PET

Portavin is considered the leader in the development and implementation of PET technology in the Australian wine industry.  PET is an abbreviation for polyethylene terephthalate, a light weight plastic which is increasingly in demand from airlines. This is because they seek to improve safety and reduce the weight of wine served inflight, which in turn reduces their carbon footprint.

Portavin Melbourne undertook Australia’s first commercial bottling into PET in 2005, destined for Australia’s major airline as they were confident that Portavin satisfied the criteria to safely manage the transition away from glass.

At the same time, other airlines were looking at ways to save money and weight across their logistics chains.  Given the 187ml PET bottle weighs only 20% of equivalent glass, saving almost 3kg per case, the outcome was assured.

Another advantage is that the 187mL PET bottle is shatter-proof, making it a safer option to glass  in the single serve market.

PET is semi permeable to air, so when manufactured for wine includes the addition of an oxygen scavenger in the wall of the PET container. The oxygen scavenger protects the wine from oxidation by preventing ambient oxygen from reaching the wine. The scavenger also works to reduce the dissolved oxygen in wine, which helps to preserve the level of free SO2 in bottle.
 
Portavin commenced trial work to assess the shelf life of wine bottled into PET in December 2004. Data from the first trial showed that for wine filled into the PET container, the shelf life for the bottled product was 9 months if the bottle was manufactured with 2% oxygen scavenger very close to bottling date. Wine was good quality and no organoleptic preference was found for glass or PET. No taint in wine was reported for glass or PET. Wine in PET began to deteriorate rapidly at the expiry of the best - before date. 

The report of the trial was completed in April 2006 and has been made available to the industry at large by Portavin.  A copy of the trial is at http://www.portavin.com.au/Portavin-Site/Technical/

By 2011, Portavin had successfully bottled more than 21 million PET bottles of Australian wine.  The list of customers for PET is growing – both in terms of wineries and airlines using the technology.  Portavin has also filled a large order for a major European airline into 1L PET for pouring in economy. A 1L PET bottle represents an equivalent weight saving of 90% per equivalent glass 750ml unit.

New Technology:
Portavin has a dedicated Research and Business Development Team, committed to staying abreast of new and innovative technology within the wine, packaging, warehousing and distribution industries. This team is focused on best environmental practices along with new technology

Click on these links for more technical papers prepared or presented by Portavin.

March 2009
Study of Suitability of 187ml PET Bottles for Packaging Wine in Australia
by Ian Matthews & Caroline Vale
Click here to download complete PDF document - 19 pages - 188kb

May 2008 - Portavin Oenovations Seminar - Margaret River
Cheer Pack Presentation - by Neale Gillin & Terry Waterson
Click here to download Powerpoint Presentation - 773kb

April 2006 - Wine Industry Seminar - Margaret River
Wine Taints and Preperation - by Anthony Davis
Click here to download Powerpoint Presentation - 553kb