Champagne is bottled in heavy, solid bottles so that they will not burst from the pressure inside the bottle. A typical champagne bottles weighs in at around 900 grams, almost double a regular bottle. CIVC, the champagne producers’ association, has asked Mumm Champagne to trial a lighter bottle, weighing only 835 g, a reduction by a massive 55 g… The light weight bottles should make transports easier and cheaper (you can fit more bottles on a lorry if they weigh less). The trial has now been successfully concluded and Champ Light might now be adopted by more producers, according to a report in the Financial Times. However, Pommery/ Vranken already uses the lighter 835 g bottle and the empty Heidsieck bottle that we unfortunately had at home (unfortunately, since it was empty) was at 845 g, so it does not seem that much of a revolution. But according to Pommery there would be 3000 fewer trucks on the roads if everyone used the lighter bottle. Just think of what savings there would be with an aluminium bottle. www.ft.com
