Concerns about costs and the environment mean cartons will replace bottles as the wine packaging of choice within the next 50 years, says a new report.

Using glass will become unrealistic for all except higher quality wines as retailers and suppliers look to cut costs and waste and erase their carbon footprint, says respected UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.

Bulk wine shipments are also likely to increase, says Berrys in its Future of Wine report.

By 2058, it predicts, “bulk shipments of wine could arrive, before being put into plastic or reinforced cardboard containers in a bid to reduce environmental emissions and create a domestic bottling industry”.

View the full report.

Source: Off Licence News

What do you do for an encore after you’ve sold your winery for $185 million?

Warren Winiarski, the founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ponders what’s next after the sale to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

If you are looking to sell the family winery you might want to think about doing it soon. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that a recent study indicates that between 500 and 1,000 family-owned wineries in California, Oregon and Washington could be sold in the coming years. The major reasons for this mass sell-off is that the next generation is either unwilling or unprepared to take the reins from their winemaking parents.

Financier Bill Price, a vineyard owner and co-founder of Texas Pacific Group ttold a wine conference in Santa Rosa on Wednesday that if they want to sell they should do it soon. He cited a study conducted by Silicon Valley Bank which showed that 88 percent of wineries in the United States were founded after 1975. Over half of those surveyed, 51 percent, were planning to transition ownership of their business in the next ten years but 45 percent of those said they don’t have any one willing to take over. This function of our Baby Boomer culture could lead to a a cycle in which early sellers will get premium prices but those sellers in the heart of the cycle when everyone is selling will have trouble getting their top price and may have to wait until the end of the cycle when the supply plummets and prices start to rise again.

By Deidre Woollard.

For seven centuries, the Florentine Antinori family wine business has managed one of the most delicate feats in business: passing on a company from one generation to the next.

Here’s how they did it.

Imagine Moore, the Naples winery that opened in 2007, is the product of Tim and Diane Moore’s longstanding dreams and hard work. The couple met 20 years ago at University of California, Davis, where Tim studied oenology, and where they set their hearts on having a winery — someday.

Read the article.

What’s the most profitable wine style on earth? Champagne and red Bordeaux are strong candidates, especially at the upper end, but I reckon the answer lies elsewhere. This might surprise you, but the closest the wine world comes to a vinous gold mine is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which rarely sells for less than £6 and often costs considerably more.

How profitable are we talking? Very.

Read the article.

If your company’s outsourced contractors were in a R6 million financial crisis due to no fault of their own, and you wanted to help them out, who would you turn to for help? If you are Stormhoek Winery, you dodge the bank manager and turn to your biggest fan club – your customer base.

China’s interest in wine has grown steadily over the past few years and many companies have been involved in helping China create thriving vineyards. Now for the first time, a Chinese citizen has bought a chateau in France’s Bordeaux region. The Cheng family has purchased the 500-year-old Château Latour-Laguens property.

The property includes a 15th-century tower, courtyard and pond. Haiyan Cheng, the daughter of wealthy Chinese businessman Zuochang Cheng, bought it all in January for about £1.5 million. Zuochang Cheng already imports wines to China from other winegrowing regions such as Australia, Italy and South Africa.Now they have an esteemed French name. Château Latour-Laguens produces red, white and rosé wines. The Chengs are planning to restore the castle, add accommodations for guests at wine tastings and wine seminars and to double the amount of vineyard space, possibly acquiring additional property.

Mid-market French wine has taken a major hit over the past few years. Champagne continues to thrive and the big name Chateaux continue to be highly collectible but other small producers have been struggling. According to an article in the Scotsman, buyers from Russia and Indian have also been shopping in the area looking to pick up vineyards from producers who are facing declining sales, low on cash, and eager to sell.

By Deidre Woollard.

In case you’ve missed them, here’s February 2008′s 5 most popular articles:

Featured Wine Label Design: Star Tree

Vanessa Fogel Design wanted to create a uniquely South African wine brand, that will be able to produce the quantities and quality to become a global brand.

Featured Wine Label Design: Creation

Targeted at young conservatives, a minimalist approach was used on a “wraparound” label.

How Women Consumers Choose Their Wines

This CBS News Report shows us how men and women differ in their strategies to choose wine.

23 Carat Gold-Cuvee Champagne

Champagne with flakes of real 23 Carat Gold.

Latest Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Label

Italian artist Guiseppe Penone created the design for the 2005 vintage.

Typically when I choose a bottle of wine it is based on its varietal, winery or, on occasion, a fantastic label I can’t pass up. But I haven’t noticed the particular weight differences between the glass bottles.

Apparently, some wine makers are using bottles with excess weight which isn’t as environmentally friendly compared to those bottles whose weights are much less. Plus the added weight is costly and those costs are passed onto the consumer.

If you feel passionate about being green, join a couple of wine critics who are ousting the irresponsible with their ‘name and shame’ list of the heaviest offenders.

By Laura Malesich. Source: Luxist