Champagne might be getting lighter

With the recent movement to make all things “Green”, the wine industry is reevaluating all of their practices and farming techniques. I could write a huge post about what wineries are doing to leave a smaller carbon footprint, but this entry is about just one of the steps the industry is making. Champagne makers are exploring thinner bottles.

In a typical bottle of Champagne, there are more than 50 million CO2 bubbles. The pressure that is created is equivalent to that of a correctly inflated bike tire. That is the main reason why Champagne bottles are thicker than most wine bottles. The larger Champagne producers are currently testing bottles that are half an ounce less than the standard 1.9 lbs. These companies include Moet, Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Mumm, and Pommery. This might not seem like a lot, but it would definitely add up over time. The testing in ongoing and they need to determine if the lighter bottles can hold up to the constant stress from inside and outside the bottle. In the past when they used lighter bottles, they would often just explode even if nothing had touched the bottle in weeks. The constant pressure from inside would just wear on the bottle and eventually they would burst. If the tests go well, the lighter bottles will go into production in 2009.

In our world were everyone and every company is looking to go “Green”, the wine industry is following the trend and this is just one example of how things are going to change in order to leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Cheers!