The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2021–2026
260g rethinks the wine bottle: lighter, shorter, wider — Red Dot Best of the Best 2026
A 75cl wine bottle named after its 260g weight: 30% less glass, 80% recycled content, 40% lower CO2 — Red Dot Best of the Best 2026.
Santos Barosa Vidros (Vidrala Group) · LiDA – Laboratory in Design and Arts
What it had to solve
Glass bottles are the largest share of wine's carbon footprint, yet wine's conventions equate heaviness with premium quality. LiDA, the design laboratory of Portugal's Polytechnic of Leiria, and Santos Barosa, a century-old glassmaker in the Vidrala Group, set out to prove a lighter bottle could cut emissions without compromising stability, style or prestige.
How it works
The 260g bottle is a wine bottle named after its own weight, developed by LiDA, the design laboratory of Portugal's Polytechnic of Leiria, together with Santos Barosa, a century-old glass manufacturer in the Vidrala Group, under the 'Packaging of the Future' initiative. The name is the promise: a standard 75cl bottle weighs far more, and this one comes in at 260g.
The redesign is geometric, not just material. A precisely balanced shape allows ultra-thin walls and cuts surface area by 20% versus a standard bottle, using up to 80% recycled glass. The bottle is noticeably shorter and wider, fits 115 more bottles on a pallet — a 7% transport efficiency gain — and reduces overall CO2 emissions by around 40%.
The bottle challenges wine's convention that premium means heavy. The Red Dot jury named it Best of the Best 2026 in Sustainable Design, calling it 'probably the lightest and thus the most sustainable 75 cl bottle ever' and noting the design never compromises structural integrity or quality. The launch edition was presented at Expo 2025 Osaka.
Why it lands
- Naming the bottle '260g' turns an engineering achievement into a brand statement anyone understands at a glance.
- The shorter, wider geometry cut surface area by 20%, attacking weight where it matters most: energy-intensive glass and transport.
- It challenged the wine industry's equation of heaviness with prestige and showed sustainability can be premium.
- It was designed for spirits, specialty drinks and oils too, so one bottle shape could spread the benefit beyond wine.
What it did
Won Red Dot: Best of the Best 2026 in Sustainable Design — the jury called it 'probably the lightest and thus the most sustainable 75 cl bottle ever'. Overall CO2 emissions fall around 40%, and the launch edition was presented at Expo 2025 Osaka.
What you can take
Name the object after its goal: calling the bottle '260g' makes an invisible engineering virtue the identity, so sustainability sells the product instead of being a footnote.
Since then
After winning Red Dot: Best of the Best 2026, the 260g bottle was shown as a launch edition at Expo 2025 Osaka, and LiDA continued the work under the Packaging of the Future programme, positioning the bottle for wine, spirits, specialty drinks and oils. The designers note that the wider shape also encourages new serving gestures, drawing attention on the shelf and at the table.
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