Ball to Showcase PET Plastic Wine Bottles at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium

Ball's PET wine bottles combine the premium look and feel of glass with the modern convenience of plastic.

Innovative packaging is playing an increasingly important role in the growing wine category as consumers seek greater convenience, variety or an easy way to try something new. Building on this need, Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) will present both its stock and custom PET wine bottles at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, Calif., January 24-26.

Designed using input from consumers, wineries, distributors and venue operators, Ball's PET wine bottles combine the premium look and feel of glass with the modern convenience of plastic. They are an ideal vehicle for brand owners who want to target usage occasions like travel and outdoor venues where glass is not allowed. Because the plastic bottles weigh less than glass bottles, there also is an opportunity for cost savings on freight and distribution.

"Sales of single-serve, 187 ml wine bottles grew nearly 20 percent last year," says Jerry Rosenow, national wine category manager for Ball. "The size is just right for today's growing portion of smaller households and consumers for whom a 750ml bottle is just too much for the occasion."

In addition to its stock containers, Ball designed a custom 187 ml PET wine bottle for Sutter Home Winery which preserves the look of the existing Sutter Home glass container. The winery launched four varieties in the PET 187 ml bottles into select markets last fall and continues to expand distribution.

"We already had a single serve size in our 187 ml glass bottles and believed that adding PET would only increase the level of convenience for consumers and expand our package mix in line with market demands," says Wendy Nyberg, senior director of marketing for Sutter Home. "We are very pleased with consumer acceptance so far. We see this as an opportunity to capitalize on our existing brand awareness and grow our market share as well."

Ball designed the Sutter Home bottles to run on the winery's existing glass lines in order to minimize the need for change parts and simplify filling. "The transition into PET has been very smooth overall," says Nyberg. "We have had great support from Ball throughout the development, testing and production process."

Ball will exhibit with PackagingARTS at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in booth #842 and will display its PET and aluminum wine packaging.

Ball Corporation is a supplier of metal and plastic packaging products, primarily for the beverage and food industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial markets. Ball Corporation employs more than 13,500 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion.

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