Scotland has become the first country in the world to sell a wine in a paper bottle.
The 75cl Frugal Bottle, which is made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food-grade pouch to hold the wine or spirit, has gone on sale in-store for the first time at Woodwinters Wine and Whiskies stores in Edinburgh, Bridge of Allan and Inverness.
And Scots could soon see whisky in a paper bottle too.
The first wine to go on sale in Frugalpac’s Frugal Bottle is from the award-winning Italian vineyard Cantina Goccia. 3Q is a lightly wooded Sangiovese red with a hint of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
It’s the same 3Q wine Michelle Obama sampled when she attended The Hunter Foundation Charity dinner in Edinburgh in 2018.
The Frugal Bottle weighs just 83g so it is up to five times lighter than a normal glass bottle, making it easier to carry and lighter to transport with a carbon footprint up to six times lower.
Launched online in July, the Frugal Bottle is now available to buy off the shelf in the Woodwinters stores. It’s proved to be so popular online, the initial run of Frugal Bottles sold out in four weeks. The bottle’s manufactures have been inundated with enquiries from around the world wanting to use the paper bottle, including whisky producers.
The Frugal Bottle, which is comparable in cost to a labelled glass bottle, is the brainchild of British sustainable packaging firm Frugalpac, which creates and supplies recycled paper-based products with the lowest carbon footprint that are easily recycled again so they don’t need to go to landfill. The Frugal Bottles are made at Frugalpac’s facility in Ipswich.
The UK Government’s Department for International Trade’s GREAT Britain campaign has praised Frugalpac as one of the UK organisations “doing incredible things to help build a global sustainable future” in the run up to COP26 , which will be held in Glasgow next year.
An independent Life Cycle Analysis by Intertek found the Frugal Bottle, which is made from recycled paperboard with no chemicals, has a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) lower than a glass bottle and more than a third less than a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic. The Frugal Bottle’s water footprint is also at least four times lower than glass.
It’s also easy to recycle again as you simply separate the plastic food-grade pouch from the paper bottle and put them in your respective recycling bins. Or you can put the whole bottle in your paper recycling bin and the liner will be easily separated in the paper re-pulping process.
The Frugal Bottle, which can also be used for spirits such as whisky, gin, vodka and rum, has already sparked a huge amount of interest in a drinks industry keen to cut their emissions and appeal to a new audience of consumers interested in sustainability.
Frugalpac also developed the Frugal Cup, the world’s first take-away coffee cup made from 96% recycled paper that has a carbon footprint up to 60% lower than conventional cups when sent to landfill and is easier to recycle again.
Douglas Wood, founder, Woodwinters Wines and Whiskies, the Cantina Goccia Frugal Bottle launch supplier, said:
“We’re delighted to be the first store in the world to sell the Frugal Bottle. Woodwinters has always been keen on promoting innovation in sustainability.
“So, we’re very excited to offer one of our favourite wines in such an environmentally friendly bottle. We think it’s going to be hugely popular with our customers.”
Frugalpac Chief Executive Malcolm Waugh said:
“Scotland has a real passion for sustainability and innovation, especially with the Scottish Government committing the country to having Net Zero carbon emissions by 2045.
“So it’s fitting that Scotland is the first country in the world to stock the Frugal Bottle, which has a carbon footprint six times lower than glass. No other wine or spirits bottle looks or feels like it, so it stands out on shelves in Woodwinters or on your table at home.”
“Since the Frugal Bottle launch, we’ve been inundated with enquiries from around the world, from brands, bottlers and retailers, including whisky producers. There’s a real possibility we could be producing the world’s first scotch in a paper bottle very soon.
“It’s clear there’s a huge demand for bottles made from recycled paperboard and with the lowest carbon footprint.”
Cantina Goccia owner Ceri Parke, the Frugal Bottle’s launch customer and producer of 3Q, said:
“We’re proud to be making history with the most sustainable wine bottle in the world. For us, the Frugal Bottle is about achieving a considerably more sustainable form of packaging for an industry crying out for innovation. It will help us decarbonise the drinks industry.
“When some of our top hotel customers saw samples of our paper wine bottle, there was no hesitation in their minds that this type of bottle would be well received in their dining rooms.
“It’s much lighter than glass, easier to transport and friendlier to the planet. Just as important, our wine still tastes as wonderful in a paper bottle as it does in glass.
“We passionately believe this is a real game changer for the wine industry, and we can see a future when 80% of all wine consumed will be from a paper bottle.”
The Cantina Goccia 3Q Frugal Bottle is now available for £12.50 at Woodwinters stores in:
- 91 Newington Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1QW
- 2 Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan, Stirling, FK9 4HT
- Bow Court, 74 Church Street, Inverness, IV1 1HB
Alternatively it can be bought online at https://woodwinters.com/product/cantina-goccia-3q-frugalpac-2017/