Another buzz at Vinexpo was for an innovative line of bottles called Ecova produced by Saint Gobain, Europe’s biggest glass manufacturer.
Didier Dumas, director of Viticulture for Saint Gobain in the southwest, said in a phone interview that he has already sold out of everything they’ve manufactured in the Ecova line, which weighs up to 90g lighter than a regular bottle and is made entirely from recycled glass.
Lighter bottles will dramatically lower the carbon footprint left by transporting wine.
Whether driven by concerns for the environment or managing costs, the foresight of the early pioneers of sustainable development in the wine trade is paying off commercially.
Chateau Larose Trintaudon, a 225-hectare estate outside Bordeaux, was the first European vineyard to be certified for sustainable development in 2004. The wine estate, owned by insurance giant EGF-Allianz, exhibited at Vinexpo for the first time this year to see if there was any interest from importers in what had evolved into a company ethos.
Vision paid off. An importer from Belgium has already placed an order and another contract is under negotiation with Germany.
“We manage to do everything without spending more,” said Bruno Pastre, general director. “We just do it more intelligently.”
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