As the wine industry reels following a string of economic setbacks, it has been hoping for a rebound. Conversations swirl around whether the sales decline is slowing or if a portfolio realignment to focus on premium wines could reposition the brand for success among consumers who are drinking less. Cure-alls for capturing the Gen Z and Millennial consumer abound, along with Instagrammable images of happy young women in hats. Technological innovation thrives, bringing solutions and automating processes from weeding to bottling and streamlining online direct-to-consumer sales.
Almost all the worries are real, and experimentation is essential. But, in the end, wine is a nuts and bolts business. Winery owners tally up the costs and the sales revenue at the end of the harvest season and set about readjusting as necessary. Lately, the costs have been outstripping the profits at a greater rate than ever. It’s why we see dead vines and bare earth where vineyards were thriving yesterday and long-time tasting rooms of successful wineries closing.
Wineries that are focused on the practicalities of growing, making and selling wine continue their search for ways to reduce costs without compromising quality. They are also holding their breath as they wait to see just how much tariffs will increase prices for imported glass bottles, cork, aluminum closures and French oak barrels. The question they’re asking is, “Where can we save money without sacrificing what matters?”
One increasingly strategic answer to cost-cutting is to buy used barrels that are already in the US.
“French oak is the gold standard in wine production,” says Luke Brewer, co-owner and general manager of Quality Wine Barrels, a leading supplier of refill-ready barrels for more than two decades. “Some cooperages ship ready-made barrels, while others ship oak staves and assemble barrels here. Either way, costs are climbing.”
A single new French oak barrel runs $1,000 or more. Brewer recently calculated the cost of shipping six of these barrels from California to Texas and found the price topped $8,000. In contrast, that same shipment of French oak barrels used for just one vintage would cost under $3,000, and shipping high-quality neutral red wine barrels instead would cost a third of that.
“That’s a $5,000‒$7,000 savings,” Brewer explains. “And that’s our premium barrel with the most oak life left. We source from top-tier wineries and sanitize, leak test and guarantee each barrel. Our solid guarantee reassures the first time buyer.”
It takes 80-120 years to grow an oak tree, and each yields only one and a half to two barrels. Reusing barrels saves thousands of trees and lowers CO₂ emissions generated from international shipping and cooperage processes.
It is estimated that if only 10% of American wineries bought 12 used barrels per year it would amount to taking 600 – 1,100 cars off the road for a whole year.
Switching to used barrels supports the environmental stewardship goals wineries are increasingly setting. It also meets the transparency expectations of the growing ranks of eco-conscious consumers.
Many wineries only think about used barrels and racks in the middle of the busy harvest season—typically because they suddenly discover they’ve underestimated the yield.
“Every year, for about two months during harvest, everyone is calling me in a panic,” laughs Brewer, “They may underestimate yield or unexpectedly source extra grapes. We often work through the night during harvest.”
Whatever the reason wineries need used barrels, Quality Wine Barrels' mission is simple: “To save you money and take the stress out of harvest season while giving great barrels a second life.”
That commitment keeps wineries coming back. "I’m extremely pleased,” says Weston McCoury, General Manager of Fiesta Winery. “We always get exactly what Luke promises and never have any issues. Quality takes real good care of us.”
With tariffs adding to economic pressures, wineries are reevaluating every budget item—from vines to oak. For many, switching to used barrels from Quality Wine Barrels isn’t just a smart option - it’s a cost-effective and sustainable business model.
INNOVATION - QUALITY - SERVICE
INNOVATION
At the core of Saverglass values is a passion for and a fundamental commitment to innovation that manifests itself in many areas such as
- Continually enriching its product offering by developing newer exclusive designs year after year
- Developing and enhancing technologies and manufacturing processes to enhance the quality and effectiveness of its manufacturing capacity
- Developing new decoration machines and processes, in order to multiply options available for bottle personalization and differentiation.
This drive towards constant innovation allows Saverglass to offer its sophisticated customers a range of increasingly varied glass design and bottle customization tools that they require in order to satisfy their acute need for original, sophisticated and differentiating glass packaging that best represents their brand image.
QUALITY
At Saverglass, quality is part of every step of glass manufacturing and delivery, from the design stage where customers requirements are carefully captured and validated, to manufacturing where automatic and human inspections are performed at all the critical stages materials selection, hot end, cold end and palletizing --, all the way to delivery to the customer site on time every time.
SAVERGLASS was the first French glassworks enterprise to obtain the ISO 9001 certification (AFAQ and Lloyd's Register) in 1993.
It is no hazard that Saverglass bottles are recognized around the world as the Cadillac of all bottles; the company reached this pinnacle through a constant and thorough attention to every part of its business.
SERVICE
Saverglass is dedicated to serving the assertive customer's needs all the way to product commercialization. As such we have expert resources standing ready to support the package development, from transfer of the initial brand image into a standard or custom glass bottle all the way to the specific decoration that will deliver the expected differentiation on store shelves. No matter how long and complex the road to the store is, an expert from Saverglass and likely more than one -- will accompany the customer along the way to ensure the glass solution is delivered to the customer's requirements.
Serving Several Premium Segments Around the World
Saverglass is proud to serve all the premium glass markets as indicated below with a strong emphasis on premium spirits and fine wines.
In the spirits segment, Saverglass is the leading provider of glass packaging for Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, Whisky, Brandy, Rum, Marc as well as Vodka, Aquavit, Gin, Grappa, Fruit spirits, Tequila, Limoncello, Pisco â¤| and fine spirits distilled in craft distilleries around the world !
From traditional wine producing regions in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany all the way to New World wines from California, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chilli, Argentina, you will find many of them in a Saverglass bottle, sometimes a very special bottle with embossing or screen-printing decoration that conveys the passion and quality of the wine to the consumer.
Saverglass also provides distinctive bottles for foodstuff packaging such as virgin olive oil, aromatic oils , fine vinegar, and other products all the way to Kombucha!
In addition, Saverglass provide premium packaging for alcohol-based and selective perfumes as well as for cosmetics products.
Saverglass uniquely offers a wide range of content size in order to suit varied packaging requirements in terms of capacity and weight:
- from 15 grams for small 7 ml flaconnage (perfume miniature)
- up to 5.5 kg for the 6 litre size capacity (Methuselah for Champagne)
Whatever the product or content and no matter its positioning, Saverglass can offer a quality, innovative and glass packaging that is guaranteed to convey the differentiation attached with the new or existing brand.
Title | Name | Phone | Extension | |
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West Coast Sales Manager | Slyvie Langlois | sls@saverglass.com | ||
West Coast Sales Manager | Petra Gillier | ptg@saverglass.com | ||
West Coast Sales Manager | Jyll Vidal | jev@saverglass.com | ||
West Coast Sales Manager | Benjamin Cuaresma | bcu@saverglass.com | ||
Pacific Northwest Sales Manager | Kelly Kerbs | kke@saverglass.com | ||
East Coast/Midwest Sales Manager | Jean-Charles Forster | jcf@saverglass.com | ||
Sales enquiries MidWest and East | Anna Cutri | aac@saverglass.com | 210-825-7117 |
Locations | Address | State | Country | Zip Code |
---|---|---|---|---|
Saverglass, Inc | 607 West Main Street, Suite 100, Louisville | KY | United States of America | 40202 |
Saverglass Inc | 2950 Cordelia Road, Fairfield | CA | United States of America | 94534 |