Our mission to do more for the environment while maintaining the luxuries of our lifestyles is no small feat. But the tastemakers of the luxury industry are beginning to really pull their weight (yes, intended), and this French house is no exception.
Champagne Telmont has just announced the launch of a pioneering experiment to reduce the weight of its glass bottles from 835g to 800g, while leaving its appearance and shape unchanged. This will help to reduce Telmont's overall carbon footprint, and if successful, will make its champagne bottles the lightest in the world.
Telmont will be collaborating with French glassmaker Verallia, which boasts 32 glass production facilities in 11 countries and claims to be the world’s third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products.
According to Telmont, the glass used for its bottles produces around 20% of its carbon emissions. Therefore, shaving weight off its bottles will reduce the demand for glass, which reduces the amount of CO2 needed in the melting and manufacturing of it. With less fuel thus being used for transport, both upstream and downstream, this awards them extra energy savings and environmental benefits.
Since a champagne bottle has to handle two times more pressure than a car tire (about 6kg per square centimetre), the project involves testing the new bottle to ensure the reduced weight can withstand this same pressure. This test phase involving a batch of 3,000 bottles has already begun at the Telmont estate, and will go on for a period of six months. Once the lighter bottles have successfully passed each step of the test—including ageing time in the cellar—can they be approved for sale.
If successful, the 800g bottles will be used for this year's batch of Telmont Réserve Brut, that will be released in 2025—an initiative that could potentially benefit the entire Champagne region to collectively reduce carbon footprint.
This marks the last in a series of initiatives taken by Champagne Telmont since June 2021 as part of its In the Name of Mother Nature project, which has garnered the support and investment from American actor and film producer Leonardo DiCaprio earlier this February.
Telmont Champagne retails online at Bottles & Bottles and the Atelier. Telmont Champagne’s range is also available at select venues in Singapore, including 28 HongKong Street, Analogue, Artemis, ATLAS, Burger & Lobster Raffles, Offtrack, Restaurant JAG, Smoke & Mirrors, and Tippling Club with exclusive cocktails and seasonal promotions.
