Direct-to-consumer wine sales are growing faster than grapevines. Wines & Vines cited 10 percent annual growth in direct-to-consumer shipments in July 2012, and $1.36 billion in sales. According to VinQuest, 62 percent of U.S. wineries projected consumer direct as their fastest-growing sales channel in 2011.

After all, when you order winery-direct, the world is your vineyard. Wine lovers who have grown fond of a particular wine they sampled at a tasting event or who have joined the swelling ranks of wine clubbers can enjoy wines from exotic, faraway lands; try unusual varietals or harvest years they can’t find at the local grocer; and enjoy the convenience of having a dozen new wines arrive at their doorsteps with a click of the mouse.

Can’t Judge a Wine by Its Label? By Its Packaging?

Winemakers know well that consumers judge wine by their labels. In this age of direct-order, the wine bottle’s packaging has emerged as an extension of the label.

Happily for the ecoconscious, Grafcor Packaging, Rockford, Ill., partnered with UFP Technologies, Georgetown, Mass., to develop a unique, 12-bottle, postconsumer fiber molded wine packaging system called Bottoms Up™ that allows wine lovers to enjoy their libations without feeling eco-guilty about the packaging. Not only is the packaging (patent applied for) designed to orient the wine bottle “cork-side down” to prevent the corks from drying, shrinking, and inhaling oxygen, it is environmentally friendly.

The marriage of the molded pulp trays and the horizontal corrugation partition results in the cushioning and strength required to ensure the wine survives the rigors of the entire distribution cycle.

The molded-fiber cushioning portion is made from 100 percent postconsumer recycled newspaper pulp. Both the cushioning and the corrugated partitions are 100 percent recyclable, accepted in most municipal curbside programs, and are biodegradable.

The innovation netted a prestigious packaging award, the AmeriStar, in the beverage category last May. Even more significant, Bottoms Up has passed UPS, FedEx, and ISTA 3A testing protocol for its protective capacity.

Photos courtesy of Grafcor Packaging Inc., Rockford, Ill.