Donald's worst nightmare come to life

[Mike Buckley]

Winery: Paperboy Winery
Year: 2012
Grape: Chardonnay
Region: Mendocino County, California

Donald didn't like the idea of drinking wine from this square bottle. At least it's made of glass, unlike the bottles shown below. I kind of like the idea that they take the concept of box wine to a new level; at least this version is round.

The idea is that once you drink the wine, you would take the bottle apart at the perforated lines and recycle the paper shell. I'm sure that someday the plastic bladder on the inside will also be recyclable.

EDIT: I added a third photo.


Photo #1



Photo #2: 100% crop to display the paper shell's three textures.



Photo #3

[Donald]

I read about this in Decanter, the wine magazine to which I subscribe, but have never seen them!

You've got to think that if it works (i.e. has no detrimental effect on the wine), then they're on to something. The question is - Will the wine still develop and evolve in that in the same way that it would in glass? It's be interesting to see where it goes.

And, yes, the fact that they are round just feels better than a square bottle!

And ............. Good pictures.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Donald.

Will the wine still develop and evolve in that in the same way that it would in glass?

The statistic that I've seen for years is that 99% of wine is made to be drunk immediately upon release. I don't think the wineries really care about their wine improving over time.

[Bobobird]

Cool concept. I agree with the new concept bottle, though most people will just put it into the trash just like the glass bottles. It is nothing new though, have seen some wines in containers similar to those used for juices or milk.

Shops should just design an environmentally friendly container and draw off the quantity wanted by the customer from the barrel.

Donald would throw a fit of course. haha

[Shadowman]

Nice image.

[Mike Buckley]

most people will just put it into the trash just like the glass bottles

The county that I live in was the first in the U.S. to try a highly successful experiment. Relatively few people were recycling because they had to figure out which materials were recyclable and which were not. As an example, the county was accepting only certain kinds of plastic with particular recyclable designations. They then changed that and told residents to put all of their materials made of plastic, paper, glass or metal in the recycle bin and the contractor that picks up everything would sort the recyclables from the non-recyclables. The program has been a huge success.

[Shadowman]

I read about this in Decanter, the wine magazine to which I subscribe, but have never seen them!

You've got to think that if it works (i.e. has no detrimental effect on the wine), then they're on to something. The question is - Will the wine still develop and evolve in that in the same way that it would in glass? It's be interesting to see where it goes.

And, yes, the fact that they are round just feels better than a square bottle!

And ............. Good pictures.

I've tasted boxed wine and its not bad and they've finally boxed my favorite Argentinian Malbec, but there is something different about the wine, it almost tastes carbonated.

[Donald]

The program has been a huge success.

Attitudes and behaviours are changing here as well, although the UK has got to remain one of the dirtiest places in Europe in terms of people just dumping litter in streets and public places.

Recycling levels vary across the country and do reflect the level of resources put in by the local government services to inform people about recycling and to make it easy to do. I know that one major landfill site close by to where we live has just had its licence extended by 5 years because the amount of waste being put into it and reduced way below expected levels, because of the increase in levels of recycling. In other words, it's not going to fill up until 2019 instead of 2014. So that's got to be good news.

[Brownbear]

Thanks for sharing Mike... The first thing I did was check what it was made of, and I learned that it is made out of recyclable material and because it is so lightweight it saves on carbon emissions. (transport) I hope it is sold in Canada.

Where I live glass wine bottles for the most part are all recycled (in part because of the refundable deposit).

Aside... There is a small town in Mexico with a community arts and culture center where everyone brings their glass for recycling. The local artists make some amazing glassware and art pieces, (including stain glassed windows), decorative lamp shades and room dividers out of wine bottles and other glassware. Truly gorgeous pieces and the program supports the local economy.


And... yet, another highly distinguished image! beautiful light, amazing detail, and I love the water droplets.

[Kaye Leggett]

Mike, thank you for going to such great lengths in pursuit of your art and to delight/surprise/shock us. Regardless of whether we like the packaging or not, these are great images.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Christina and Kaye.

My wife and I tried the wine today. Its quality and style are typical of a California chardonnay at its price, which is about $15.

it is made out of recyclable material

According to the label on the rear of the bottle, only the paper shell is recyclable.

[Brownbear]

What I should've said is that the paper used is from recycled material, instead of trees.


Paperboy is made from compressed recycled paper and printed with natural inks.

Thank you to Christina and Kaye.

My wife and I tried the wine today. Its quality and style are typical of a California chardonnay at its price, which is about $15.



