New wine combines organically grown grapes with green packaging

Organically grown grapes and the ultimate in green packaging have been combined in the development of CalNaturale, the newest product being introduced by cutting-edge manufacturer, California Natural Products (CNP) of Lathrop, CA. The company will bring CalNaturale Cabernet Sauvignon – a premium wine made with grapes grown organically in the Paso Robles Appellation and packaged in a flexible carton – to the marketplace in late summer 2009. CalNaturale becomes part of the organic wine category which saw an increase of 30% in 2008. CalNaturale will be sold in 500 ml and one liter prisma Tetra Pak cartons, offering two environmentally friendly choices to the consumer. While the liter prisma Tetra Pak is 19% lighter with 33% more wine than the traditional 750 ml glass bottle, the production and handling of the flexible packaging consumes less than half of the greenhouse gases, waste and energy than glass. In addition to producing a small carbon footprint, 70% of the packaging used with the product comes from renewable resources. These sustainability benefits have played a key role in the expansion of the number of wines now being sold in Tetra Pak flexible packaging, which grew 49% in 2008.

The Tetra Pak carton is lightweight, unbreakable and requires no special tools to open. The consumer will also find it portable, convenient and completely re-sealable. At the store level, case packs for CalNaturale will be smaller and lighter, requiring less energy to move and less space to stack than traditionally packaged wines. The CalNaturale 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is the first and only California wine packaged in a Tetra Pak carton from organically grown grapes certified by CCOF.