Hey, I'm no hippy, but I do care about where I live. As a small wine label, we don't have a lot of choices about whether or not we don't something environmentally conscious. It's pretty much economic driven. It works both ways. For example, I can't afford a machine harvester. That means we pick using an environmentally sustainable practice whether we like it or not. The reverse is true in bottling. Cork is in decline in both quality and renewability. Plastic alternatives are made from petroleum. Screw tops require an expensive machine. However, I've seen a lot of buzz about simulating plastics via industrial hemp and also some more recent news about making "plastic" water bottles from canola oil. I've directly solicited a couple of companies about using hemp to make corks but I haven't gotten much response yet. So I cast this net into the internet river hoping someone with means to produce such an object will contact me. We're looking to use a plant product (canola or hemp-based, whatever) as an alternative to plastic or cork. I am willing to risk some wine to do trials. Email me if you can help. I'm also interested to hear from intelligent naysayers; post your comments if you think I'm crazy, but please include some reasoning. -Jon-


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