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Two years ago, Summerhill Pyramid Winery introduced a new look for its red and white wines that featured a thin strip of paper on top of the cork closure instead of a conventional sleeve-like capsule. According to Ezra Cipes, managing director of the family estate which was an early pioneer of organic and biodynamic winemaking in the Okanagan, it was a move to reduce packaging and present Summerhill’s wines in a more environmentally responsible manner. “Those capsules are a lot of material,” said Cipes. “Most of them are a mix of plastic and metal, which cannot be recycled. Ours is a little strip of 100% post-consumer waste paper and applied by hand.”
Consumers and sommeliers have embraced the new design, explains Cipes, who adds that the winery doesn’t make any decisions without thinking of the environmental costs of its actions.
“The primary reason that we never went to screw cap was the environmental attributes of cork,” he said. “Cork production is supporting a diverse, vibrant ecosystem with birds, mammals, insects, flowering ground cover … It’s a cork forest which is a sustainable resource. Screwcaps are not.”
The use of capsules on wine bottles dates to the 18th century when a layer of lead protected corks from rodents or pests and, possibly, enterprising butlers or servants, who could drink the good stuff and substitute it with something less desirable. After the toxicity of lead was discovered, other substances were employed, such as aluminum, tin, plastic, polylaminate or wax. These decorative adornments add to the cost and carbon footprint of each finished bottle, which has led some wineries to remove the unnecessary packaging.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires a tamper-proof seal on top of wine bottles so wineries don’t have any option to abandon capsules. American wineries, such as Bedrock, Copain, and Wind Gap, which sell wine without capsules in their domestic markets, apply them on bottles exported to Canadian provinces.
Checkmate is another Okanagan winery that has embraced a capsule-free package for environmental as well as aesthetic concerns. Each bottle of Checkmate comes wrapped in paper prior to sale.
“The decision not to use a capsule is purposeful in that it makes the bottle look almost like a sample bottle, which, combined with the small front label, would be something that consumers would be intrigued by and want to pick up and hold to get a closer look,” said Checkmate winemaker Phil McGahan. “Another key advantage is how it benefits the environment, which is always at the forefront of our winemaking practices – one less piece of packaging and less waste.”
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Christopher Waters