In honor of Earth Day (April 22) and Arbor Day (April 26), wine brand Trinity Oaks, St. Helena, CA, has begun bottling its wines with new plant-based biopolymer capsules. The capsules are made using EarthFirst® PLA (polylactic acid) film manufactured using renewable technology. According to Trinity Oaks, some of the key benefits of the material are that it uses less energy and is made in a greenhouse gas-neutral facility utilizing solar, wind, and other energy offsets. The EarthFirst PLA film material used in the capsule is certified compostable, and the aluminum top disk on the bottle is recyclable.
“This is just one of the ways that Trinity Oaks continues to support our role as stewards of the land. As an agriculturally based company, we are dedicated to protecting the earth and its natural resources,” notes Bob Torkelson, president and COO, Trinchero Family Estates, the Napa Valley-based wine company that produces Trinity Oaks wines. “Both Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrate the environment and encourage people to plant and care for trees, which we thought was a fitting time to commemorate our commitment.”
The technology was developed in partnership with Plastic Suppliers, Inc. and capsule producer Maverick Enterprises. Steve Otterbeck, president of Maverick Enterprises, adds, “At this time, Trinity Oaks is the first and only wine capsule we have made with this PLA technology, which shows how committed they are to sustainable efforts.”
An environmentally friendly wine brand, Trinity Oaks has turned its tree-planting program, One Bottle, One Tree®, into thousands of new forest acres. One Bottle, One Tree started in July of 2008 and funds a tree planting for every bottle of Trinity Oaks wine sold. This Earth Day, Trinity Oaks will celebrate helping to plant over 7 million trees, enough to cover New York City’s Central Park 22 times.
In partnership with the nonprofit organization Trees for the Future, the goal of the One Bottle, One Tree project is to help restore tree cover to tropical landscapes throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Trinity Oaks says this tree cover will sequester carbon dioxide and provide oxygen, filtering the air and helping stave off the effects of climate change, helping these communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Trinity Oaks’ bottle labels and marketing materials are also made from 100% PCR paper.
Trinity Oaks wines are available at restaurants, grocery, and wine stores nationwide and retail for $8.
