Mendoza wine producer Mike Tango Bravo has been scratching under the surface with his new wine packaging – using funghi to grow his own wine boxes. Taking prunings from his organic vineyard in Mendoza, the vine cuttings are shredded up and then placed in a mold with funghi (mycelium). These mycelia expand and grow to fit around vine cuttings and form a hard packaging – and, in Mike’s case, one which is ideal for carrying wine bottles.
“The idea behind the mycelium packaging is that you can sustainably grow your own in the winery from cuttings from the vineyard,” explains Mike, who has now made several prototypes of the packaging from his own vineyard. “By using your own vine cuttings and biomass, you are also sequestering carbon in your own packaging.”
Eco-friendly wine packaging from mushrooms and vineyard cuttings
Mycelium packaging is one of the most eco-friendly forms of packaging today. It requires no cardboard outer box, is 100% biodegradable and compostable, and is as hard as polystyrene (and much more eco-friendly). Importantly for wine, it is also an insulator.
“The other great thing about mycelium packaging is that it creates more thermal inertia, which is good for wine storage, especially when shipping long distances or overseas,” Mike adds.