At Destiny Bay we spare no expense in creating our world renowned Cabernet blend wines. Sustainability is central to our grape growing and winemaking practices. We constantly examine what is essential to produce a great wine and how we can change those practices to reduce our impact on the environment.

In January of 2022, Destiny Bay made the decision to put an end to the use of tin capsules on our wine bottles. Environmental destruction and abusive labour practices caused by tin mining and processing compelled us to discontinue a tradition that served no essential purpose in packaging or identifying our wine. In addition, while tin capsules are recyclable, they are treated as a ‘contaminant’ in most recycling plants and are sent to landfill.

All Destiny Bay wines released from the 2020 vintage onward, including older vintage library stock that was unlabeled as of January 2022, will be released without tin capsules. As some of the library stock is already capsuled, when ordering library wines, there is a chance you will receive some bottles with capsules and some without.

While the decision of a capsule free future may be a New Zealand first and has been lauded by Master of Wine Bob Campbell, there are numerous reports of the environmental and human tragedy caused by tin mining:

• Geographical UK reports that the situation is dire. ‘The sedimentation has a real impact on the Bangka ecosystem. The sand covers everything, including the coral reefs, which end up dying. As a result, fish are forced to change habitat and move further offshore.’
• Miners in Indonesia risk their lives every day by illegally diving up to 65 feet underwater with minimal equipment, divulges Business Insider.
• The Guardian has labeled tin as the “Death Metal”.
• Each tin capsule can produce 10 smartphones meaning an average vintage of Destiny Bay with tin capsules could be used to produce ~200,000 smartphones.

We appreciate your support in this decision and we think the clean lines of a capsule free bottle look great.