Waitrose Media Centre

Aug 28, 2023

Waitrose trials removing wine bottle neck sleeves

Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to test selling wine bottles without the familiar plastic and foil sleeves around the neck of wine bottles. The change will put an end to the need to cut and tear off this packaging, an act which wine drinkers are used to performing as part of the ritual of opening a bottle of wine.

The removal of sleeves, which form no functional purpose, is being trialled on Waitrose's own brand Loved & Found wine range of lesser known grape varieties and wine regions. Initially four bottles will be sold without neck sleeves, which are officially known as ‘capsules’, and by the end of the year the packaging will be removed from the full range of ten Loved & Found wines as part of Waitrose's plans to reduce unnecessary packaging.

Barry Dick, MW and Beer, Wine and Spirit Sourcing Manager for Waitrose said; "Bottle neck sleeves were introduced many years ago to prevent pests such as moths and weevils from ruining wines kept in dark, damp cellars. The caterpillars of this moth species would bore into the wine corks, causing the wine to leak, or taste musty. Nowadays few people have wine cellars and those who do tend to keep them in much better conditions. This has meant that the sleeves have remained for purely aesthetic reasons and are no longer needed to protect wine.

"The quality of corks used by the wine industry has also been dramatically improved. The bottles in our trial will be corked with a new FSC cork which has been extensively tried and tested for its ability to resist being contaminated with TCA, which makes corks smell and taste mouldy and ruins wine. TCA is the reason why cork fell out of favour, but cork has great sustainability credentials which is why it's making a comeback.

"The bottles look quite different as the neck appears naked, so it will be interesting to see how our customers react to us removing these familiar sleeves. I for one am looking forward to not having to wrestle with the packaging."

Waitrose estimates that removing the capsules on its range of ten Loved and Found wines alone will save half a tonne of unnecessary packaging per year.

The first four Loved & Found new Waitrose wines to be sold in the sleeveless bottles from 24 April are:

Trincadeira - Alentejo - Portugal - 2021 vintage - £8.99

Zibbibo - Sicily - 2022 vintage - £8.99

Mascalese - Sicily 2022 vintage - £8.99

Lacrima, Marche Italy - 2021 vintage - £8.99

In another sustainability move, this year Waitrose converted as many of their small wine bottles as possible to cans, halving the carbon footprint per drink.

For more information please contact [email protected]

About the John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands - John Lewis and Waitrose. Started as a radical experiment over a century ago, the Partnership is now the largest employee-owned business in the UK, with over 74,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. The Partnership is purpose-driven, existing to create a fairer and more sustainable future for our Partners, customers, suppliers and communities. Our Purpose not only inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide to be a force for good, it steers us to do things differently and better - all in service of creating a happier world for everyone and everything we touch.

Waitrose

Waitrose & Partners has 331 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 59 convenience branches, 27 shops at Welcome Break locations, and Waitrose.com - its fast-growing online shopping business, consistently rated highly by independent research. The retailer combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop - dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. As part of an employee-owned business, all Partners have a say in how the business is run.