Eco-Friendly Wine Packaging - French Rabbit Tetra Paks

For most people these days, Earth Day isn't just a once a year event. Even folks in the wine industry are becoming more eco-conscious in a number of ways. For wine producers, eco friendly packaging can mean cheaper to produce and cheaper to ship. For us, it means more wine for less money and ultimately less waste.

Making French Rabbit's New Eco-Smart Wine Bottle
How Boisset Family Estates, the third-largest French winery, launched an eco-smart alternative to the wine bottle that's remaking the industry. by Alissa Walker

U.S. wine consumption topped 300 million cases in 2007, an all-time high. The largest growth is among 21-to-31-year-olds and in $12 to $15 bottles. In fact, 70% of all wine is drunk on the day it's purchased. Boisset Family Estates sought to capitalize on this casual wine trend with French Rabbit, and for marketing and environmental reasons, "we wanted to break the tradition of presenting wine in a glass bottle," says Jean Charles Boisset, president.

Boisset chose "Tetra Pak," an aluminum-coated paperboard known for its versatility. (Everything from orange juice to soup is packaged in it.) The recyclable material is superior to glass in protecting wine from oxidation, and its thinner walls let wine chill more quickly.

Early mock-ups played with a variety of off-the-shelf Tetra Pak options, including the Tetra Brik, often used for soy milk, Boisset decided on an "octagonal one-liter" shape, a radical departure from typically dowdy bag-in-box wines. Jean Charles also liked its rounded, ergonomic qualities. "I really liked the way it felt to hold and pour out," he says.

The Tetra Pak French Rabbits arrive at stores in branded, recyclable cardboard boxes that can be used to build "distinctive displays," eliminating the need for additional, bulky point-of-scale elements. This spring, Boisset launched four-packs of "single-serving" French Rabbit to promote the wine as picnic friendly.

Boisset introduced French Rabbit in Canada in 2005 and then the United States in late 2006. It toured the country, holding blind taste tests with wine journalists, who've given the vino high marks. Consumers have too, buying more than 4.5 million French Rabbits in Tetra Pak in North America (the company also sells glass-bottle versions, so as to offer a choice). And the industry has noticed. "Over 70 wineries have launched the Tetra Pak wine since our launch," Jean Charles says.

Check out the full piece in the June 2008 issue of Fast Company

Content and images from www.FastCompany.com

Name-Your-Price Wine Boosts Loyalty and Sales

Tired of paying too much for mediocre wine? Now one South African producer asks you to pay what you think it is worth. The tactic seems to be working. He is simultaneously strengthening his customer base while boosting sales. Check out this bit from the May 22 SpringWise:

What works for alternative rock music, might also work for wine. You may remember how Radiohead got the world's attention when it let listeners download its album In Rainbows, asking them to pay whatever price they thought the music was worth. Sales of the album reached USD 10 million. Since then others have tried the pay-what-you-like marketing technique, including Paste magazine, which we featured in October.

South African BLANKbottle has gone a step further. The boutique winemaker's founder, Pieter Walser, sent 20 cases of its latest premium white wine Moment of Silence to loyal customers on consignment, asking them to evaluate the wine and then pay him what they thought it was worth. They paid up to ZAR 90 per bottle (USD 11.80 / EUR 7.50), and the average price came to ZAR 50. Since BLANKbottle aims to exceed customers' quality vs. price expectations, the wine went on sale to the public at a price of ZAR 40.

Walser, for his part, got a high return on the wine he risked in the venture. In addition to the publicity he garnered, he determined a new product's price point based on the actual purchasing decisions made by the winery's best customers. Feedback that's likely to be more valuable than the opinions volunteered by focus groups or market research experts. And by involving them in such a fundamental business decision, he no doubt increased brand loyalty among the winery's core customer base. One to try out with your own best customers! (Spotted by: Bruce Gourley)

Website: www.blankbottle.co.za
Contact: thebestwines@blankbottle.co.za

from Springwise

The Drops of God piques wine interest and drives sales

Talk about wine appreciation reaching the masses. In Asia, a new graphic novel is introducing wine knowledge and interest to a whole new fan base. Check out this bit from the May 12 BusinessWeek:

