"Consumers seemed interested in the fact that we were using a screw-cap. We then educated them and let them know that aluminum closures can also be associated with higher-end wines. We choose STELVIN® to preserve the freshness and consistency with our wine and it always delivered what we required from a quality stand point."

-Emma Garner | Winemaker at Thirty Bench Wine Makers, in Canada.

Imagine that you are about to purchase a case of very fine wine from Burgundy to add to your growing wine cellar. Since your prize had to travel far to reach you and passed through many hands, also imagine that you possess a foolproof method of verifying the authenticity of its contents without engaging the services of an expert.

Such security is as close as your smart phone, thanks to an exciting partnership between AMCOR Flexibles, a global leader in providing worldwide packaging solutions, and Selinko, one of the industry’s leading developers of anti-counterfeiting, traceability and consumer engagement services.

The innovation is known as InTact, the name for a line of capsules containing NFC (Near Field Communication) tag that is capable of transmitting data about whether a bottle has been previously opened and resealed, as well as a host of other information about the beverage and its producer.

According to AMCOR Communication Manager, Lucie Neubauerova, InTact is an important breakthrough for wineries and distilleries subject to counterfeiting and ‘gray market’ practices around the globe.

“This is a major benefit for wineries and distilleries that are exporting products to markets susceptible to counterfeiting and gray market diversion,” reports Neubauerova. “Especially in China, where it is a huge problem, consumers are demanding the technology to protect the authenticity of their purchases.”

InTact works through a NFC chip installed within the capsule that interacts with an Android smart phone held near the neck of the bottle. One of the antennas in the chip will report whether the bottle has been tampered with. The other, once the bottle has been purchased and opened, can engage the consumer with personalized marketing messages designed to promote a closer association with the brand.

“It’s an exciting way to connect the consumer and the bottle,” confirms Neubauerova. “All objects are moving to the Internet of things. Wine and spirits are real products. We are protecting their authenticity and creating new relationships at the same time.”

AMCOR Flexibles and Selinko will be showcasing the InTact capsules at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento on January 25 and 26 in Sacramento at booth # 1710. For more information go to amcor.com

Ten years ago, Amcor Flexibles Capsules revolutionized the wine industry with a patented design for a premium wine aluminium closure solution offering convenience, elegance and style.

Today, consumers, winemakers and marketers all over the globe are enthusiastically embracing what the STELVIN®LUX brings to the table in terms of a high-quality, repeatable opening that has elevated the consumer experience with wine.

“The STELVIN®LUX is a perfect match of premiumization and convenience,” notes Amcor Flexibles Capsules Communication Manager,, Lucie Neubauerova. “There are more and more markets around the world where aluminium closures (screwcaps) have overtaken cork to become the most common type of wine closure. Those markets are swiftly adopting STELVIN®LUX, the premium version of the original wine aluminium closure, STELVIN® ”

It’s no wonder that such groundbreaking technology has caught on.

Amcor’s STELVIN®LUX incorporates a plastic insert that creates a completely smooth exterior and glass finish, allowing for infinite design possibilities. In addition, the aluminium closure is a sustainable solution – it prevents wine spoilage and is recyclable.

Most importantly, the STELVIN®LUX is available with two different liners, enabling winemakers to control the levels of oxygen in the wine, mimicking the function of cork with none of the drawbacks.

“The STELVIN®LUX keeps the flavors and aromas in the bottle just as the winemaker intended them to be,” confirms Neubauerova.

Neubauerova emphasizes that Amcor Flexibles Capsules prides itself on guaranteed technical support for any bottling line equipment that needs to be adapted to the STELVIN®LUX.

“We are there to accompany winemakers who want to make the switch to STELVIN®LUX,” Neubauerova affirms. “Our technicians will be onsite for the first bottling. We will assist with the capping equipment and train staff so bottling can proceed smoothly, without interruption.”

Neubauerova points out that brands from all over North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand have eagerly incorporated the STELVIN®LUX closures into their portfolios, especially as millennial consumers continue to express their preferences for luxury wines with easy accessibility.

“In the Old World too, in Germany, in Italy, and France, winemakers are embracing the STELVIN®LUX for superior wines,” reports Neubauerova. “We know from our data that this type of closure is destined to grow rapidly as the high-quality, convenience trend continues.”

For more information, contact our office at (707) 257-6481 or email info.capsules@amcor.com.

About Amcor Capsules

Amcor Capsules is a market leader specializing in the design and manufacture of overcaps and closures for wine, sparkling wine and spirits. Amcor Capsules has plants in France, Canada, USA and Chile.

