Sustainable packaging for Premium wines – how should it be approached?

Description

The IMW is pleased to invite you to a complimentary webinar. This event follows on from the popular sustainability series and will provide insights in how the landscape has evolved since that time. You can watch previous sustainability webinars here.

Glass bottles account for a significant proportion of wine’s carbon footprint as glass is energy intensive to produce and heavy to transport. But glass bottles are the only viable solution to maintain wine quality for wines that will be drunk 12 months+ after filling. Light-weighting glass bottles is an important lever in reducing wine greenhouse gas emissions with many signed up to the Sustainable Wine Round table Bottle Weight Accord to reduce the average weight of still wine glass bottles to 420g by the end of 2026.

In addition to its technical role in maintaining wine quality, packaging has an aesthetic role creating desirability and adding value to a wine. This is increasingly true for premium wines. So what is an appropriate weight for a premium wine glass bottle – 420g? 500g? Are 700g or 1kg glass bottles ever justifiable? How should we weigh up the trade off? Should there be a limit and if so what should it be? Can clever creative design create desirable and sustainable packaging for premium wines?

The event will be moderated by Jane Masters MW and there will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Panel includes
Jane Masters MW (moderator) – view MW profile

Rowena Curlewis (CEO & Co-Founder, Denomination)
Rowena is co-founder and CEO of leading drinks branding specialist Denomination; a female-owned and led agency that works for a broad cross-section of clients from boutiques to multinationals, and across all disciplines of branding design and innovation. The agency is a leader within the drinks design industry in terms of driving sustainability, and has been certified Climate Neutral since 2021. Denomination has been awarded Global Design Agency of the Year a record seven times by Harpers Wine & Spirits, and – amongst the 300+ international awards that the agency has won – includes five coveted DBA Design Effectiveness Awards. Rowena has a BA Communication from CSU, a GMQ from AGSM UNSW, and is a GAICD. Outside of Denomination, Rowena sits on both profit and not-for-profit boards as a non-executive director. Rowena’s insight, passion and knowledge about the drinks industry means she is a regular contributor to drinks, business and design press, and has judged, lectured and chaired panels in design, innovation and drinks branding.

Dr. Adrianna Catena (Bodega Catena Zapata)
Based in London, Adrianna is an historian and fourth-generation vintner at Catena Zapata winery, where she works primarily on European Markets, La Place, and as Nicolas Catena Zapata wine and strategy director. In 2009, together with winemaker Alejandro Vigil, she founded El Enemigo Wines, in Mendoza, Argentina, and has more recently ventured to Spain with Bodega El Reventón, a fully off-grid winery in the Sierra de Gredos. She holds an MPhil. and DPhil. in History from Balliol College, Oxford, specializing in the Early Modern Iberian Atlantic.  

Queena Wong (Private collector & founder of Curious Vines)
Queena is a prominent UK wine collector and hospitality lover, role modelling the ability for women to engage with wine as a consumer. She is also the leader of Curious Vines, a supportive community of women in the UK wine industry that cultivates connectivity and advocates for equity. Queena has extensive knowledge through the vertical of the premium wine market and strong connectivity across the broader scope of hospitality and on-trade as a promoter of both wine and the sommelier profession. Her positive presence has been felt – she was recently nominated No. 5 in the recent Drinks Retailing Top 100 Most Influential in Drinks 2025, and is judge for Star Wine List UK and The Drinks Business Awards. 

About the IMW webinar series
Webinars are open to anyone who wishes to attend. All guests are welcome to submit questions in advance or during the webinar. The IMW uses the Zoom webinar platform, instructions on how to join will be emailed to you. Please check your junk or spam folder if you do not receive an email confirmation when registering. Unless specified otherwise, webinars are recorded and will be made available online here a few days after the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Belinda Eaton at beaton@mastersofwine.org.