How The Glass Bottle Shortage May Affect Your Wine

The current glass bottle shortage that is plaguing the food industry is a difficult thing to overcome for many in the business. Per a Business Insider report, the wine industry is currently tackling a tough problem: maintaining the quality of wine while it is stored in wooden barrels for longer periods than expected. Unfortunately, this tends to negatively impact the taste of wine that ends up resembling "a sawmill," according to Phil Long, who owns California's Longevity Wines.

Long added that consumers may have to shell out more money for wine in the future because the tools that are required to pack and sell wine are more expensive than usual. "Glass is a main ingredient to bottling wine. Imagine you're a cookie company and there was no flour," Long explained before adding that he doesn't know whether he'll be able to keep the wine prices stable for too long at his company. 

This shortage of glass bottles is extremely serious. What's more, other goods are in short supply are as well, per Business Insider. Lloyd Davis, the man behind Corner 103 winery, said that the tools are hard to come by. This is being attributed to "ship traffic jams" at ports in the U.S. that have left manufacturers scrambling for basic items such as paper bags, corks, and bottles.

In a bid to explain how severe this crisis is, Phil Long gave an example. "Wait time used to be measured in hours, but now it's measured in weeks," he explained. Another business owner, Chris Wachira, said that her team is not being able to meet demand for wine on account of the current shortage. Shipping has been delayed and customers are now forced to wait for things to improve.

Also, while it may seem like wineries can turn to alternative packing options, it's quite tricky to execute the idea. Stephanie Honig, who looks after the Honig Vineyard & Winery in Napa County, said, "there are alternative packaging — cans, boxes, but you can't do that on the fly if you're struggling with getting glass" (via KCBS Radio). It's also likely that consumers may not be keen to purchase high-end wines sold in boxes, something that's a growing concern for winemakers.