Taylor's One Small Step Shiraz in an Eco-friendly PET wine bottle

What is flat, rectangular and holds a wonderful beverage?

It’s not a trick question and if you hadn’t seen if for yourself you would be forgiven for not recognising a bottle of wine! Taylors Wines recently introduced a new environmentally friendly 100% recyclable flat wine bottle. The innovation holds the secret to many environmental savings so; let’s find out who they are, what they’re doing and what’s creating all the fuss.

Who they are

Taylors Wines is a family of three generations of wine makers that have crafted Australian wines in the Clare Valley, South Australia. They believe; great wines are made in the vineyard and the art of fine wine-making is to respect and capture the essence of the vineyard site and to highlight the unique varietal expression of each grape variety. Now; they are taking the next step to help protect the environment that has supported their family business for many years.

What they’re doing

The new eco flat wine bottles have been adopted for Taylor’s entry level; the “One Small Step” range. In a recent interview with Deborah Knight on 2BG Sydney; Managing Director Mitchell Taylor explained that the PET bottle (polyethylene terephthalate, the chemical name for polyester) was ideal for this category. Taylor explained some key factors that contributed to the suitability the PET bottle.

Wine Market

Entry level wines suited the market well because in the majority of cases when a bottle of wine was purchased off the shelf it was normally consumed within 48 hours.

Wine Shelf Life

Wine will only last about 2 years in a PET bottle; however; in this time frame the wine quality is not compromised.

Wine Taste

The taste and flavour of wine poured from a PET bottle was consistent with the quality expected from a glass bottle. The producers of the flat wine bottle Packamama state “the food-grade recycled PET we use does not react with wine or affect its taste or quality in any way”. To learn more about Packamama; take a moment to discover Packaging That Protects Mother Earth.

For more expensive wines, where the wine is cellared for long periods, a PET bottle is not suitable at this stage. There is more work to be done to develop an appropriate plastic. There would almost certainly need to be a perception shift in the market before a plastic bottle would be accepted for the more expensive and exclusive drops.

Benefits to hospitality venues

·      Reduced risk of breakages if a bottle is dropped.

·      Lighter weight, this can make it easier for wait staff when reaching across tables to pour

·      Store more product on site in less space

What does the One small Step range taste like?

Taylor’s creates tasting notes for many of their wines, for full tasting notes of the following wines; you will find some links to tasting notes at the end of the article.

One Small Step Shiraz 2019

COLOUR: At release, the wine is deep red with purple hues.

NOSE: Vibrant aromas of red currant, plum and a touch of spice.

PALATE: A well balanced medium bodied wine with a lively palate of juicy red berry fruits, fine gentle tannins and a soft silky finish.

One Small Step Chardonnay 2021

COLOUR: At release, the wine is pale straw with a slightly green tinge.

NOSE: Fresh, lifted aromas of yellow peach, along with some subtle tropical fruit characters and a touch of lemony citrus.

PALATE: A juicy wine with the pure, vibrant fruit characters of yellow peach, subtle pineapple and zesty citrus before a refreshing, clean finish.

Note: these tasting notes are for different vintages in the One Small Step range.

Stephen's Take

Tips for Teachers

Do you find students have difficulty holding and pouring a glass bottle of wine. It’s heavy and they may have trouble using the dimple in the base of the bottle (called the PUNT) to grip. This new flat bottle could alleviate this however; there is no punt so a different grip is needed. Although the bottle is light the bottle has a strange feel because of its rectangular shape.

Remember; the bottles are tall and thin so they have high centre of gravity. There is a risk of them falling over. If this happens it could knock over glassware or food. Can I suggest when placing a bottle on the table; consider a “fall zone”. That's the direction the bottle would fall if knocked over. Although the normal expectation may be to allow red wine to breathe, in this case I recommend replacing the screw top. In the event a bottle does fall over, there is a reduced likelihood of wine spillage or breakage.

Unit of Competency Mapping

Twenty Seven Steps Restaurant and Bar, Christchurch New Zealand

Please note; the purpose of this article is to introduce current hospitality trends. The content broadly applies to the units of competency listed. It is not intended that all content in this article maps directly to all performance evidence and knowledge evidence in the unit of competency. 

Article and all photos original by Stephen Duncan