Published: 25 April, 2025
The glass bottle has been a fixture of the wine world since the 17th century, while the earliest examples date back to the Roman era. Impermeable and inert, it remains the universal vessel of choice, but a growing consumer awareness of its carbon footprint could yet threaten that status, meaning its days would be numbered. Estimates vary, but glass production accounts for up to half the CO2 in a typical bottle of wine. The material is energy intensive, with gas used to heat furnaces to 1,700ºC for its manufacture. Then there’s the impact of shipping as bottles, many of them needlessly heavy, are hauled across the world, with the IWCA (International Wineries for Climate Action) estimating that transport accounts for 15.9% of the average winery’s emissions. Theoretically, glass has an infinite life – the UK boasting one of the better recycling rates at 74.2%, according to British Glass – but the process is notoriously complex, requiring rigorous colour sorting, and it uses energy.
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Published: 19 January, 2022
The UK's leading supermarket retailer of premium wines has appointed Barry Dick MW to its BWS bulk buying team.
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Published: 22 November, 2021
We hear from Richard Lloyd, general manager for European operations and supply chain at The Park, the hub of Accolade Wines’ European operations and an independent business in its own right, on how the industry can work together to overcome its supply chain difficulties
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Published: 18 October, 2021
The tailbacks at Felixstowe are the latest plot-twist in the ongoing Covid and Brexit supply saga which is causing disruption for operators. Jo Gilbert looks at the impact on bulk shipments.
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Château Bauduc owner Gavin Quinney ponders an intractable issue for frost-impacted producers up against the strictures of Bordeaux
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How have Covid-19 and Brexit affected the bulk wine business? Lucy Britner talks to producers around the world about the benefits of bulk and the challenges the past 12 months have brought
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Published: 03 December, 2020
There is mounting concern over the lack of clarity around the introduction of VI-1 forms for bulk shippers, despite the end of the transition period being just weeks away.
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Published: 07 September, 2020
Bulk wine exports from Spain plummeted during the Covid-19 crisis, according to data from the Bulk Wine Club.
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Published: 26 August, 2020
As the trade measures up to extraordinary times and looks ahead beyond summer, leading operators take stock of doing business in the new normal.
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Published: 26 March, 2020
Argentina is upping its game to become a major player in boutique bulk, as Chris Wilson reports.
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Published: 02 March, 2020
With carbon emissions increasingly under scrutiny, Kingsland’s resident MW and head of specialist sales & wine development, tells Andrew Catchpole about enlightening the trade on bulk shipping and premium wines with less environmental impact
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Published: 06 December, 2019
Kingsland Drinks and Soul Tree wine brand have entered a joint venture to bring the first ever shipments of bulk from India to the UK, Harpers can reveal.
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Published: 03 December, 2019
With sustainability high on the global agenda, it could be time to embrace a new approach to shipping premium wine. Andrew Catchpole reports back from a round table partnered by Lanchester Wines.
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Published: 08 October, 2019
Global beverage and bulk liquid forwarder JF Hillebrand is unifying its various business arms, including past acquisitions such as Trans Ocean Bulk Logistics and Satellite Logistics Group, under the one Hillebrand banner.
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Published: 01 August, 2019
Despite falling wine import volumes, China continues to mature as a market, according to the latest country report from Wine Intelligence.
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World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE) has launched its first Chinese edition in the northern port city of Yantai in response to the booming market for bulk wine imports into China.
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Published: 19 February, 2019
The launch of a new trading platform for the drinks trade promises to disrupt existing business models. Jo Gilbert investigates
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Published: 12 December, 2018
An increasingly sophisticated and sustainably focused bulk wine sector is in global ascendancy and it is increasingly shaping the world’s wine market, including the premium end.
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Published: 14 November, 2018
African wine, spirits and cider giant Distell is set to launch a new premium wine division with Nederburg as its flagship, Harpers can reveal.
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Published: 17 August, 2018
The 2018 crush Down Under will fall short of meeting current demand for Australian wine, driving prices upward.
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