At an event recently I met a great guy who created Garbage for Lent! This year, for the first time, he has signed on several churches to participate in giving up garbage for 40 days! Wow!
What is Lent? Well! According to Wikipedia:
Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, “fortieth”[1]) is the Christian observance of the liturgical season from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Lent is a time for sacrifice for Christians. You must sacrfice something dear to you, and some believe you may take pleasure in it on Sunday, however most believe that you cannot for the entire forty days. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence…
There are so many traditions in the world and I think they all have a message of compassion. I think it’s great when we can use that compassion to extend to the Earth as well!
Bookmarks made from book spines.
Photoalbum made from a LIFE book
A sketchbook made from a history book
About a week ago I posted about ThinkWines – wine transported in aluminum bottles. One comment had a great question about wine quality and flavor in the aluminum. I contacted Think Wines directly and just received a response today. The original post is here. See the response below!!!!
Hi [SuperForesters],
Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself as the Business Development Manager for Think Wines. Based in The Netherlands, I manage the development, co-ordination and execution of marketing initiatives to increase the awareness, image and profile of Think Wines.
I’m thrilled you’ve come across our wine bottles and asking all the tricky questions. Do you all live in Minnesota?? Recently in June, I travelled to Minnesota and Wisconsin for the launch of Think Wines. Choosing to stay in Saint Paul for 5 days, I met various restaurants / wine shops in the area. Many retailers welcomed our concept and in turn, chose to expand their wine portfolio to include Think White, Think Pink and Think Red. After considering the current financial climate, I was absolutely astonished and delighted by the response. Think Wines are now launching into Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Hawaii – it’s very exciting times for us.
Think Wines Ltd is an alternative packaging company. We’ve been in operation for several years, as the first wine producer in the world to use Aluminum packaging for wines. Identified within Europe as a leader in alternative packaging, we’ve moved beyond “recyclable” in every part of the production, conception and delivery.
Proving that a blend of quality, design and eco friendly approach can make a difference in the wine market, Think Wines successfully export into Eastern and Western Europe, Angola, Bahrain and several monopoly markets within Canada and Scandinavia. Our global success is a splendid testament of the quality of wine within our cutting edge aluminium bottle. We set ourselves the challenge of developing a lifestyle product for youthful, fun loving consumers without compromising the quality of wines and at the same time, making sure we’re contributing to the conservation of our environment.
It’s far to say, the wine industry is perhaps the most vulnerable of any beverage or food producer to ‘carbon criticism’, due to its historical reliance of heavy weight glass packaging and failure to migrate to more environmentally packages. But as our climate is changing, the wine business within North America is starting to address its own environment impact, and in turn, face a larger challenge – the “perceived perceptions of wine quality” for alternative packaging.
Implementing change to a traditional-minded industry (especially wine buyers within retail) is our major challenge as a alternative packaging company. But when you consider the evolution of screw caps, as they are now mainstream within the wine market (in many cases, they are actually welcomed in today’s drinking culture), embracing this next phase of packaging innovation is really a logical step – especially once retailers and consumers equate all the benefits.
Aluminum is now the host to numerous ‘pioneering’ companies. In a packaging revolution for all beverage lines, beer brands like Heineken, Bud Light, Budweiser, Miller are all using Aluminum bottles, Coca-Cola under the Powerade brand, Snapple, Danzka Vodka and also the patented ‘wine in a can’ from Barokes, Australia. Consumers also have a choice of vitamin enhanced water in 16-oz Alumi-Tek aluminum bottles from Ball Corp and several relaxation drinks ViB, produced by Exal Corporation.
Think Wines 100% recyclable bottles are internally lined with an FDA approved food grade coating (environmental friendly) and are shatter proof. Recycling one Think Wine aluminum bottle can save enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours. The bottle cools 5 times faster than glass with the added benefit of being significantly lighter than conventional bottles. The bottle also protects the wine against UV damage. When transported, the carbon footprint is cut by more than 30 percent. The aluminium bottle is also an ideal alternative for outdoor activities such as BBQ’s, camping, boating, pool or beachside– the list is endless.
At the forefront of some of the world’s most innovative and imaginative winemaking today, Think Wines is a collaborative venture with Adega Coop De Borba. Regarded as one of the most prestigious wineries in Portugal with superior bottling capabilities, much financial investment and research (from both parties) have improved the bottling lining for wine longevity. Similar to how beer is packaged; our wine is cold filled to ensure freshness and quality. The thick interior liners and insulating properties within the bottle protect the wine and do not impart any flavor to their contents.
Think Wines’ subtle, elegant and harmonious flavors are sourced from the Alentejo region, in South Eastern Portugal. The winemaking philosophy for Think Wines is to make a well balanced wine which allows regional and varietal expression, without excessive winemaker intervention. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to taste our wines as yet, but I’m hopeful you’ve enjoyed our light and fruity blends.
There is a vast amount of interpretation for the use of Tetra Paks, plastic (PET) bottles and bag in box options for wine packaging. While certain environmental benefits to each have been well documented, it’s also important that we consider the actual “drinking” experience. The recommended shelf life for Think Wine bottles is 2.5 years which is superior to PET, Tetra Paks and BiB options. During my research, I’ve never found an article stating PET can last longer than 12-18 months. Bag in Box is roughly 9 months whereas Tetra packs can have a number of different life spans, most falling into the one to two year time frame.
Our wines are also vegan friendly and oak free. Recently awarded in several prestigious national and international wine challenges, we are now looking forward to the upcoming 2009 harvest.
I am hopeful I’ve answered your questions about the use of our wine within aluminum bottles. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like any more information shelly@thinkwines.info or our website: http://www.thinkwines.info
I’d also recommend checking out these articles:
Alternative packaging: http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=55359
Will Aluminum bottles be the next packaging innovation? http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=37556
Aluminum Bottles are Successful: http://www.uwstout.edu/rs/2005/article6.pdf
Beyond bottle and box: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3488/is_5_86/ai_n13798973/?tag=content;col1
Quaffing the future: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7450195.stm
Kind regards,
Shelly Murphy
Great Information, Shelly! Thank you very much for stopping by and I hope we can find a way to connect Think Wines and SuperForest even more.
jaell