California’s Bronco Wine Company, the fourth larg- est US wine producer, is the first American winery to adopt the innovative twist-to-open Helix packaging solution, developed through a partnership between the world leaders of the cork and glass packaging industries - Amorim and O-I.
Bronco’s range of Red Truck wines will henceforth be sealed with Helix stoppers, that offer the full advantages of cork, including the hallmark “popping” sound, while dispensing with the need for a corkscrew.
Fred Franzia, Bronco’s CEO, says that he is delighted by this new development: “Wine consumers in America have a growing understanding of the role quality cork and quality wine play in delivering their wine in a sustainable but yet premium format. At Bronco, we have been doing exactly that for many years, but with Helix and Red Truck, the US market will now have access to all that plus the convenience of an easy-opening and easy-to-reclose bottle. We are proud at Bronco to be the first winery in America to deliver this incredible innovation”.
Helix is the fruit of a €5 million R&D investment, combining a glass bottle with an internal thread finish and an ergonomically-designed cork.
The Helix solution - hailed as one of the greatest wine packaging innovations of the twenty- first century - has so far garnered seven major international awards, including the “New Technology” prize in the Innovation Challenge Lucio Mastro- Berardino awards, in Milan, Packaging Oscars in Paris and Milan and Best Green Launch, in the 2015 Green Awards of the London magazine, Drinks Business.
Helix is available across 4 continents, with more than two dozen brands already using this revolutionary product – in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Austria and South Africa.
Antonio Amorim, the Chairman of Amorim Cork, reveals that it he is particularly expectant to see Helix launched in the US market – the world’s largest wine market: “Fred Franzia’s has been an innovator for decades now and Bronco’s leadership is again at display with Red Truck bringing to US consumer the most sustainable, technologically-advanced wine packaging innovation this side of the 21th Century. Knowing Fred’s unique understanding of consumers’ preferences, we are certain that other wines under Helix will ensue, enlarging Bronco’s offering of convenient yet 100% sustainable packaging.”
Andres Lopez, CEO of O-I echoed this sense of profound satisfaction: “Wine and quality packaging are intrinsically connected and, as world leaders in our respective fields, Amorim and O-I understand their roles in delivering what winemakers, wine retailers and wine consumers want. Helix and Red Truck bring to the US a user-friendly, natural and sustainable packaging materials solution that enables wine producers to meet consumer preferences across a broader range of price points.”