In Asia, Comics Uncork A Wine Boom
A graphic-novel series with an oenophile hero is whetting Asia's appetite for wine. Kami no Shizuku (The Drops of God), a Japanese manga comic written by a brother-sister team under the pen name Tadashi Agi, has sold 1.9 million copies in Japan, and wine distributors are harvesting the benefits. Japanese distributor Mercian even hired the series' illustrator to design a new label for some of its bottles of imported Beaujolais Nouveau. In 2007, Mercian sold 127,000 cases, with the manga-labeled bottles helping to boost sales by 18% from the year prior. Translations of the books are creating wine lovers elsewhere in Asia, too. In Taiwan, sales of Colli di Conegliano Rosso Contrada di Concenigo rose 30% after the wine, produced by Italy's Umberto Cosmo, was mentioned in one volume. And some Koreans use the series as a kind of wine guide. Now a bigger test awaits: In April, the comic books were launched (as Les Gouttes de Dieu) in France.
-Ian Rowley and Hiroko Tashiro in Tokyo
Content and image from Business Week

A Shot of This, a Vial of That ... Test Tube Wines for Tasting

Leave it to Springwise to find all of the truly fascinating business ventures in the world of wine. The latest buzz is from a French company called WineSide that has come up with an idea that might incite the next revolution--in wine, that is. They are marketing trial size tubes of wine which, in theory will make choosing just the right bottle a little less scary:

WineSide offers both sweet and classic wines in patented, flat-base glass tubes with screw tops carefully engineered to protect the wines' flavour. The sweet wines--which include Sauternes and Muscat, for example--are available in 6cl tubes, while the Pomerol, Chateau Neuf du Pape and other classic wines can be purchased in 6cl or 10cl sizes. WineSide's collection represents a range of appellations and producers; tubes are available individually or by the box, which can be chosen to provide an introduction to a variety, year or region. Kicking off retail sales, the products are available exclusively at Colette in Paris this month.

In addition to giving consumers a new way to sample and discover wines, WineSide's tube format also promises to give vintners new tryvertising capabilities at relatively low cost. The French company's website is still under construction, but it says it is looking for distributors.

Website: www.wineside.net
Contact: vincent@wineside.fr

content and images from Springwise

Bargain Basement buys from Robert Parker

I don't often rely on wine critics' lists when I'm in the mood to try new things. I'd rather wing it and have no one but myself to blame for my mistakes. That said, I do enjoy reading a good bit of what Robert Parker writes and in a recent Business Week article he focuses on an assortment of wines from Cartlidge & Browne which are, like a good pair of khakis, always reliable and in-style. It just goes to show, you don't always have to turn to obscure and funky imports to find value. There are some stellar cellar finds right here in the USA, even in California.

Here is the list of wines that Parker reviewed:

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon 85 points
2005 Rabid Red 86 points
2006 Pinot Noir 87 points
2006 Chardonnay 87 points
2006 Sauvingon Blanc Dancing Crow 89 points

For his detailed notes check out our excerpt or the complete article in Business Week.

Continue reading: "Bargain Basement buys from Robert Parker"

Wine & Apples for a Good Cause

OK, so we're a little more tardy with posting about this than we wanted to be, but better late than never, right? We found out about an opportunity to drink some wine and support a great cause, so we wanted to let our Boston-area readers know about it so they could get in on the fun. The short story is you can go to Nashoba for some wine drinking and apple picking, all to support the On Your Feet Project (learn about 'em) - more details below.

What: A wine tasting at the Nashoba Valley Winery. Your ticket (for $30) includes the wine tasting, a complimentary glass from the winery, a tour, transportation to and from the winery, entrance to the Apple Festival, and breakfast from Starbucks. What a deal! Any apples you pick (and buy) will be at an additional cost.

Buy your tickets by September 26 to get in on the festivities, which are on September 30 - learn more at OYFP.org.

Penfolds Character Videos

We've always liked Penfolds wines - they've always struck us as a high quality entry from Australia, a country that gives us quite a few good wines. The company has started a new venture called Character, which is a series of Web videos, in a talk show format, about wine.

There are Hollywood-type celebs, and wine world celebs, and some interesting chat about the grape. We usually only watch Web videos if someone's falling off something, or if they're about Chocolate Rain or George Washington, but this is something that piqued our interest.

Check out the first two videos at PenfoldsVIP and see below for the info we got from Penfolds.

Continue reading: "Penfolds Character Videos"

Global Warming vs Vineyards

We usually have a fairly narrow viewpoint on wines - we only think as far ahead as our next glass. Sometimes we like to think about the future, however, and one item that we consistently come back to is the impact of global warming on our ability to get that next glass. CNN did a nice piece on just that, so we thought we'd share it with you so it can keep you up at nights too. You're welcome.

"What's happening with global warming, and what does it mean to the great vineyards of Napa Valley?" he sets up his topic and jumps in, fueled by his training as an enologist, a specialist in viticulture, or the growing of grapes and making of wine.

"Most of what I hear is that in the next 10, 20, 30 years, maybe, the temperature may go up about a degree. Now, from six miles south of us in Napa to five miles north of us in St. Helena, the difference in temperature can be five degrees.

