Wrap: Eco-wine good for the environment and quality

Wine connoisseurs attempting to live a low carbon lifestyle may be pleased to hear that a programme to reduce the environmental impact of the industry has been reported a success.

Glassrite Wine, funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), has claimed that the carbon footprint of importing wine into the UK has been reduced by some 28,000 tonnes in the last two years.

Edie.net reports that Wrap promotes the use of bulk importing and the use of lightweight bottles. In addition, the use of recycled bottles has increased by almost 24,000 tonnes every year, since more are being manufactured in the UK.

This represents a huge change within the sector, according to Nicola Jenkin, Wrap's beverage category manager, who stated that being greener in approach can enhance quality.

"Modern bulk importing methods mean wine is less susceptible to the temperature variations that could impair quality, while lighter weight bottles are often stronger than their heavier counterparts," she told the news source.

Richard Selley, professor of geology at Imperial College London has pointed out that the UK consumes one million tonnes of green glass every year.