Wines packaged in 75cl PET bottles are most likely to be accepted by UK consumers as an alternative to glass and preferred over bag-in-box, cans or pouches. Research by consultancy Wine Intelligence (London / UK; www.wineintelligence.com) showed that 40% of its consumer survey’s respondents would buy wine in a PET bottle in the future compared with 37% who opted for bag-in-box and 21% who chose a Tetra Pak-type pouch. The research was carried out in June this year among UK wine drinkers.

Glass was still the overwhelming choice for almost all wine-drinking occasions, but alternative packaging was favoured for outdoor settings because of the heavier weight of glass bottles. Nevertheless, according to Richard Halstead, COO of Wine Intelligence, the environmental benefits of alternative wine packaging are being ignored as consumers generally perceive glass to be “green” and have grown accustomed to recycling it.