PLASTIC WINE BOTTLES, THE UNBREAKABLE CONTAINER

Whether it’s true or not, Australia is known for leading the New World wine industry in innovation. And with today’s winemakers moving towards cutesy labels, wacky names and non-traditional bottle closures, nothing seems surprising, so pop your synthetic cork and take a swig because one Australian company is test-marketing plastic wine bottles. Fosters Wine Estates corporate affairs manager, Matt Schmidt, says the company is testing its Wolf Blass wines in 187ml plastic bottles at sporting events in the UK, and a little in the US. The wines will be sold in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is unbreakable – so it can be used at sporting events - and lighter than glass. Most important, perhaps, is the company’s reassurance that plastic will not alter the wine’s taste. “There’s no suggestion that we are going to look at moving all of our wines over from glass,” said Matt. “But it’s a good step in the right direction of giving consumers opportunity to drink quality Australian wine.”