Rathfinny launches 50cl sparkling wine bottle

Sussex producer Rathfinny Wine Estate has launched its Mini Cuvée 2020 50cl bottle, offering the first product of this size of sparkling wine bottle into the UK market.

The Alfriston-based firm said the bottle size was “perfect” for two people to share, with a pour of four glasses.

As a result of its smaller size, the producer believes it will allow consumers to indulge in a glass of sparkling wine on more occasions, for example at lunch, with friends, or as a casual pre-dinner apéritif.

In addition, the company said the size aimed to cater to those who wish to consumer less alcohol.

The cuvée is bottle-aged and fermented unlike many 37.5cl bottles were are normally filled by the transfer method from a large bottle, potentially reducing quality of the end-product.

Legislate

It follows Rathfinny campaigning to legislate the 50cl bottle for several years, and laid down the first batch of the product from the 2020 vintage. This is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier, with a further 5,000 bottles from the 2021 vintage bottled in June 2022.

The producer said the bottle was also aimed at growth markets where the 50cl bottle size was also permitted.

Co-founder of the estate, Mark Driver, said he was “thrilled” to introduce the product, and it was a “terrific bottle size”.

Two formats

He said: “As Matthew Jukes has said, sparkling wine should be sold in two formats: 50cls and Magnums (150cl). The Mini is the perfect sized bottle when you want a little indulgence and sense of occasion without the temptation or time to have more.”

Fellow co-founder Sarah Driver added that the bottle offered consumers more choice, and it also “appeals to the current consumer climate, with many looking to drink slightly less but better-quality wine”.

She said: “The 50cl bottle allows those wishing to reduce alcohol intake to still enjoy an excellent quality sparkling.”

Pint-sized

The news follows changes to UK law following Brexit, which the UK government was keen to stress had enabled producers to be able to produce ‘pint-sized’ bottles of sparkling wine (56.8cl), which was infamously Winston Churchill’s favourite serve of Champagne.

But at the time of writing, no producer has taken up the offer to produce pint-sized bottles, potentially due to the complexities of the supply chain, packaging and labelling of such products, as well as the obvious challenges of bottling the unusual volume of liquid.

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