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Since its debut in 2008, govino has made a splash with wine professionals across the country—if not the globe. The glasses’ sleek, modern design has won the Silver International Design Excellence Award from the International Design Society of America, and the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.
govino has also won the loyalty of many hospitality professionals who need a stylish, practical solution for serving wines when traditional glassware isn’t an option. Paul Grieco, the owner of Terroir wine bar in New York City, operates a seasonal outpost on the popular High Line elevated park and estimates that he uses 10,000 govinos in the five-month season. “There is no better product on the market to serve beverages in an outdoor setting where glass is not allowed than govino,” says Grieco. “Period. Amen.” Grieco also says that while the product is a costly expenditure on his P&L report, it’s worth the price of knowing “your guests are going to love it, rave about [it], and probably take it home with them.”
Master sommelier James Tidwell, a cofounder of the TEXSOM conference in Dallas and the manager of the beverage program at the city’s Four Seasons, agrees. “They are more pricey than other options, but they’re more aesthetically pleasing,” he says, noting that other glassware for outdoor use “tends to be clunky and cloudy; govino offers a much more elegant option.”
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At Harlem Eat Up, a food and wine festival that was launched in New York City three years ago, the glasses are de rigueur for a fast-paced, sometimes chaotic, urban event. “To sit down with a profound wine, you want the proper glass,” says Jeff Harding, the wine director at The Waverly Inn, who works at the Harlem event each year. “But at an event where wines are drunk for fun, [govino] glasses are a part of that, and for everyday drinking.”
The wine professionals who regularly use govino glassware appreciate its design—a wide bowl that allows for proper aeration of wines, the ergonomic thumb notch, and the crystal-like clarity of the materials, which don’t distort a wine’s color. And perhaps the biggest advantage of a govino glass: its long life as a shatterproof, dishwasher-safe, reusable, and recyclable beverage vessel.
“We not only created the category [but] helped solve a global need for high-functioning shatterproof glassware,” says govino founder Joseph Perrulli. In June 2018, Perrulli joined in a partnership with Napa Valley vintners Erik Nickel of Far Niente Estates and KR Rombauer of Rombauer Vineyards to take govino to the next level in sustainability. This partnership brings the company full circle, as the innovative polymer glass was launched in St. Helena, California, in 2008, and some of the brand’s early adopters included Napa wine icons such as Dominus, Continuum, Shafer, Frog’s Leap, Chateau Montelena, and Robert Mondavi.
Sustainability Innovations for 2019
The new partnership furthers the company’s sustainability mission and commitment to waste reduction by emphasizing that all glasses in the line are multiuse (lab tests show that one govino wineglass is the equivalent of more than 250 single-use plastic cups).
Also, 2019 will mark the launch of govino’s full-access recycling program, with glasses in the Festival line converting to PET polymer, a number 1 recyclable material that will better integrate with municipal recycling programs wherever the glass is used. All govino products and packaging will be manufactured with a minimum of materials and composed of previously recycled paper and water-based ink and glue, easing their eventual entry—after hundreds of uses—into a closed-loop recycling system, helping to ensure that govino is actively accountable for the full recycle processing of its goods. The company has also eliminated plastic baggies from its consumer packaging; the glasses are now wrapped with paper, and the boxes are made from previously recycled paper.
“Their environmental awareness is a big part of why I feel good about getting behind govino,” says Shelley Lindgren, the wine director and co-owner of A16 and SPQR restaurants in San Francisco’s Bay Area.
The company is also showing its commitment to environmental responsibility through its participation in numerous initiatives, including the 2019 Climate Change Leadership conference for leaders in the wine industry. The summit took place last week in Porto, Portugal, where govino joined other leaders of the global wine industry to explore and promote sustainable solutions. govino debuted its updated and sustainable Revival Packaging there.
New Products
Three new govino products will launch in 2019.
Satisfying beer drinkers will be the Royal Pint, a 20-ounce “pint” glass made of the same dishwasher-safe polymers as the wine vessels. Like the wineglasses, the pint has been designed to accentuate the colors, flavors, and aromatics of any beer.
Cocktail drinkers will enjoy the feel of the new 14-ounce highball glass, made with the same quality polymer materials as the other glasses in the collection, as well as the patented thumb grip that helps a drinker hold on.
The iconic Festival line will get a design upgrade in the second quarter of 2019, allowing the glasses in the line to be stacked for sturdy, space-saving storage at events.
Dispatch
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