Artisan Wine Company of British Columbia is launching its new Painted Turtle wines in 750mL PET wine bottles from Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL). The two varieties, Semillion/Chardonnay and Cabernet/Shiraz, will be sold through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) in two different bottle styles, both featuring aluminum screw caps from G3 Enterprises. The bottles also feature SIG PLASMAX, a commercially proven, transparent, internal silicon oxide (SiOx) barrier coating technology that protects the wine inside the bottle and is easily removed during the PET recycling process.
LCBO works with suppliers to offer more products in alternative packaging, such as PET plastic bottles, because each plastic bottle contains significantly less material than each comparable glass bottle, says David Fallis, VP of operations, Artisan Wine Co. The combination of the PET bottle and screw cap closure give our customers a more convenient, environmentally-friendly wine packaging choice. Because Ball's PET bottles are approximately one-tenth the weight of the average glass bottle, they can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the supply chain, plus the PLASMAX barrier coating Ball uses makes these bottles very easy to recycle in the existing PET infrastructure.
Ball is the only PET bottle manufacturer to offer PLASMAX barrier coating technology in North America and is currently using it in many commercial applications, including wine, beer and flavored alcoholic beverages, with shelf life results that meet or surpass those provided by alternative barrier solutions. PLASMAX provides an FDA-compliant, enhanced passive barrier for oxygen sensitive products. This ultra thin (less than 100 nm) material is transparent and resists cracking, abrasion and delamination. Because PLASMAX does not degrade over time, the length of time bottle inventory can be stored is not limited by the barrier material.
A recycling study conducted according to the European PETCORE protocols demonstrated that PLASMAX is removable during the recycling process and does not negatively affect any of the test requirements. These results were shared with the Association of Post-Consumer Plastics Recyclers (APR), the trade industry representing over 90 percent of the post-consumer plastic processing capacity in North America, which raised no objections to the results.
Artisan Wine Company was founded in the world-renowned Okanagan Valley, and has crafted an extensive portfolio of fine wines. Brands range from classic and traditional to irreverent and fun. Our signature brands Mission Ridge, Sonora Ranch, Painted Turtle, Wild Horse Canyon, Fork in the Road, 49 North, and Rigamarole are available in Canada and icewine from the new VQA brand, Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery, is available in the US. For more information, please visit www.artisanwineco.ca.
SIG Beverages companies comprises leading international system suppliers and packaging specialists for PET bottle development (Bottles & Shapes™), stretch blow moulding technology and machines (SIG Corpoplast), plasma barrier coating (SIG Plasmax), aseptic filling (SIG Asbofill), as well as moulds (SIG Moldtec) with the claim Value added Bottling. SIG Beverages is a division of SIG Holding AG, Switzerland. Since May 2007, SIG Holding AG is owned by the Rank Group, New Zealand. PLASMAX is a registered trademark of the SIG Group.
Headquartered in Modesto, California, G3 Enterprises has been supplying the wine industry for over 46 years. As a single source packaging solution for the wine and spirits industries, their products and services include bottle decorating, caps, capsules, labels, mobile bottling, synthetic corks, technical services, transportation, and warehousing.
| Scott McCarty +1 303-260-2103 smccarty@ball.com |