Key winemakers have endorsed Amcor’s portfolio of STELVIN® closures, advocating the superior quality, technical performance and design flexibility of the products. Testimonials from prominent global vintners in both Europe and the US highlight the closures’ numerous benefits and their ability to maintain the purity and consistency of bottled wines.  

STELVIN® is a closure system specifically designed for wine, combining an aluminum closure, a specific BVS bottle neck finish, and a range of specific liners and closure conditions. 

Benefits of STELVIN® aluminium closures

• Preserve the wine’s aromas and freshness
• Regular aging from one bottle to another
• No cork taint
• Offer many decoration options
• Easy to open, close, reopen, store and transport
• Easy to recycle

The STELVIN® logo present on each closure guarantees the STELVIN® quality.

Contact us for more information and testimonials. 

Technology used to engrave aluminium STELVIN® closures with high quality, precision artwork is transforming brands and attracting consumer attention. 

Now, wine companies in North America can customise their closures with laser-engraving thanks to a partnership between global packaging leader Amcor – the manufacturer of Stelvin closures – and VinPerfect, a specialist closures company based in Napa, California, who developed the technology.

“Customers can further customise their products with high-quality laser engraving that really makes their bottles stand out on the shelf,” said Frederic Catteau, Regional Director of Amcor Capsules, North America. 

“This decoration option is very attractive for customers of all sizes because there is no tooling set-up cost and lead times are short,” said Catteau.

Customers can request customised laser engraving on orders as low as 1,350 closures, which is a unique offering in the closures industry. 

The engraving, which can be as small as fifty microns, delivers extremely detailed artwork on the closure top and is available on standard and custom-decorated Stelvin closures.

Amcor bought the laser engraving decoration technology from VinPerfect and has installed it at the company’s site in American Canyon, California. 

"We pride ourselves from our vineyards to the winery, to the wines we put in the bottle. We want to over deliver on the bottle the consumer takes home.

By using the STELVIN®LUX on all our 11 McManis wines, we are achieving that!"

Amcor Flexibles is proud to be the recipient of three coveted Alufoil Trophy 2015 awards organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).

Demonstrating Amcor’s ability to offer the highest quality in innovative and creative packaging solutions, Amcor Flexibles is proud to be the recipient of three coveted Alufoil Trophy 2015 awards organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).

In the category of Product Preservation, Amcor Flexibles, together with its partner Sandoz International, was awarded an Alufoil Trophy for AirFluSal® Forspiro® , a new respiratory inhaler for people suffering with asthma/COPD.

Amcor Flexibles was asked to design a blister strip to ensure a longer shelf life of the powder in the AirFluSal® Forspiro®inhaler. The strip protects the inhalation powder from moisture ingress and also improves performance during transportation and release of the powder from the cavity. By removing the aluminium blister strip at the end of the day in the feedback window, the patient can check whether the prescribed number of inhalations has been taken.

Head of the judging panel, Jean-Paul Duquet, Global Packaging Eco Design Manager of Bel Group, explained what impressed them, “This is a complex device and all the components had to be carefully combined to achieve the required performance. It is clear that the protection of the active ingredient – a hygroscopic powder – is entirely due to the innovative use of the aluminium foil in the blister strip.” “The powder is readied for release when the lid foil is pierced and upon inhalation the airflow transports the powder out of the cavity through the holes,” he added.

Andrea Della Torre, R&D Pharma Director at Amcor Flexibles Europe and Americas commented, “We are particularly proud to have won this award for our blister packaging with our partner Sandoz. It emphasizes how an early and close collaboration in the packaging development process contributes to launching an innovative product for patients.”

By using a novel seal layer between its Formpack® base and blister lid foil, Amcor has been able to reduce the potential for moisture ingress via cross diffusion by 50%. Amcor Flexibles was also awarded an Alufoil Trophy 2015 for Technical Innovation for STELVIN® Inside, a new range of aluminium wine closures and liners that can double wine maker’s Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) choices.

Each of the four new liners has a different OTR target which, through technical developments in combination with other materials that make up the liner, ensures a controlled level of oxygen dispersion allowing wine makers and consumers’ consistency from one bottle to the next.

Liners are highly complex and play a pivotal role in aluminium closures for wine. They guarantee absence of cork taint, consistency from one bottle to another, preservation of aromas, flavours and freshness and controlled OTR which is critical to the wine ageing process. 

