Because of the shortage of wine bottles, South Africa's main bottle producer, Consul Glass, must import 90,000 tons of bottles in the next nine months. Recently a British newspaper suggested all consumers should buy wine from local vintners to reduce the amount of fuel required to transport foreign wines from great distances. The carbon-footprint issue for South African wine producers is that the packaging—i.e. bottles—is making a double trip across the ocean, increasing its carbon footprint. Some producers would like to ship wine in bulk to Europe, and bottle it there. Still others may consider plastic wine pouches, which would create an 80 percent smaller carbon footprint, according to the wine-pouch manufacturer. However, perception is everything in wine sales, and these alternatives can affect image, as well as wine quality.
Source: Grape.co.za
