Light bottles cut Champagne costs

CHAMPAGNE bottles are to be made 65g lighter to save on transportation costs and carbon emissions, producers have announced.

Champagne industry trade body CIVC said the new bottles, which weigh in at 835g, had been tested for two years to make sure they did not explode.

The group says the lighter bottle will save 8,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year through reduced fuel consumption.

The industry wants to cut its carbon footprint by 25% in 10 years.

One producer, Vranken-Pommery, has been experimenting with the lighter bottles since 1994 and has been using them for all of its produce since 2002.

Champagne bottles are twice as heavy as an ordinary wine bottle to withstand the high pressure of 6kg per square centimetre. Producers say anything lighter than 835g would not work.

The move will bring some welcome cost savings to the industry in a difficult period. Champagne exports fell 28% last year.

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