Future reds. Those bottles are thick and really quite heavy compared to just about any other bottles in my cellar.
Goodfellow, iOTA and a couple other of my Pinot Noir producers’ bottles aren’t much different than those CdP bottles I’ve been cellaring for years, so no biggie for me there. PGC’s bottles, my Sandler bottles, are some of my smallest/lightest 750s. I love that bottle size.
I like saving and buying on eBay the wood box ends of certain labels I have an attachment to and hanging them on the walls of the stairwell leading to the cellar at our NC cabin. One of my oldest is an '82 Beychevelle wood box end. But that’s just me.
I like antiques and as of last year I think I’m officially one myself (60).
Cayuse doesn’t use overly-heavy bottles (though they aren’t the lightest), but each wine is sold in 3-pack minimums and come in specially-designed 3-bottle cardboard boxes. The amount of cardboard for each one of those darn yellow boxes is incredible. I’m sure it make distribution for them far, far more efficient and saves lots of money, but I can’t stand them. I know it’s cardboard which is recyclable, but they could do well to use FAR less packaging.
I hear you, but the boxes not only fit their 3 pack sales model, but are built for shipping cushion in mind too, so the amount of padding between two of those 3 pack boxes, and the outer box, is minimal. And they ARE recyclable. Much rather this than the horsepower wood boxes or styrofoam shippers
Yup, glad they’re at least recyclable. Wishful thinking, but I wish they’d give an option for a standard case if you buy 12+, especially if doing pickup. They’re probably packaged right after bottling currently, so not practical for them.
