New brand launches in aluminium wine bottles

The four wines from California-based Bogle Family Wine Collection’s new brand, Element[AL] Wines, come in 750ml aluminium bottles that are lightweight, shatterproof, infinitely recyclable, and are made in the shape of a traditional wine bottle.
The company says the new eco-friendly format “will shatter expectations about how and when wine can be enjoyed and answer the call-to-action from the wine industry to rethink glass bottles”, the largest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint.


The wines, launched this month as the official wines at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, are a Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Rosé and Pinot Noir. All were made from grapes grown in sustainable vineyards in California.
“Element[AL] is more than just the launch of a new wine brand, it’s the beginning of a new way of thinking for the wine industry,” says Jody Bogle (main photo), vice president of consumer relations at Bogle Family Wine Collection. “We began by looking for ways to lightweight our existing glass bottles, and that led to a more radical approach that we feel consumers are ready to embrace.”
Element[AL] comes after nearly three years of research and development. The brand is believed to be the first to market with this new aluminium wine bottle technology – with its silhouette reminiscent of traditional wine bottles. It “provides environmental responsibility without compromise on taste, design, and function,” says the company. Its research shows there is no perceived taste difference between wines aged for a year in aluminium and glass bottles.


“We’ve been developing Element[AL] for over three years,” says Paul Englert (above), vice president of marketing at Bogle Family Wine Collection. “We were committed to finding a way to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of traditional wine bottles in a manner that still connected with consumers. Our comprehensive research indicates exceptionally high consumer purchase interest for this game-changing aluminium wine bottle.”
The label-less bottle has a 360-degree design printed directly on it – with different hand-drawn artwork for each varietal.

Why package wine in aluminium?

Glass bottles are the biggest contributor to the wine industry’s carbon footprint. The majority of US wine is purchased for immediate consumption rather than ageing, which necessitates a need to rethink the glass vessel for everyday wine enjoyment. The benefits of Element[AL]’s aluminium wine bottles, according to Bogle Family Wine Collection, include:

• Easy to recycle. Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely without losing its quality. Recycling rates of aluminium are higher than glass recycling rates. Aluminium is more valuable for municipal recycling programmes than glass or plastic. Aluminium requires only 5% of the original energy to create the next generation.
• Lightweight. Element[AL] aluminium wine bottles are 80% lighter than an average glass wine bottle (90g v 500g). Compared to shipping glass bottles, Element[AL] aluminium wine bottles save roughly 11,500lbs of weight per truckload for the same amount of wine, roughly the weight of an African elephant. Element[AL] shipments can fit 43% more cases of wine per truck while keeping the total load 3% lighter in comparison to glass. Element[AL] bottles are slightly smaller than a typical wine bottle due to having thinner walls and no punt, while still holding the standard 750ml. This smaller size allows more cases of wine per truck.
• Shatterproof. Element[AL] aluminium bottles can go many places where glass cannot, including pools, beaches, and some stadiums.

Element[AL] Wines will be available in stores in the USA from March with an SRP of $16.99.
The wines are made by the Clarksburg-based, family-owned and operated Bogle Family Wine Collection, which includes Bogle Family Vineyards, Juggernaut Wines, Phantom Wines and Twenty Acres by Bogle.

The range comprises:

• A Chardonnay that has been barrel-fermented in a combination of French and American oak barrels.
• A Pinot Noir with 52% aged in neutral American oak, 48% in neutral French oak;
• A Pinot Grigio fermented in stainless steel “with a flirtatious addition of Albariño to enhance vibrancy and add intrigue”;
• And a Rosé. In 2022 this was a blend of Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, while the 2023 vintage – due for release this spring – is only Pinot Noir.

The company says the Pinot Noir varietal should be paired with “deep conversations while holding hands, rainy afternoons listening to a classic vinyl record, or perhaps writing poetry”, while the Pinot Grigio should be paired with “leisurely Sundays by the pool, flying a kite, shopping for shoes online, or admiring nature in a national park”.