Find out what this enologist has to say at CNN.com.

Clif Bars and Wine

We've liked Clif Bars for a while - among the energy bars we've tried, they've got the better flavors and taste the least like chocolate covered poo. Our personal weakness is the peanut butter chocolate chip-type variety, but that's not why you're here, is it?

The same folks who make Clif Bars have entered into the wine world, and have released four different wine varieties:

• The Climber, 2004 North Coast Red Wine
  
• Kit’s killer cab, 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
  
• Gary’s Improv, 2003 Napa Valley Meritage
  
• Syrah, 2004 Napa Valley

We're hoping the wine is as good as the bars, and we're excited to give 'em a try.

Clif Family Winery [via Winehiker]

The Five Best Wine Blogs

We just found out that Wine & Spirits Magazine has laid out the top five wine blogs to read, and while we didn't make the list (this year anyway) we thought it was interesting enough to share it with our readers. The list was compiled by Tyler Colman of Dr Vino's Wine Blog, and contains some pretty darned interesting sites, though there are a few we read regularly that didn't make the cut (where's Basic Juice?). Anyway, we're still learning here at CFW, and there's a lot we could learn from these folks.

Top 5 Wine Blogs:
Brooklyn Guy's Food and Wine Blog
Good Wine Under $20
PinotBlogger
Tasting Room
Wine Terroirs

via Good Wine Under $20

Two Buck Chuck Turns Five

When was the last time you paid $2 for a bottle of wine? We can tell you we never have, but the below article about Charles Shaw Chardonnay, aka Two Buck Chuck, is enough to make us want to move to the Left Coast.

Last year, Two Buck Chuck - available only in the Trader Joe's grocery chain and priced at $1.99 in California, hence its nickname - accounted for at least 8 percent of California wine sold in-state, said Jon Fredrikson, who tracks wine shipments through his Woodland-based company, Fredrikson, Gomberg & Associates. National market share figures are not available. A bottle can range as high as $3.49 elsewhere.

As high as $3.49 elsewhere? Say it ain't so! Don't let the high price keep you from going to Mercury News for more info. Oh, and if Chardnnay's not enough to uproot you, they have Cabernet as well.

Cracking Down on Crazy Wine Tastings

Apparently the fine folks of New York are having a tough time discerning between the proper locations for bachelorette parties, and wineries. Long Island has been swarmed by cackling, shrieking hordes that are upsetting the folks who are planning to spit the wine into a bucket, not throw it up there. Part of us wants the winos to get the sticks out of their asses, but the bachelorette ladies have to realize what setting they're in too.

As a local girl who grew up in a home where Coors Light and Zima were the drinks of choice at family parties, I’ve never been surprised that some of my fellow Long Islanders blur the line between a wine-tasting tour and a bar crawl. I’ve always loved the casual vibe of the North Fork tasting rooms, though I’ve never witnessed anything as extreme as “the bachelorette parties that often culminate in tabletop dances, to the horror of nearby oenophiles sniffing or sipping the local chardonnays.” Man, there’s no place like home.

The New York Times (subscription required) [via Chow Grinder]

Washington Winery Needs a Name

Our friends over at Wine Enthusiast have let us know about an interesting conundrum being faced by a certain winery in Washington state. The Washington Wine Company is looking for a name for its new winery, and you have a chance to supply that name. The contest runs through May 30, but we're sure you're asking yourself "what's in it for me?"

You mean other than infamy in the Washington wine industry and the unending gratitude of the winery owners? Sounds like you get a little bit more out of it than that.

The winner of the contest will receive two cases of Washington Wine Co.’s best wine each year for a decade. The prize will also include an annual private wine tasting hosted by the winemaking staff when the winners come in to pick up their yearly cases of wine.

You had us at two cases of wine. WashingtonWineCompany via WineMag.com

The 2007 Wino Sign Awards

A while back we did a roundup of bum wines, which we thought was funny and informative. That's not to say our audience is a bunch of winos just because they like to spend less than $20 on a bottle of vino - we just think it's a nice way to lighten the mood around here.

In a slightly-related twist, Modern Drunkard Magazine has put together its "2007 Wino Sign Awards" to commemorate the greatest signs ever waved in your face in an attempt to panhandle money. We like wine, they're winos - see the connection here? No indication of who actually voted or how many votes there were, but we've actually seen some of these signs in use so it's not like MDM just made this stuff up.

The votes have been tallied, the change has been counted, and the results are in. Modern Drunkard Magazine is proud to present the winners of this year's Wineys. God Bless.

See the signs for yourself at Modern Drunkard.