Oregon sustainability pioneers push refillable glass bottles for beer and wine

Think Out Loud

When Matt Swihart started Double Mountain Brewery in 2007, his vision was to sell beer in the most ecologically sustainable way possible: in reusable bottles, which would be returned, cleaned and refilled, to be sold again. He says it wasn’t a new idea at all - this was common for all kinds of beverages in the early 20th century. And it wasn’t even novel - in other countries, refillable beverage containers occupy a solid share of the market. Nevertheless the regional infrastructure didn’t exist, so the company started small and took its time. The game changed in 2018 when the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative partnered with Double Mountain to help develop standard refillable glass beer bottles that any brewery in the state could use.

Now, the Newberg company Revino is working with a number of vintners to put their wine in its returnable, refillable bottles. And while the company is still scaling up all the infrastructure needed, it’s gotten significant traction already, with Willamette Valley Vineyards announcing its rollout of over 1500 cases of one of its Pinot Noirs being released in Revino bottles. We talk with Double Mountain Brewery’s Matt Swihart and Revino cofounder Adam Rack about the significant environmental benefits of glass bottles over other kinds of containers, and the role they see refillables playing more broadly in helping states meet climate goals.