Explaining the judges’ decision, the head judge said, “A great deal of research and development has gone into the making of these closures. The absence of tin in any of the liner formulations means there are no issues about stability or recyclability. Further, they take aluminium closures into new segments of the wine market, such as aging red wines, which can only add to their popularity in the marketplace.” 

Nicolas Freynet, General Manager of Amcor Flexibles Capsules, on accepting the award commented, “Amcor Flexibles Capsules is delighted that STELVIN® Inside has been recognised by the Alufoil Trophy 2015 jury and has won such a prestigious award for Technical Innovation. It demonstrates our ability, as the pioneer of STELVIN® aluminium closures, to continue to bring breakthrough innovations to the market, which offer new benefits that help winemakers craft and perfect their wines.”

All of the films used in the liners are produced by Amcor and are PVDC-Free. Two of the four new liners also contain layers of aluminium foil. OTRs are offered between 1 O² and 7 O². In the category of “Resource Efficiency”, Amcor Flexibles was awarded an Alufoil Trophy for Canseal Pro, a direct-seal aluminium membrane for can ends. The membrane reduces total packaging material and cost, since it is directly sealed onto a can so no additional metal ring is needed. Canseal Pro offers a safe and convenient closure, with excellent seal integrity, outstanding barrier properties, easy peelability and highly efficient processability.

Thanks to the excellent barrier properties offered by aluminium foil, Canseal Pro is currently being used for dry products that do not need heat processing after filling, as well as for other products such as condensed milk.

“This is an excellent solution in a high volume packaging product, which can have a substantial impact on the amount of material used, as well as performing well across other functions,” said JeanPaul Duquet, who headed the panel of judges which chose the winning entries. “We viewed it as a potential ‘game changer’ for this type of can product, as sealing times could be reduced and better line speeds achieved, offering resource efficiencies in these areas too,” he added.

The coextruded sealing structure of Canseal Pro is made especially for a newly developed direct sealing technology, based on inductive heating of the can body. The composition of Amcor’s polymer coating on the aluminium foil enables this kind of sealing process with reliable seal integrity. For a typical 73 mm diameter can, 1,000 conventional steel EOE lids weigh around eight times more than the equivalent Canseal Pro lids. 

“We are delighted to receive this trophy as recognition of our continuous focus to improve convenience and reduce the total packaging cost of our customers' products. Canseal Pro is another success story resulting from our strong cooperation with machine manufacturers and customers. Together with Alufix®, our range of easy-open aluminium membranes for cans,Canseal Pro further strengthens our offering in this market,” explained Sven Bauer, Product Development Engineer at Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas.

Amcor Capsules and Scott Laboratories strengthen their partnership with a long-term contract for distributing tin capsules in North America and STELVIN® screwcaps on the West Coast  

[Zurich, Switzerland, 11 March 2024] Amcor Capsules and Scott Laboratories proudly announce the extension of their successful collaboration. The renewal of their comprehensive, long-term contract solidifies the distributorship of premium tin capsules for wine in North America and STELVIN® screwcaps on the West Coast. 

Amcor Capsules is a global leader in developing and producing responsible capsules and closures for wine and spirits, and Scott Laboratories is the leading supplier for the North American wine and specialty beverage industry. This extension marks a commitment to a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship, fostering growth and innovation in the wine packaging industry. 

“We are excited to share the news of our strengthened collaboration with Scott Laboratories. This partnership strongly aligns with our shared values and dedication to customer satisfaction. Teaming up with such a respected organization, in line with our sustainability goals, highlights our commitment to industry excellence. Together, we’re ready to make a positive impact while keeping exceptional customer care front and center.” Commented Jonathan Bellerose, Sales Manager at Amcor Capsules. 

Both companies share a commitment to sustainability and are aligned in their dedication to ecologically conscious practices. In 2023, Scott Laboratories became a Certified B Corporation™, proving their commitment to people, planet, and community. As part of this certification, they now offset 100% of their headquarters’ power usage with solar and locally generated clean power and use less than 28% of the average residential water consumption in the Sonoma water district. Notably, this move towards renewable energy complements Amcor Capsules’ introduction of a greener version of its STELVIN® screwcaps, with 35%¹ less carbon emissions. 

“We’re thrilled to partner with Amcor, sharing a commitment to providing a sustainable packaging solution. Through collaboration with Amcor, we aim to enhance our sustainability efforts and continue delivering exceptional value to our customers while maintaining our dedication to customer service.” Commented Chris Holman, General Manager of Cork & Packaging at Scott Laboratories. 

