Yealands launches Full Circle - New Zealand's First Wine in Plastic Bottles

In its quest to become the world’s most sustainable winery, Yealands Estate will become the first New Zealand winery to sell a range of wines in environmentally friendly plastic bottles – something founder Peter Yealands believes consumers will be seeing much more of.

The new Full Circle plastic-bottled Sauvignon Blanc wines are 89% lighter, generate 54% less green house gas emissions and use 19% less energy to produce than traditional 750ml glass bottles.

“From the start we wanted Full Circle to be the most sustainable wine in the New Zealand market,” says Peter Yealands. “Our winery and wines are already carboNZero certTM certified, but this takes sustainable wine production to new levels.”

Full Circle is packaged in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), the same plastic used to package wines served on aeroplanes. Yet while critics have previously turned their noses up at plastic packaging due to concerns about oxygen entering and affecting quality, Full Circle allays these concerns.

“We have invested a lot of time and effort to ensure the wine quality is up to our usual award-winning standard,” says Peter. “The Full Circle bottles use innovative new DiamondClear™ technology which features oxygen scavengers to significantly reduce the amount of oxygen. In layman’s terms this means the quality, taste and aroma of the wine isn’t affected when consumed within the recommended 18 month period,” says Peter.

Full Circle wines will be marketed with a best before date of 18 months marked on the pack. And with most New Zealand Sauvignon wine drinkers consuming their wines within a few days of purchase, Peter doesn’t see this as a problem.

As well as providing a new option for those wine drinkers with a conscience, Full Circle provides a convenient alternative for those wanting a lightweight bottle that is easy to take on picnics, when boating and to events where glass is prohibited.

Peter points to international trends which suggest plastic bottled wine is here to stay.

“In the United Kingdom, supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury have introduced plastic bottles in their own-label wines to offer consumers an environmentally friendly alternative. In addition, Tim Atkin, one of the UK’s leading wine critics from the Observer, has declared war on overweight packaging by vowing to boycott wines sold in heavyweight wine bottles from his Sunday column.”

Full Circle wine bottles look different to regular bottles as they are smaller in height and width and significantly lighter too. A traditional wine bottle weighs 500gms whereas a Full Circle bottle weighs 51 grams.

This lighter bottle would offer significant emission reductions and cost savings for exports. A traditional pallet of wine carries 56 cases of wine but with Full Circle packaging can fit up to 72 cases. And to add further strength to its green credentials, the cartons are made from 100% recycled materials and the eco-labels are recyclable.

“What many consumers don’t realise is that winemaking is a hugely energy intensive business. At Yealands, we are taking every step possible to reduce the environmental impact while still producing award-winning wines,” says Peter.

And as for what’s in bottle, Full Circle Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is a vibrant fresh herbaceous wine and a long mineral finish making it a perfect match with pasta and seafood.

Full Circle wines will be available from December with a recommended retail price of $16.99.