According to the label on the rear of the bottle, only the paper shell is recyclable.

[Mike Buckley]

I added another photo to the first post of the thread. I like the new photo best.

[Donald]

I added another photo to the first post of the thread. I like the new photo best.

I agree.

Is it the same lighting set-up as for the first image in the thread? It looks more vibrant and 'fresh'.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Donald!

The lights are positioned in the same places but the light is different because the composition is so different and because (I think) I changed the output of the flash, which lit the background. I also adjusted the background a little during post-processing to draw the viewer's eye to the plastic bladder.

[Quentin88]

Great pictures, but I would like to do an experiment: post those pictures on my FB and see how many italian propose to send you to the stake and burn you and whoever invented that thing as eretic (< humor '-')

However since thermal conductivity and light-shielding are importan for wine conservation (for example wine in clear or thin glass bottle oxidise and age faster) the wine in those bottles should really get consumed "right after botting", still a nice idea, if it could be done even with beer would been even better. But, I have to say it, I wouldn't like, being at dinner with my girlfriend, see a somelier to bring me the wine in a plastic bottle... oh wait, I'm teetotal, no problem then. (<humor again '-')
P.S. Here little farmer often ask people for glass bottles to made their own wine, so no "recycling" problem, all glass bottles are re-used.

[Mike Buckley]

Lots of good points, Pellegrino.

I was given some wine in plastic bottles a few years ago (not yet photographed) and the information on the bottle explained that the wine should be enjoyed relatively soon. If I remember correctly, that was within 2 years. That is because the plastic would be expected to begin altering the flavor of the wine. Nothing on the labels of the bottles displayed in this thread mentions anything of the like despite that the wine is being stored in a plastic bladder.

[FootLoose]

I like the 3rd shot, Mike. It tells me more of what this bottle is about and I think that is your point here. I wonder if you would consider another composition. One with just the bottle on the left, half-opened as it is in the 3rd shot, but with the left side rotated about 30-40 degrees towards the viewer. I wonder if that would still show how this contraption works, and also introduce a 'Surprise!' element to the photo.


BTW if only the cardboard is recyclable I have to wonder what the point is. Glass bottles are 100% recyclable. And how does the carbon footprint of plastic production compare to glass?

Many wines here are intended to mature in the bottle. I have several dozen quietly aging. The hard part is resisting the temptation to see how they going

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Greg!

I wonder if you would consider another composition. One with just the bottle on the left, half-opened as it is in the 3rd shot, but with the left side rotated about 30-40 degrees towards the viewer. I wonder if that would still show how this contraption works, and also introduce a 'Surprise!' element to the photo.

I like that surprise element and had not thought of it. Unfortunately, I can't use the bottle on the left to make that shot because I used some of the wine to baste a guinea fowl. (I'm not at all convinced the basting did any good or was ever needed, but I sure did like the wine mixed in with the fowl's juices served as a sauce over the meat. ) I'll have to wait until I have no other use of the unopened bottle on the right to create the composition that you suggested.

BTW if only the cardboard is recyclable I have to wonder what the point is. Glass bottles are 100% recyclable. And how does the carbon footprint of plastic production compare to glass?

I firmly believe the problem we laypeople have is that we can't know for sure about the net reduction in carbon footprint of a given product. That's because we learn so often that one scientist's analysis of the carbon footprint of a particular product is so different from another scientist's analysis. It's rarely if ever that the scientists don't have their agendas to support.

Even so, increased awareness of the helpfulness of recycling and reducing carbon footprint is almost certainly a good thing. If at least increased awareness occurs as more and more products are brought out with the idea of reducing carbon footprint, I think that's also a good thing at least for awhile, even if later on some are proven not to have reduced it.

[Letrow]

Wow, for me it takes away some of the magic of wine I guess. I have to admit that I like the kind of wines that can develop over time, so for the moment this is something I wouldn't like to have inside the house.
I have drunk wine from containers in France now and then and for the simpler wines it is ok. You buy a carton, which is about a gallon or so I guess and you tap your own wine. The system is closed, so the wine stays good for a longer period.
And I do like the form of the glass bottles, the Bordeaux and the Bourgogne style. It gives you insight in what kind of grapes you are about to drink as well, so for me it is helpful.
Corks or screwcaps? I'm ok with screwcaps for the wines you can drink immediately, for the other wines I still prefer cork.

I was surprised about the prices I saw above. $15 for a bottle like this? I would have expected this to be on the lower end of the range, or is it? Maybe our European prices are quite different than those of the US.

Nice photos, I like the lighting and background of the third photo especially.