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supermarket claims the lightweight and recyclable bottles
are more environmentally friendly and also will result
in elimination of bottles breaking on the aisles.
Connoisseurs have greeted the introduction with caution.
Simon Berry, chairman of the 300-year-old wine merchant
Berry Brothers & Rudd, said: "I want to taste
it first. Frankly, I'm rather sceptical."
He said making the glass bottles thinner and following
the example of whisky industry was probably a more efficient
way of reducing carbon emissions.
While it has been possible to buy wine in plastic containers
before, Sainsbury says this is the first time the bottles
have been made to look identical to traditional glass
bottles.
The initial trial will see the supermarket chain sell
two of its private labels the PET bottles: £4.99
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a £3.99 Australian
Shiraz. Alongside these two, Sainsbury's will also sell
two Australians from Bill Blass, who pioneered the idea
in Australia, in the plastic bottles.
A glass bottle weighs 400 g. while the PET equivalent
weighs only 54 g. PET bottles are perfect for summer
festivals, picnics, beach parties and barbecues.
UK consumers buy around a billion bottles of wine every
year, using around half-a-million tonnes of glass. Reducing
the weight of wine packaging to 54g by using plastic
bottles could reduce carbon emissions by around 90,000
tonnes, according to the government-funded programme
'Wrap' which is involved in the trial.
One will soon find out if our Reliance, Future and
Bharti will start using the latest storage technology
in India. That
will be music to the ears of PET bottle manufacturers
like Pearl Polymers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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