2. Why transport wines over long
distances?
Over two thirds of the wine produced in New Zealand is
destined for an overseas market. Contributing $1.21
billion to the nations exports.
Last year $284 million of which came from the UK, 18’325
km away. A long way to send 57.6 million litres of wine.
The points above help to sum up the importance of the
transportation of wine over long distances to the wine
industry.
3. History Of Wine Transport
As mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey ( 8th century B.C.) It is likely
that the first vessels for transportation of wines over long
distances (relative to the times anyway) would have been
made from animal skins, bladders or other such material.
These however would have been for small volumes only.
4. History Of Wine Transport
There are clay vessels such as the Qvevri that have been found around the
caucuses, dating back as far as 8000 B.C. However due to the larger size of
these vessels it is likely The first significant volumes of wine to actually be
transported over long distance would likely have been in an amphora
which could have been transported by land or sea.
The Phoenician coast is a site historically associated with the
transportation of wine in amphora, with records dating back to 3500 B.C.
It has been discovered in more recent years that parts of early china were
involved with winemaking and transporting wine in clay vessels similar to
the Amphora. Tests have identified the presence of fermented grapes in
these clay vessels dating back as far as 7000 B.C.
5. History Of Wine Transport
The use of wooden vessels for transporting wine is hard to date back
exactly, due to the perishable nature of wood. It is likely though to have
been the Mesopotamians transporting wine in palm wood barrels along
the Euphrates.
The Gauls then introduced the use of barrels for transporting wine to the
Romans at some point during the third century A.D.
6. History Of Wine Transport
The glass wine bottle did not come about until the 17th
century when the Romans discovered that burning coal
allowed them to achieve the temperatures required for
making glass.
To this day large volumes of wine are still being
transported over great distances in glass bottles.
7. Transporting Wine In Bottles
Handling glass bottles in any situation requires a great deal of care so transporting
thousands of bottles thousands of miles can be challenging.
Some measures which can be taken to reduce the chance of any breakages or spoilage can
be the use of appropriate packaging such as moulded fibre trays and temperature
controlled containers.
The transportation of wine in bottle both has its advantages and disadvantages. Some
advantages are that the wine is ready to hit the store shelves right away and it can
potentially be more flexible for order changes etc. Some of the disadvantages on the other
hand are that it is more expensive to ship bottles than bulk wine, as mentioned above
there is a greater risk of product loss due to bottles breaking etc and transporting bottles
has a larger carbon foot print than transporting in bulk.
Approximately 13’000 bottles can be transported in an average 20ft container compared
to the 30’000 potential bottles that can be transported in a Flexi container
8. Modern transport of wine
With the introduction of the shipping container and the
ISO standards sixty years the way in which wine is
transported over long distances has changed quite a lot.
As mentioned earlier transportation of bottles is still
common, however due to some of the disadvantages
pointed out some producers prefer the use of ISO tank
containers and flexi tanks.
9. ISO Tank Container
ISO stands for international standards organisation.
the organization promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and
commercial standards to ensure ease of trade etc
The ISO containers are calibrated set volumes, usually 24’000 litres, which
are able to be transported by road, rail or sea just like a shipping container.
Some of the advantages of transporting wine in an ISO container is that
greater volumes can be transported for less money and with less carbon
emissions compared to transporting in bottles. ISO containers are generally
insulated also which helps to maintain a cooler temperature internally.
Some of the disadvantages are that there is a greater risk of contamination
or spoilage due to faulty seals etc.
10. ISO Tank Container
Image sourced from:
http://bcagas.com/iso-tank/
Image sourced from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hilifta/7385191950/sizes/m/
11. Flexitank
A Flexitank it a giant multi layer plastic bladder which is goes inside a
standard shipping container and essentially fills the entire volume of the
container when full of wine.
The volumes can range between 16’000 and 24’000 litres, similar to that of
an ISO container.
