By Ian Neubauer
US-based PET Engineering has announced the successful development of full-sized Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) wine bottles.
PET is a thermoplastic resin commonly used in food and beverage containers. It is strong, lightweight, easily recycled and, following additional treatment with solvents, a good barrier to alcohol. PET Engineering said the bottle had been perfected down to the smallest detail to transfer the same feeling of freshness and flavour associated with glass.
“The 0.75 litre bottle recalls the silhouette of a typical wine bottle: cylinder shape, pronounced shoulder, concave bottom. It is closed by an aluminum cap and a BVS finish totally similar to those now used for screw caps on glass bottle wine,” the company said.
“Thanks to design overcoming the psychological barrier of a different packaging, wine in PET succeeds to maintain the same characteristics of a traditional glass bottle with an adequate shelf-life, plus some additional features and a wider range of use—from traveling to air transport, export and outside living.”