Catena Announces Education Campaign to Promote Lighter Wine Bottles

Lighter bottles have a lower carbon footprint. Catena Appellation Malbec’s 45% lighter bottle will be sold internationally and at Angélica – Cocina Maestra.

MENDOZA, ARGENTINA, September 15, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Catena Announces Education Campaign to Promote Lighter Wine Bottles

Lighter bottles have a lower carbon footprint and are better for the environment. Catena Appellation Malbec’s 45% lighter bottle was announced at TEXSOM, will be poured at “Angélica – cocina maestra,” the Catena Zapata restaurant in Mendoza and will be sold in the USA (Winebow on-trade) and Holland (Gall and Gall off-trade) along with an education campaign for trade and consumers.

Glass Weight by the Numbers
Typical weight of super premium wine bottles: between 550 and 1200 grams empty

Catena is reducing the bottle weight of:
- Catena Appellation Malbec (in some markets) from 700 to 380 grams
- Average CO2 emissions reduction (before boat transport) -21%
- Catena High Mountain Vines Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon (all export markets) from 700 to 480 grams

Total yearly reduction in glass:
- 1,200 metric tons of glass

Percentage reduction of overall bottle weight, Catena Family Wineries:
- 2010 to 2023: -40%

Local Initiatives
- 99% of Argentine wine glass is produced locally in Argentina and Chile.
- Catena is working alongside local glass manufacturers, such as Verallia (Saint-Gobain France subsidiary) to reduce bottle weight.
- Catena is working with LSQA (a Uruguayan-Austrian company) to create a carbon calculator that will be shared widely with Argentina’s wine producers.
- In 2010 Catena shared its in-house sustainability code with Bodegas de Argentina (a local group which includes hundreds of wineries) to establish the Bodegas de Argentina Sustainability Code. Catena was the first winery to certify, and today hundreds of Argentine wineries are enrolled.
- The Catena Institute of Wine is studying ways to reduce carbon emissions by sequestering carbon in the vineyards, by planting trees and preserving native forests, by measuring inputs and outputs and by studying alternative energies.

Global Initiatives
- The Catena Institute of Wine is a founding member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, a UK-based think tank that “enables collective action across the wine value chain to develop tools and best sustainable practices.” Other founding members include: Famille Perrin, Whole Foods, Jancis Robinson.com, Napa Green, Vins de Bordeaux, Ahold Delhaize, Systembolaget, and many others.
- The Catena Institute of Wine regularly publishes its research on Malbec, high altitude farming, terroir and vineyard management in international science journals. Research collaborations include local research institutes as well as leading international institutions such as UC Davis and the University of Burgundy.
- In 2024, the Catena Institute of Wine is partnering with local universities to host the International Terroir Symposium in Mendoza, Argentina.

Lighter Wine Bottle Education Campaign
- Catena Appellation Vista Flores Malbec is a leader in by-the-glass and on-premise sales in the USA, with distribution in national chains – such as Fogo de Chao and NOBU – and independent restaurants – such as Little Basil in NYC, Izzy’s Steak and Chops in San Francisco, and Water Grill in Los Angeles. The 45% lighter bottle launch in 2024 will be accompanied by an education campaign for restaurant staff and consumers.
- All Catena Appellation brand wines to importer and retailer Gall and Gall (with 600 stores in Holland) will be bottled in the lighter glass. Ahold Delhaize (which owns Gall and Gall) is a founding partner along with Catena of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable. In-store displays and staff training will educate consumers about the environmental benefit of ultra-light bottles.
- The Catena ‘High Mountain Vines’ wines will transition to a new 33% lighter bottle, which is a bit taller and thinner, and very elegant in appearance. This wine, which is the Catena family’s best-selling luxury offering, is distributed in 72 countries around the world. The release in 2024 will be accompanied with a sales, trade and consumer campaign to importers spanning the Americas, Europe and Australasia.

What the Industry Says

Jancis Robinson, journalist, wine critic, and wine writer, has posited that, “it’s now an established fact that making and transporting glass bottles are the biggest components in wine’s carbon footprint.”

Dave McIntyre, wine columnist for the Washington Post, highlights the impact of bottle weight by systematically including it in his reviews. He notes, “we are all environmentalists now. Conserving water, reducing our use of plastic, putting solar panels on our homes and driving electric cars are all small steps we consumers take as individuals to help protect our planet. Encouraging wineries to use lighter bottles is another form of environmental activism.”

CATENAMICS

CATENAMICS is Catena’s wine making and growing philosophy. Catena, the family name, means chain or connection in Italian, and “amics” from the Greek, refers to management. CATENAMICS is our sustainability-inspired way of managing the connection between plants, soil, ecosystem, and people.
Our Mission: to elevate Argentine wine for another 200 years.
Our Method: science to preserve nature and culture.
Bodega y Viñedos Catena was founded by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena in Mendoza, in 1902. Today it is managed by the fourth generation in Argentina.

Erica Nonni
Nonni Strategic Marketing
hello@nonnimarketing.com