Bottled up

Wines & Vines, May, 2002 by Jennifer Rofe

Consumers identify your product by its overall package, from labels and neckers to bottles. For instance, when Erica Harrop of Saverglass asks someone if they are familiar with J sparkling wine, she prompts them with "the bottle with the yellow J.

"That reminds them of the elegant shape and appearance they have seen," she says. "But they are not just thinking of the yellow J but also of the elegant lines that make the whole package complete."

"The bottle plays multiple roles in defining the product to the consumer," Bert Loughmiller of APM, Inc. says. "Through its characteristic shape and color, a bottle conveys a general classification of the wine, thereby performing its most traditional role. Through variations of shape, a bottle conveys special attributes or reinforces the message conveyed by other elements of the package, especially the label. The range of these variations can present a 'feel' running from classic Old World to contemporary New World, even radical or avant-garde.

"The concept of bottle and label as separate packaging elements is being fused, literally," he adds. "Painting and etching techniques now make it feasible to incorporate the label into the bottle. And transparent labels effectively achieve the same look. This has required the visual quality of the bottle to improve, as now it becomes a part of the visible label rather than being hidden beneath."

According to Harrop, in order to stand out and have an effect on consumers, bottle designers and their clients are taking more risks than before. "Decoration is now for everyone, not just for the exotic or eclectic customer," she says. "Tapered bottles and heavy bottles are very 'in,"' she adds. "Now everyone wants what is not yet 'in' so they can be the next trendsetter."

"Early use of the bottle was more for a vessel of transportation than marketing," Terry Sanzo of Cal Glass Co., which has been in business for over 65 years, says. "It was the change from making wine for personal consumption to selling it that made container-appeal something to care about. Now the container-appeal of the bottle is ever changing.

"People usually buy wine for three reasons: brand loyalty, price and experimentation," he adds. "Price and product experimentation is where you will find the container ever changing. Brands want an upscale packaging look, no matter what price level. The average shopper who is not brand loyal will evaluate a wine by price comparison then package comparison."

But just as labels are prone to trends, so are bottles. Take the flange, for instance. Loughmiller notes that "although the introduction of the flange bottle represented the beginning of a new attitude about the role of the wine bottle," the abundance of flange bottles caused the style to lose its effectiveness. "It has become so ordinary, so it's being replaced.

"The taper of the sides, the large, ringed top, the deep punt, the overall weight and color are as much the package as any other part," Harrop says. "The bottle becomes the signature of a look from far away."

"No single feature has yet emerged in its place; rather, a broad array of special shapes and colors have come on the scene to help wineries differentiate their offerings," Loughmiller says. "The trend is toward diversity rather than imitating a single packaging feature."

The Future of Bottling

Harrop says she thinks "there will be very few standards in the future" of bottle design. "Winery owners will be drawn to very different and unusual bottles. Unusual closures and ring finishes will come into vogue, and Stelvin, screwcap bottles will become a norm for the consumer."

Loughmiller says he thinks that "bottles will be viewed as a marketing tool and evaluated in terms of their impact rather than merely their cost.

Sanzo notes that packaging is now designed for aesthetics, not production line efficiency.

"Colors are changing from champagne green to antique green, shapes are changing from straight-sided containers to drastic tapers, the height of packages is getting taller and exotic finishes like the flange are going back to the more traditional bar-top," he says. "All of these changes are for visual consumer acceptance, and while they are appealing to the consumer, they have the reverse effect on the production capabilities at both the manufacturer and the winery." Sanzo adds that these changes increase costs.

He also notes that large suppliers are investing in ways to manufacture lightweight bottles while wineries are moving toward heavyweight packages. "These bottles can't run at half the speed of other, more standard styles. There are tapers so drastic that they barely stand up on a bottling line.

"Efficiencies be damned," Sanzo says. "Expect more changes to taller and tapered bottles and antique green as the predominate color. More European-looking style packages."

For more information about APM, Inc., whose clients include Caymus Vineyards, Chalone Vineyard and V. Sattui Winery, contact 441 Industrial Way, Benicia, Calif. 94510, phone (707) 745-8060, fax (707) 745-0371, e-mail info@apmglobal.com or visit the Web site apmglobal.com.