With the average festival goer generating a carbon footprint of 25kg of CO2, the equivalent of burning 13kg of coal, both visitors and festival organisers are seeking ways to reduce their impact on the planet.

Gone are the days of drinking warm wine from flimsy plastic cups and the demand has shifted towards quality craft brands that deliver on taste and help reduce our environmental impact.

For alt-format, Italian craft wine brand When in Rome, it’s part of their ongoing de-carbonising mission to reach as many consumers as possible with their range of premium canned, bag in box and paper bottle wines with packaging that produces up to 10 times less CO2 than a single-use glass wine bottle.

Their award-winning paper bottle wines have already made an appearance at Coldplay’s net zero concerts this year, with frontman Chris Martin spotted enjoying the wine on their Music of the Spheres tour; and the paper bottles were also served at this year’s Y Not? festival.

Rob Malin, When in Rome founder, said: “Our Italian wines are intended to be enjoyed all year round, but our wines really come into their own during the summer season, where we have a wine and a format for every occasion.

“We want to help the rest of the world enjoy wine like the Italians do, by producing premium, yet accessible wines packaged in more sustainable alternatives to single-use glass bottles.

“Our canned and paper bottle wines provide the perfect solution for festival organisers who have an obligation to reduce their climate impact. Not only do they produce less carbon, but they are also lighter to transport and without the risk of hazardous breakages.

“Italian wine has risen in popularity over the years, proved by the fact that for on trade, Italy was the top selling country by volume in 2021, and with Puglia’s wine makers now producing pale rosés that rival Provence, we think Italy will continue to be a dominant force in the wine industry.”

In April, When in Rome was recognised at the London Wine Competition, winning silver for their Primitivo wine and bronze for their Pecorino. They also won a silver award for their canned Pecorino at the International Canned Wine Competition.

Currently there are five wines in the brand’s canned range, including Primitivo, Rosato, Pinot Grigio and Pecorino, with their semi-sparkling wine, ‘Sekko’, launching in August.

“We are doing things differently and we’re proud of it,” added Rob.

“Given that 39% of the wine industry’s CO2 emissions stem from single-use glass bottles, we feel it’s our duty to lead the charge towards the decarbonisation of the wine industry and provide eco-conscious consumers with an alternative.
“We are responsibly delivering our product as transparently as possible – we’re the first wine brand in the UK to publish the climate footprint of each bottle, can and box on the packaging.”

When in Rome can be found in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, BA High Life Café, WHSmith from August 14th and independent stockists throughout the UK.

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