About Amcor Capsules

Amcor Capsules is a market leader specializing in the design and manufacture of capsules and closures for wine, sparkling wine, and spirits. Amcor Capsules has plants in France, Canada, the USA, and Chile.  

Amcor Capsules |STELVIN® LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook 

About Amcor

Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home, personal care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands and improve value chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly lighter weight, recyclable and reusable, and made using an increasing amount of recycled content. In fiscal year 2023, 41,000 Amcor people generated $14.7 billion in annual sales from operations that span 218 locations in 41 countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC  

www.amcor.com | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube 

About Scott Laboratories

For over 80 years, Scott Laboratories has been the leading supplier for the North American wine and specialty beverage industry, providing fermentation products, filtration media, equipment, cork and packaging solutions. Scott Laboratories has been embedded in the wine community since 1933 where their story starts at the University of California, just days prior to the end of Prohibition. Scott Laboratories’ vision is to provide the best customer experience to the specialty beverage community. Their mission is to advance the long-term success of the specialty beverage community by providing best-in-class products and services. They believe in education, honesty, and doing the right thing.  

Average aluminium closure recycling rate in Europe hits 45 per cent.

- Even though small in size, aluminium closures are widely collected and recycled – either separately with other packaging or together with glass bottles.

- Recycling of aluminium needs up to 95% less energy than its primary production.

Düsseldorf, October  2014. Due to improved collection and recycling in various European countries the average aluminium closures recycling rate is now at 45 per cent. Aluminium recycling  saves  up  to  95%  energy  use  compared to its primary production, with  the corresponding  savings in greenhouse gas emissions. It can be recycled over and over without any loss of quality.

Aluminium closures are mainly used for wine, spirits, water and olive oil. The advantage of aluminium closures is that they can be collected either together with the mixed packaging fraction or along with the glass collection stream. The aluminium is easily extracted from both material streams so that it can be recycled.

Click here to read more!

‘’Our confidence in the quality and consistency of STELVIN® closures allows Heron Hill to focus on creating world class wines with Finger Lakes heritage for over 40 years. It’s really being embraced by our consumers at all our price points, up to our super-premium wines." | #DareSTELVIN - Eric Frarey, winemaker at Heron Hill Winery, USA.

Journalists, public figures, clients, distributors and our people came together to celebrate this important milestone.Since its opening in 1963, Chalon has been at the heart of manufacturing our screwcaps for wine and spirits, and it was the birthplace of the emblematic STELVIN® brand. Today, 200 people work at the site, producing over 2 million closures daily.

Thank you to all the clients who have trusted us on this amazing journey, and to all the teams over the years who have made this plant a central actor within the Amcor Capsules business.

Amcor is proud to have contributed to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment Progress Report, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which was published yesterday.

Amcor has been a signatory of the Global Commitment since 2018. These progress disclosures support increased transparency and enable better, evidence-based solutions to address plastic waste. Our roadmap to transitioning all of our plastic packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025 is well established and this report confirms our progress towards achieving that goal.

As the report shows, we used 41% more post-consumer recycled (PCR) content over the last year while 79% of our plastic packaging is now designed for recyclability. This puts us on track to meet also our 2025 target of using more recycled content in our products.

Using the Global Commitment’s criteria for recyclability, 47% of our packaging is badged as ‘recyclable in practice and at scale’. The framework used by the Global Commitment demands we count towards that figure only packaging for which a 30% recycling/composting rate is achieved across multiple regions, collectively representing at least 400 million inhabitants.

Driving that large-scale recyclability requires greater investment in waste management, which will ensure that industry innovation to improve recyclability is not held back by a lack of up-to-date recycling infrastructure and capacity.

Amcor is collaborating with our customers and with other packaging companies to support a UN treaty on plastic waste – so that governments and other players can work together to ensure that proper waste management and recycling infrastructure are available to everyone.

Amcor will continue to utilise our world-leading R&D capabilities and our unique innovation footprint to tackle the problem of waste leakage into the environment. We will also continue to lend our expertise to partners and policy makers so that mechanisms to support recycling are designed and implemented effectively. Working together, the value chain can continue to build on the progress that the Global Commitment Progress Report highlights.

Read this year’s report here.

Amcor introduces a proprietary system for developing bespoke, dimensional and recyclable closures that demand attention and elevate the world’s most exclusive wine and spirits brands.

Amcor’s ShapeArt offers an innovative way for brands to set themselves apart – both in bars and on retail shelves. The closures’ distinctive customized shapes make a powerful impression on consumers.

