Backsberg – the first SA winery to achieve carbon neutral status – is again making history with its new wine brand, ‘Tread Lightly’. “The enjoyment of a great bottle of wine should never be at the cost of the environment”, says Backsberg owner, Michael Back. “Whether by measurable process or by intuitive approach, every step we take in producing our wines must be challenged. The packaging and transport of wine contributes significantly to our carbon footprint and therefore needs to be addressed.”
Tackling this issue head on, the new Tread Lightly range will be the first certified wine sold in the new, innovative PET soft bottle produced by Mondi. Following the recent approval by The Wine and Spirit Board to bottle certified natural wine in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Tread Lightly is spearheading what will surely become commonplace in the near future.
Some facts and figures about the new bottle and the wine:
• Available exclusively at Pick ‘n Pay, the Tread Lightly Merlot will be priced at R49 and the Sauvignon Blanc at R39 and will be on sale from late July.
• The Tread Lightly soft bottle delivers all the aesthetic qualities of glass, making it ideal for outdoor entertaining at festivals, picnics, boating, beach parties and braais where traditional glass bottles are either unsafe or not permitted.
• PET is fully recyclable and easily crushable.
• Manufacturing of the soft bottles leads to a reduced net energy consumption of up to 50% when compared with glass.
• Packing of beverages in PET reduces energy consumption by 52% vs glass and metal.
• Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 55%.through the use of PET compared to glass
• A 750ml PET wine bottle weighs 50g compared to the average 400g lightweight glass wine bottle – i.e. PET is an eighth of the weight of glass.
• The reduced weight and diameter of the PET bottle allows for up to 36% more product to be transported in the same container space.
• This is the first time PET has been used for certified wine in South Africa. Other products that have been bottled in PET include water, milk and energy drinks.
• The PET soft bottle has no effect on the quality of the wine.
• The Tread Lightly by Backsberg soft bottle holds 750ml of wine – the same as a glass bottle.
What do you think? Are plastic wine bottles the way to go??