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Waitrose Launch Wine in Plastic Bottle for Festival-Goers

Waitrose

5 May 2010

- Customer demand is met by supermarket this Summer -Waitrose, the nation’s favourite supermarket[1] is responding to ongoing demand from their festival-loving customers by introducing a Shiraz and Chenin Blanc in a plastic bottle – perfect for the summer event season.The new plastic, screw-top wine bottles made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate[2]) will launch on the 24th May and will be available in select stores located near to the key festivals and outdoor events, providing a light weight and unbreakable solution to the glass alternative – although to the untrained eye you wouldn’t know it wasn’t glass.Not only that, the bottles are easier for al fresco partying customers to carry, with three bottles equal to the weight of two glass bottles, and best of all, there is no fear that it will break in your bag!Last year (2009), Britons drank their way through 813m bottles of wine[3], using nearly half a million tonnes of glass[4]. By reducing the amount of glass Waitrose is able to transport over 60 per cent more 75cl bottles per lorry. In fact, the light compact weight bottle eliminates one in three freight journeys from France where they are bottled.From those enjoying the Henley Regatta on the banks of the Thames to those donning their wellies in the muddy fields of Glastonbury, the South African Khula Sky Shiraz and Chenin Blanc wines are the perfect solution. They have been selected from the Cape’s sundrenched valleys and foothills and bottled in tall and contemporary bottles which are both practical and portable. So, even if you aren’t off to an outdoor event this summer, then you don’t have to miss out as the plastic bottle makes perfect sense for a spot of al fresco dining in your back garden – with no safety issues associated with glass.Waitrose wine buyer, Nick Room, says: “Wine-drinkers can be quite precious about compromising on taste and quality, which is something we have been very careful to ensure doesn’t happen with the new plastic packaging. He continues: “In fact, the bottles actually have an extended shelf-life guaranteed for 12 months and proven for 24 months, highlighting that the product is as good as glass for wine quality and 100 per cent recyclable which is an added benefit to the environment.”The Shiraz and Chenin Blanc 75cl bottles each cost £5.49. But don’t despair if you can’t get to one of the 15 branches, as the plastic bottles will also be available online at Waitrose Wines Direct[5].-Ends-For product samples and further information please contact Sue Finnegan at ZPR on 07966 541 810 or email: sue@z-pr.comNotes to EditorsThe PET wine bottles will be available at the following stores from the 24 May 2010:STORE Cheltenham Sandbach Sunningdale Otley Wandsworth Gillingham Henley Comely Bank Glasgow Billericay Altrincham Bury St EdmundsNorwichYou will also be able to purchase the wine via Waitrose Wines Direct. Log on to http://www.waitrosewine.com/ or call 0800 188 881.[1] Annual Which? supermarket survey 2010[2] Plastic resin and a form of polyester[3] Wine Intelligence report – December 2009[4] Based on average weight of a wine bottle at 495g[5] Log on to http://www.waitrosewine.com/ or call 0800 188 881