Aeon to sell Beaujolais wine in PET bottles for Y980

Tuesday 10th November, 06:28 AM JST

TOKYO —

Supermarket chain operator Aeon Co said Monday it will sell Beaujolais Nouveau wines, set to be released nationwide on Nov 19 this year, in 750 milliliter plastic PET bottles for as little as 980 yen each at Jusco and other outlets to attract thrifty consumers. While the French red wine from the Beaujolais region generally retails for around 2,000 to 3,000 yen per bottle in Japan, Aeon said this will be the first time it has sold the product for under 1,000 yen.

Unlike wines that come in glass bottles, the plastic bottled ones are ‘‘light, ecological and low priced’’ and their appearance is almost indistinguishable from that of glass bottles at first glance, Aeon said in a news release. The company said it was able to cut distribution costs through weight savings attained by using plastic bottles instead of glass ones, and the lower weight also helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions as less fuel is needed for air shipment.

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Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

thomyorke at 01:41 PM JST - 10th November

Has anyone else noticed a huge influx of products in Japan recently that claim to be from France? Not saying that their is anything wrong with that, but apparantly Japanese will buy anything that they think is French.
tkoind2 at 01:42 PM JST - 10th November

realist. While I agree that the use of plastic as an ecological solution rings untrue, I equally believe denial of obvious evidence of global warming is equally naive and uninformed.

We do need solutions to our ecological problems. And we must try to stem the tide of global warming despite the flat earther's who deny it is happening. But putting already dull tasteless wine in plastic will not help anyone. You would be better off doing without this overhyped wine and making an ecological impact by boycotting the import of this wine and save the fuel and other carbon hits this annual craze or dreadful wine causes.
SebastianFlyte at 02:10 PM JST - 10th November

Beaujolais in a plastic mock Bordeaux (wrong region) wine bottle - AEON brings new meaning to the word PLONK.
JHansen at 03:06 PM JST - 10th November

Not too sure on this. Plastic may not be great for taste but Beaujolais is usually not that great to begin with. The cork issues, in several post, seem a bit off. Cork is usually produced from Cork "oaks" which are not cut down but have their bark removed. It grows back and the trees are huge and ancient. I have heard that because the drop in demand for real cork many of these big trees are being cut down to make way for more profitable land use.
lurker at 03:27 PM JST - 10th November

wow, this is perfect for the morning commute.
Yelnats at 04:05 PM JST - 10th November

PET provides very little protection against oxidation.

At least boxed wine uses a high barrier foil packging, which has higher protection.

Oxidation should only occur in bottles left open, or half drunk and not consumed for a long time. Therefore, finish it after you open it. Get some brie cheese in a plastic container wrapped in plastic (pura) foil and some crackers wrapped in a double wrap of plastic.
franz75 at 04:06 PM JST - 10th November

plastic against glass?

Hmmm, when glass was invented it left many amphora makers out of business!

After demos, anti-demos, riots and taxes on amphora stands, we finally used glass bottle.

As for making it cheaper, what about using tankers instead of individual bottle in containers? It could easily bottled in Japan.

After a distress, Greenpeace gonna have to deal with drunk penguins and pelicans.
nandakandamanda at 09:02 PM JST - 10th November

They will probably give away free plastic cups to drink it out of....
usaexpat at 12:03 AM JST - 11th November

Awsome, it's now more convenient for me to walk around drinking on the street. Seriously packaging wine in a PET bottle does take a little elegance out of the beverage don't you think?
cwhite at 12:33 AM JST - 11th November

bit pricy, they should sell for 200yen in 500ml bottles for the vending machines
Ke11iente at 06:31 AM JST - 11th November

You know what? I've never liked Beaujolais. I tried it when the nuveau became the "It" wine about 5 or 6 years ago. It tasted like vinegar then, and it hasn't gotten any better.
syrahnose at 03:22 PM JST - 11th November

Pet bottles have problems with oxidation and there are now scientific studies showing plastic taint and flavor 'scalping' when wine (a solvent) is in contact with plastic. More contentious is the possibility of endoctrine blockers leaching out into the wine's causeing breast and testicular cancer. It is logical that screw caps are employed in tandem with plastic bottles, as they are the most unecological closure available. Plastic is bad for wine, bad for the environment.
knews at 10:39 PM JST - 13th November

Maybe paper cartons would be better? Remember milk used to be in glass bottles...... Corks are disappearing too, it's all screwtops now. Evolution I suppose.
flatearther at 11:01 PM JST - 13th November

Plastic is not eco.
Any idiot who actually believes that plastic causes less environmental impact than glass deserves to drink this cheap swill.
Ayesha at 11:35 PM JST - 13th November

In France, quite a lot of "Vin de Table" is sold in PET bottles. If the wine is meant to be consumed quickly (and in this case it clearly is) no harm is done except to the environment. Maybe we should be buying water in glass botles too.