Australian wine company, Accolade Wines has partnered with circular economy technology company, ecoSPIRITS to launch the world’s first closed-loop distribution system in wine.

With over 30 billion single use glass wine bottles produced each year, the partnership aims to revolutionise how wine is delivered to venues globally, significantly reducing the industry’s impact on the environment.

Spearheaded by Accolade’s eco-wine brand, Banrock Station, the process will not only offer quality and eco-friendly wine for patrons; it also offers on-premise venues a cost advantage and transformative carbon footprint reduction.

Under the closed-loop wine distribution pilot program, Australia’s first wine ecoPLANT will be located in central Sydney, and Banrock Station will be launching a trial of the ecoSPIRITS’ circular wine packaging technology, called the ecoTOTE, with Sydney-based on-premise venues in the first half of 2022.

Initially, Banrock Station’s Pinot Grigio, Rosé and Pinot Noir wines will be offered in the latest ecoTOTE 3.0W format to on-premise customers.

The wine will be transported and delivered to venues in ecoSPIRITS’ ecoTOTE format, a fully reusable 4.5L glass container, instead of individual 750ml wine bottles, where it will be dispensed and re-bottled using ecoSPIRITS’ SmartPour technology.

Designed specifically for wines, the ecoTOTE has a stainless-steel cap liner to comply with wine contact material standards and a tinted internal glass vessel to ensure ultraviolet protection for wines during transport and storage.

Once emptied, ecoTOTES will be returned to the ecoPLANT, where they are sanitised and refilled, in line with bottling standards of leading organic and biodynamic wine certifications.

Taking sustainable packaging and supply chain management to new heights, this partnership is one element of Accolade’s broader global sustainability strategy ‘Making Every Drop Count’.

The company has already achieved positive sustainable milestones across the business including carbon neutrality in its European operations, 98 per cent recyclable packaging across Australia and Europe, and 98 per cent landfill avoidance in Australian vineyards.

As part of the partnership, ecoSPIRITS and Accolade will also collaborate on a study of the lifecycle reduction in single waste and carbon footprint associated with closed loop distribution of the Banrock Station wines.

Accolade Wines is determined to do more, with the ambition to make the wine industry more sustainable.

Its A/NZ managing director Andrew Clarke said, “We are thrilled to partner with ecoSPIRITS and bring this game changing, world-first sustainable offering to the wine industry. We know that consumers are increasingly conscious of the impact their choices are having on the environment. The new Banrock Station ecoTOTE will provide that environmentally friendly choice alongside a cost advantage. It’s a win-win for everyone.

“This strategic partnership is part of Accolade’s global sustainability journey. We are intent on continually innovating our entire supply chain to provide our customers with leading sustainable offerings. We look forward to seeing the roll out of the Banrock Station ecoTOTE in venues around Sydney in the coming months, with the desire to extend nationally, and across other leading Accolade brands, in the future.”

ecoSPIRITS CEO Paul Gabie said the development of its circular wine packaging technology has been one of the most exciting projects in the company’s history.

“Our solution blends extraordinary quality, reliable preservation and transformative cost and carbon footprint reduction – and leverages the ecoSPIRITS global network of closed loop service,” he said.

“As one of the biggest and most innovative wine companies in the world, Accolade Wines was an obvious partner to work with on this launch. Their commitment to sustainability in packaging – and beyond – is genuine and of global impact. We can’t wait to see the uptake of this world-first in wine around Australia and globally.”