Like the ISO container the Flexitank has its advantages with being more
economical and environmentally friendly. Like the similarities that they
share in advantages the Flexitank also shares the same disadvantages with
the ISO in that if there is a contamination or failure of the vessel the whole
batch of wine is affected. The Flexitanks also are disadvantaged by the fact
that, although relatively cheap, the “bladder” is not reusable.
13. Affects of transportation over long
distances on wine
• Heat damage:
On course to a wines final destination a wine may cross the equator or be subjected to
other hot climates If the vessel the wine is being transported in is not adequately
insulated or has no cooling unit the wine can over heat and leading to detrimental
effects such as developing “cooked” characteristics, dulling of fruit notes and flavours,
protein hazes and even corks being pushed out due to expansion on the bottle just to
name a few.
• Oxidation :
If a vessel such as an ISO tank container is not sealed properly or a cork is loosened by
heat as mentioned above the wine can become oxidised leading to undesirable
characters in the wine such as browning in whites, loss of aromas and flavour and even
the formation of acetic acid, acetaldehyde or ethyl acetate.
• “Travel shock”
Some people believe the constant movement and vibration of the wine during
transportation can affect the phenols, tannins and other compounds in the wine causing
it to lose intensity of flavours and aromas.
14. Reference
Donald A. Dibbern, Jr (2007 ). A Shock to the System. Retrieved 14/08/2013, from http://www.wineloverspage.com/dibbern/shock07.phtml - See
more at: http://reffor.us/index.php#sthash.ghdHqtI6.dpuf
New Zealand Wine. (2012). annual report 2012. Retrieved 02/08/2013, from
http://www.nzwine.com/assets/sm/upload/yw/gs/il/g9/nzw_annual_report_2012_web1.pdf - See more at:
http://reffor.us/index.php#sthash.gykdAVQl.dpuf
Qvevri (last modified on 16 August 2013 at 20:42) Retrieved 06/08/2013, From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qvevri
gregt (November 2, 2009). The History of Wine Part II - Wine storage - The early days. Retrieved 13/08/2013, from
http://www.snooth.com/articles/the-history-of-wine-part-ii-wine-storage-the-early-days/?viewall=1 - See more at:
http://reffor.us/index.php#sthash.xPhVeuXv.dpuf
Carlton, D. (2013). A History of Fine Wine Storage. Retrieved 02/08/2013, from http://www.finewineconcierge.com/a-history-of-fine-wine-storage -
See more at: http://reffor.us/index.php#sthash.3KCfB1d4.dpuf
Residential Shipping Container Primer (RSCP™). (2002-2013). History of ISO Shipping Containers. Retrieved 03/08/2013, from
http://www.residentialshippingcontainerprimer.com/ISO%20Intermodal%20Cargo%20Shipping%20Containers - See more at:
http://reffor.us/index.php#sthash.yreBZ3Ck.dpuf
JF Hillbrand Group. (2009 - 2010). Bulk Beverages Flexitank. Retrieved 23/7/2013, from
http://www.jfhillebrand.com/LogisticsServices/SitePages/Bulk.aspx
Geralyn G. Brostrom, Jack Brostrom (2009). The Business of Wine: An Encyclopaedia. USA: Greenwood publishing group
Butzke, C.E., Vogt, E.E., and Chacón-Rodríguez, L. 2012. Effects of heat exposure on wine quality during transport and storage. Journal of Wine
Research 23(1): 15-25.
Wakeland, W., Cholette, S., & Venkat, K. (2012). Food transportation issues and reducing carbon footprint. Retrieved 23/7/2013, from
http://www.cleanmetrics.com/pages/Ch9_0923.pdf
Becca (15/5/2012). Evidence for Damaging Effects of Heat Exposure on Wine During Transport and Storage and Recommendations for Protection.
Retrieved 23/7/2013, from http://www.academicwino.com/2012/05/evidence-for-damaging-effects-of-heat.html
Anthony L. Robinson, Martha Mueller, Hildegarde Heymann, Susan E. Ebeler, Paul K. Boss, Peter S. Solomon, Robert D. Trengove (2010). Effect of
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