Turtle with an award-winning shell

“‘The times they are a-changin’,” Bob Dylan once sang.

This has perhaps never been truer of today’s wine industry, where bottles molded from PET and aluminum screw caps are replacing traditional glass bottles and cork stoppers.

A new addition to the market comes from Artisan Wine Company, of Burnaby, B. C., now offering its new Painted Turtle wines in 750mL PET wine bottles manufactured by plastics packager Ball Corporation — which recently received awards for the design from the Packaging Association of Canada, and Canadian Packaging Magazine.

Available in Semillion/Chardonnay and Cabernet/Shiraz, Painted Turtle is sold through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario in two different bottle styles, both featuring aluminum screw caps.

The bottles also feature SIG Plasmax, a transparent, internal silicon oxide barrier coating technology that protects the wine, and is easily removed during the PET recycling process. Plasmax provides an FDAcompliant, enhanced passive barrier for oxygen sensitive products; and since Plasmax does not degrade over time, the length of time bottle inventory can be stored is not limited by the barrier material.

“Because Ball’s PET bottles are approximately one-tenth the weight of the average glass bottle, they can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the supply chain,” said David Fallis, VP of operations with Artisan Wine. “This PET bottle gives our customers a more convenient, environmentally-friendly wine packaging choice.”

Ball Corporation (Broomfield, Colo.); www.ball.com; 303-469-3131