While introducing ShapeArt to its product range, Amcor is also offering a comprehensive ShapeArt service.

“Our ShapeArt process enables producers to work alongside dedicated experts through every phase of design and production,” explains Amcor Capsules General Manager, Mr. Nicolas Freynet. “This not only speeds production, it also ensures customers receive the quality products and engineering support offered by Amcor.”

The Amcor team helps brand owners navigate ShapeArt’s extensive printing and finishing options and engineer the architectural features of their custom closure. This collaboration includes testing the final product on their bottling lines. Where bottling line modifications are required to accommodate the new closures, Amcor’s technical service team advises on equipment and reconfiguring processes.

The result is a bespoke and recyclable aluminum closure that captures the eye, sparks interest, and creates a compelling first impression.

Winemakers enjoy knowing that ShapeArt leverages Amcor’s STELVIN® closure technology, the original – and most highly trusted – aluminum wine closure.

An online preview of ShapeArt is available now.

About Amcor Capsules
Amcor Capsules is a market leader specializing in the design and manufacture of capsules and closures for wine, sparkling wine and spirits. Amcor Capsules has plants in France, Canada, USA and Chile.

About Amcor
Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home- and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve value chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly light-weighted, recyclable and reusable, and made using a rising amount of recycled content. Around 50,000 Amcor people generate US$13 billion in sales from operations that span about 250 locations in 40-plus countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC

https://www.amcor.com/about/media-centre/news/shapeart-iconic-new-closures-for-premium-brands 

One of our clients, Le Vigne Winery, won the WBM pack award for the re-design of their rosé. AMCOR participated to this success story with our STELVIN® closure. 

See winning announcement: https://wbmevents.com/pack/entries/1117.

The easy, fast, and clean opening was highlighted by the jury.

The companies awarded for the 2022 edition of Vinitech Sifel's innovation trophies are known. The jury chose to highlight 16 innovations for the vine and wine sector. 

Read Full Article

Today, Amcor Flexibles Capsules, the pioneer of Stelvin® aluminium screw caps and liners for wine, is proud to announce the launch of Stelvin® Inside: a brand new range of four different liners for wine. This marks a watershed moment in the history of screw caps for wine as the new range doubles wine maker’s OTR (Oxygen Transmission Rate) choice giving them far more tools to help craft and perfect their wine.

Thanks to Amcor’s proven experience with Stelvin® combined with – unlike any other screw cap manufacturer – our extensive film know-how as global leader in flexible packaging, we are perfectly poised to bring the new range of liners to market.

The new Amcor Stelvin® liners were developed by Amcor. All of the films used in the liners are produced by Amcor and are PVDC-Free. The liners themselves are manufactured exclusively by our development partner MGJ, a leading container seal specialist.

Each of the four new liners has different OTR target which thanks to Amcor’s film know-how ensures a low level of oxygen dispersions allowing wine makers and consumers consistency from one bottle to the next.

Nicolas Freynet, General Manager Amcor Flexibles Capsules, “We believe this is a great time for wine makers and for Stelvin® screw caps, a contemporary solution which has been around for more than 50 years! As more and more wine makers switch to Stelvin®, we are delighted to be able to meet their clear need for increased liner OTR choice.”

The four Stelvin® Inside liners will be presented for the first time today at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, Sacramento (CA) at the Amcor Booth #1610.

About Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas, Capsules

Amcor Flexibles Capsules, part of the Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas business group, is a market leader specialising in the design and manufacture of overcaps and screw caps for wine, sparkling wine and spirits. Amcor Flexibles Capsules has plants in France, Canada, USA and Chile. For more information visit www.amcor.com

About Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas With 68 plants in 21 countries, Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas, a division of Amcor, is a market leader and the world's largest supplier of flexible packaging. We deliver innovative packaging solutions and provide enhanced quality products for the food, beverage, pharma, personal care, medical and industrial markets. Its award winning approach towards sustainability makes Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas the preferred partner for customers looking for responsible packaging solutions. For more information visit www.amcor.com

About Amcor

Amcor Limited is a global leader in responsible packaging solutions, employing more than 30,000 people worldwide, operating in 40 countries across 300 sites. Amcor supplies a broad range of plastic (rigid and flexible), fibre, metal and glass packaging solutions to enhance the products consumers use in everyday life. Amcor also provides packaging-related services that help customers succeed through collaboration and innovation driven by art and science. Amcor is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

For more information visit www.amcor.com