The British glass packaging manufacturer Croxsons has developed a bottle for sparkling wine produced entirely in the UK for the first time. With the new sparkling wine bottle, the company aims to strengthen the growing English and Welsh wine industry and reduce dependency on imported glass packaging.
Croxsons, a family-run company specialising in glass packaging for the food and beverage sector for around 150 years, has unveiled the „Sovereign“ bottle, which it claims is the first British-made sparkling wine bottle. The aim of the development is to map the chain of origin of English and Welsh sparkling wine from the vineyard to the packaging completely domestically.
Until now, winegrowers in England and Wales have had to rely on imported bottles of sparkling wine, most of which come from France, Germany or Italy. In view of the strong growth in the industry, local glass production should provide an alternative. According to WineGB, the English and Welsh wine industry now has over 1,000 vineyards and is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the country. The market volume is estimated to be worth around £422 million by 2025.
Sales of sparkling wine have increased significantly in recent years. According to WineGB, sales rose from 2.2 million to 6.2 million bottles between 2018 and 2023. Croxsons sees this as an appropriate time to relocate the production of sparkling wine bottles to the UK for the first time.
Production in Chester and new glass design
The „Sovereign“ bottle is to be produced in Chester, England, from March 2025. Unlike the green champagne bottles commonly used in Europe, it will be made from amber-coloured glass. According to the company, this is intended both to visually differentiate the bottle on the shelf and to emphasise its clear British origin.
According to the company, the bottle is made from 77 per cent recycled glass. Local production is also intended to shorten transport routes and thus reduce CO₂ emissions, as the previously necessary import of large quantities of glass packaging is no longer necessary.
The company also refers to its own history as an early supplier to the London wine trade and sees the new bottle as a logical development of this tradition.
Source: Croxsons
