May 24, 2019
Advantages of Bulk Wine Transport vs. Bottling at Source
The way you transport your wine affects not only its quality but also your profit margins!
Before the 20th Century, all the wine was transported in bulk – bottling was left to merchants. But that has changed in recent years, and today’s winery owners prefer to bottle their wine at the source. The main reason for this is to preserve quality by avoiding adulteration.
Ironically, bottling at the source doesn’t preserve quality.
If anything, it exposes your wine to temperature variations during transportation – which compromises on the quality of your wine. This is part of the reason why bulk wine carriers are making a comeback.
Why Use a Bulk Wine Carrier to Transport Your Wine?
Besides preserving quality, how can a bulk wine carrier add value to your winery business? Consider the following advantages:
1. Cheaper Transportation
Shipping wine in bulk and bottling it in the place of consumption can cut on costs. This is especially true when you’re using flexitanks to transport your wine.
With this type of tank, you can enjoy greater economies of scale. The capacity of flexitanks allows you to transport averagely 20 percent more wine in a single order.
With such huge cost savings, you’ll be better placed to price your wine cheaper than your competitors to drive sales and enjoy larger profit margins.
2. Better Thermal Protection
Bulk wine is less likely to be affected by temperature fluctuations than bottled wine. This is because temperature changes have a greater and faster impact on smaller volumes of wine.
Typical bulk wine carriages have a volume of about 25 kl, while wine bottles average at 75 cL. It’ll take much more heat to change the temperature of wine transported in a bulk carriage compared to wine transported in a small bottle.
Moreover, there are refrigerated options for transporting wine in bulk. This offers better thermal protection because you have better temperature control. The ISO tank hauler we use at Kan-Haul is a perfect example.
3. Better Control
One of the reasons today’s winemakers prefer to bottle their wine at the source is to have better control of how their product tastes when it reaches the consumer. Ironically, bottling at source takes away some of that control. You can’t change anything after bottling.
Transporting in bulk, on the other hand, allows you to make adjustments along the way so you can protect your wine better.
For instance, if your wine becomes reductive during transportation, you can add copper to get rid of the volatile sulfur compounds. You can also add carbon dioxide for extra protection during the rest of the transit.
4. Faster Response to Market Trends
With bulk wine carriage options, you get to bottle your wine closer to the final market. This gives you the flexibility to change your packaging in response to short-term changes in promotional campaigns and consumer preferences.
5. Fewer Emissions
On a global level, the wine sector contributes to 0.3% of Annual GHG emissions. You can help change these statistics by transporting your wine in bulk.
Bulk transportation allows you to move larger quantities than you would if you bottled at source. In so doing, you’re minimizing the number of trips required to move a given volume of wine, hence, reduce the amount of CO2 emissions.
Work with a Reliable Bulk Wine Carrier in Dallas
Kan-Haul is a one-stop shop for all your food-grade transportation needs. We aren’t just a bulk wine carrier. We also transport other types of alcoholic beverages, juice, vegetable oil, and more.
With over 100 years in the business, we have the experience and expertise needed to provide safe and reliable freight services worldwide. Feel free to contact us today!
