Bogle Family Wine’s newest collection: Element[AL] Wines

Named for its 100% aluminum bottle, Element[AL] Wines is reshaping the wine packaging industry.

A bottle of Chardonnay by Elemental Wines sits between a stemless wine glass and a round, thin puck of aluminum, on top of a metallic, gold table cloth.

See that skinny little puck to the left of the chardonnay? That’s all the aluminum needed to make an Element[AL] wine bottle.

Photo by SACtoday staff

Bogle Family Wine recently announced its newest, environmentally friendly approach to wine packaging — Element[AL] Wines.

The collection is a first-of-its-kind innovation, utilizing new engineering technology to create a wine bottle out of aluminum that is true-to-form when compared to its glass counterparts.

Vice President of Marketing Paul Englert stands in front of several crates of wine boxes, packaged and ready to ship in the Bogle Family Wines warehouse. A sign indicates on the Elemental Wines crate that it is 600 pounds lighter than the glass wine crate.

Paul Englert shows two crates of wine side-by-side: the left containing glass-bottled wine, and the right containing aluminum.

Photo by SACtoday staff

You may be wondering, “Why aluminum?” There are a few key reasons:

  • Aluminum is “infinitely recyclable,” meaning it can be recycled back into itself without loss of material during the process.
  • Recycling aluminum is profitable because the metal ore is much more expensive to extract.
  • Recycling aluminum takes 90% less energy than glass.
  • The bottle is shatter proof, making it safer for shipping, outdoor use, and travel.
  • Aluminum is much lighter in weight, cutting down on the truckload numbers needed for shipment (less trucks = lower cost + less carbon emissions).
Jody Bogle presents the launch of Elemental Wines in front of seated viewers, with shelves of the aluminum-bottled wines behind her showing the product.

Jody Bogle presents the benefits of an aluminum bottle for wine packaging.

Photo by SACtoday staff

A shipment of entirely aluminum-bottled wines saves 11,647 lbs per truckload, according to Paul Englert, Vice President of Marketing for Bogle Vineyards. To put that number into perspective, that’s the approximate size of a male African elephant.

Contrary to other aluminum bottle products, Element[AL] Wines is the first to achieve the actual bottleneck structure of a glass of wine.

Staying true to the aesthetics + taste of glass-bottled wines was important in the formulation of the aluminum bottle, according to Jody Bogle, Vice President of Consumer Relations.

“We pride ourselves on quality,” says Bogle. “We’ve been doing monthly blind taste tests to ensure that the quality and taste of the wine hasn’t changed.”

Bogle hopes Element[AL] Wines is the first step in a more widespread effort to give consumers more eco-friendly, accessible options.

Want to try it? It’s already hit the shelves at Nugget Markets in West Sacramento, and is coming to Walmart, Target, Safeway, Albertsons, and Raley’s within the next few months.

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