SOUTH AFRICA – Andrew Ingham’s new wine brand Interpunkt and award-winning boutique estate Journey’s End Vineyards, have teamed up to launch a pioneering range of wines in sustainable paperboard bottles – the first in South Africa.

The sustainable wine packaging will soon be available in select Checkers, Checkers Hyper and Checkers LiquorShop stores.

The sauvignon blanc and shiraz wine range has a reduced impact on the environment, being 100% recyclable and five times lighter than a normal glass bottle.

Interpunkt has also endeavored to make the two wines more engaging, accessible and inclusive, by removing the specialist and potentially intimidating language that is often used on wine labels.

Interpunkt founder Andrew Ingham firmly believes that the consumer should be put first, and offered delicious, sustainable wines without the fuss.

Ingham says: “All too often wine brands are talking and selling to one group only; the wine engaged. Yet the biggest group of wine drinkers (68%) are new to wine, occasional wine drinkers or unengaged.

“By introducing wine drinkers to a new accessible brand in forward-thinking packaging, which also prioritizes trusted, ethically and sustainably sourced grapes, I believe we can show people that good wine is for everyone.”

It is for this reason that Interpunkt chose to partner with Journey’s End, which is not only known for its excellent wines and acclaimed winemakers but also for its sustainable and ethical accreditations.

Journey’s End has twice won the Ethical Company of the Year award, in 2020 and 2021, at The Drinks Business Green Awards, which is convened by the UK liquor trade magazine.

Meanwhile, finding lighter and more sustainable packaging alternatives to glass has been on the rise for wine companies.

In 2019, Danish brewing giant Carlsberg announced that it was in the prototype phase of producing a sustainable, bio-based and fully recyclable beer bottle called the “Green Fibre Bottle.”

And recyclable paper cartons from companies like Tetra Pak in the water space are already more popular among consumers.

Paperboard bottles are said to be up to five times lighter than a normal glass bottle, making them easier to carry and lighter to transport.

In addition, they are also reported to be better for the environment, with a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) lower than a glass bottle and more than a third less than a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic.

For all the latest packaging and printing industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.