Yamanashi tests efbottle: paper shell + pouch, >30% lighter than glass
University of Yamanashi’s Institute of Enology and Viticulture is piloting Fuji Tokushu Shigyo’s efbottle — water-resistant paper, plastic pouch, resealable cap. Sensory tests show no quality hit versus glass so far; a ~750 ml pack drops from ~1.14 kg to ~0.78 kg.
Glass is heavy. Kofu researchers want a lighter ride for wine.
The Mainichi reports that the Institute of Enology and Viticulture at the University of Yamanashi is testing the efbottle with Fuji Tokushu Shigyo: a water-resistant paper shell, an inner plastic pouch and a resealable cap shaped like a conventional bottle. Sensory checks so far find no quality penalty versus glass; about one more year of storage and use trials remains.
Weight is the headline number. A typical 750 ml glass pack weighs about 1.14 kg; the equivalent efbottle about 0.78 kg — more than 30% lighter. Professor Shunji Suzuki, institute director, ties that cut to lower transport CO₂, outdoor and leisure use, and full-surface print that glass rarely allows.
Mini-concept: packaging is part of the carbon of a glass, not only the vineyard. When the bottle outweighs the wine, every kilometre on a truck burns for cardboard and sand melted into glass. A paper-plus-pouch format attacks the freight line first.
The work sits inside the Shin University of Yamanashi Wine Project, launched in 2024 for winemaking that can still make sense in a hundred years — varieties, cellar, bottling, labels and sales in one loop.
A can already travels light. This trial asks whether wine can too — without tasting like a compromise.
Remember: efbottle ~0.78 kg vs glass ~1.14 kg (>30% lighter); sensory OK so far; ~1 year more tests in the Shin Yamanashi project.
Source: The Mainichi