Those who have only just come to terms with screwcap closures are about to be faced with a whole new packaging revolution – Tetra Pak.
The cardboard and plastic package – familiar to billions as the universal fruit juice and milk carton – is set to become the new wine container with a range of wines due for release in the UK early next year.
The multinational Burgundy-based negociant-producer Boisset is aiming to launch wines in Tetra Pak early next year.
The release follows Boisset's launch of the French Rabbit Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay wine range, also in Tetra Pak, in Canada in August this year.
'We're planning to take this new brand of ours global,' David Bantey of Boisset Canada said.
'We're very excited about the potential of this new product, and its attractiveness to consumers, especially to those who are sensitive to environmental values.'
Bantey said what made Boisset first think of Tetra Pak cartons was their outstanding ability to protect the quality and flavour of wine, their light weight, and the fact they are recyclable.
'For consumers, Tetra Pak cartons are ideal because they are easy to carry, won't shatter, and are particularly suitable around the patio, pool, dock, campsite and other similar areas.'
Boisset has not announced which wines it will be releasing in Tetra Pak in the UK although a spokesperson for the company said it would be 'a high quality wine'.
One of the reasons the wine Tetra Pak is called Rabbit is the two 'ears' formed from the corners of the package.
When squeezed, these create a sealable vacuum which preserves the quality of the wine.
Tetra Pak containers reduce the packaging waste produced by wine bottles by around 90% and costs much less than glass to recycle.
'It would take over 25 trucks filled with bottles to equal just one truck filled with empty Tetra Pak containers,' said the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, where French Rabbit was released.
Reduced packaging also means two 'extra' glasses of wine can be obtained from the pack as the 1L Tetra Pak wine will cost the same as a 750ml bottle.
Boisset chose Canada and the UK because it believes consumers in the two countries have a more open approach to wine drinking and are less likely to reject the idea of new wine packaging.
Another major producer, Constellation Brands, launched its Vendange range of Shiraz and California Chardonnay in 500ml Tetra Prisma packaging in November last year. Its range of Tetra Pak wines will be released in the US next month.
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