The Californian winery Bogle has just launched its ElementAl range packaged in an aluminium bottle. Only available in the United States, this product offers significant benefits on the carbon footprint without affecting the conservation of the wine. Importers are scrambling to find a way around.
0 grams, "so 80% lighter than a standard glass bottle, but also 80 boxes of 12 per pallet instead of 56, for an infinitely recyclable material", Jody Bogle is proud to list the advantages of the 75 cl aluminium bottle that her eponymous Californian winery is launching on the occasion of this 2024 edition of Prowein. "It's also 43% more bottles in a 40-foot container, for the same number of pallets, while still being 4% lighter," she continues, pointing out that since the cost of transport is indexed to weight, the gain in transport cost per carton is substantial.
Jody Bogle and her ElementAl range of aluminium bottles - photo credit: O. Bazalge
Called ElementAl, this new range of 4 wines is the result of 3 years of work with an aluminium supplier who previously offered cans. "We weren't a fan of canned packaging but appreciated the benefits on the carbon footprint of aluminium packaging," says the Bogle vineyards representative. Once the technical constraints of producing a 75cl screw bottle had been solved by its supplier, the Bogle family tested its idea and the composition of its range with several thousand American consumers. "Women between the ages of 21 and 69 have largely shown their interest in such conditioning, convincing us of the common sense of our approach," continues Jody Bogle. Especially since after 12 months in an aluminium bottle, consumers were not able to distinguish this wine from its twin in a glass bottle.
The bottle and the 90 g aluminium pellet that makes it
Available in 4 cuvées (Chardonnay, Rosé, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir), ElementAl found buyers in each of the 50 American states as soon as its future production was communicated by Bogle winery. "We didn't want to make them entry-level wines, but mature premium wines. The rosé and Pinot Gris are aged in stainless steel vats, but the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are partly aged in French oak. The arguments of reuse and reduction of the carbon footprint are of essential importance for the customers who have placed the orders," says Jody Bogle.
The company has ordered 480,000 bottles from its supplier, which it will package as its markets progress. Bogle Winery kept the exclusivity of this container with its supplier for 18 months, but the competition was on the lookout. "For the time being, the price of the container remains twice as expensive as its glass equivalent, but the cost of production will decrease mechanically as its production increases," sums up the head of Bogle winery.
The Bogle team is not launching ElementAl with the aim of making it a niche product but a product that meets all consumption moments, hence the use of the best-selling types of wine on the American market. Positioned around $15, these bottles seem to have already found their target in the American specialty distribution market, with Judy Bogle readily admitting that export customers have already come forward.
Source: Olivier Bazalge(Vitisphere)
