Ruinart's Beautiful Eco-Friendly Packaging Is Unlike Anything You’ve Seen Before

Some old dogs can still learn new tricks. Ruinart, founded in 1729, is the oldest of the Maisons de Champagne and the perfect example of this.

The prestigious House of Ruinart recently broke new ground in the industry with its innovative line of sustainable packaging. As soft as silk to the touch and embossed with the regal house crest, the Second Skin represents Ruinart’s history, authenticity, and philosophy while paying homage to its renowned sophistication and style. Read on for a deeper look at the eco-friendly packaging making waves in Champagne.

What is Ruinart’s Second Skin?

Ruinart’s Second Skin is a 100% recyclable packaging made from paper, moulded to perfectly fit the distinctive rounded shape of Ruinart’s bottles. Providing equal parts protection and insulation, the Second Skin was released as a dressed-up and sustainable alternative to the traditional Ruinart gift-box.

This innovative paper casing is also nine times lighter than the precious packaging and is assembled and fixed without the need for any glue or plastics, reducing House’s carbon footprint in the manufacture of each gift-bottle by 60%. This affirms Ruinart’s commitment to preserving the delicate environment that has allowed them to produce their celebrated champagnes for nearly three centuries.

More than merely a practical, sustainable package, the Second Skin is also a product of the awe-inspiring history of the world’s oldest champagne house. The package’s silky pitted texture harkens to Les Crayères, the labyrinthine chalk galleries that act as Ruinart’s cellars.

Recently classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, the fathomless chalk galleries beneath Maison Ruinart have been instrumental to the production of Ruinart champagne for centuries. Here, the entire range of Ruinart champagnes are aged in their bottles while the still subterranean air of the galleries keeps them at a consistent 11 degrees Celcius.

Just as the galleries have lasted the centuries through war and the ravages of time, the Second Skin casing also displays remarkable endurance. It can be stored for several months in a domestic fridge or wine chilling unit without losing its integrity, and can even be immersed in an ice bucket for up to three hours, completely intact and ready to use.

Ruinart Studio’s Third Skin Blanc De Blancs

Maison Ruinart has long been a sincere and cherished patron of the arts. From the commission of Alphonse Mucha’s iconic poster-art, Champagne Ruinart, in 1896, to the support and collaboration with contemporary studios and artists from around the globe today. The Second Skin in many ways embodies Ruinart’s renowned sense of expressive innovation and timeless artistic vision and was the centrepiece of a recent artistic production by Maison Ruinart’s creative studio.

The piece, entitled Third Skin Blanc De Blancs is a sublime, up-cycled artwork, hand-stitched by in-house artisan Anne-Charlotte Saliba from scale-shaped fragments of the Second Skin packaging.

Inspired by the shapes of the natural world, Saliba constructed a functional and permanent feature-light piece that stimulates the imagination and evokes the interplay of light and shade that dances upon the powdery walls of Les Crayères.

Ruinart has long led the way in the champagne industry and continues to do so after almost three centuries. Its latest sustainable innovation will surely inspire other Maisons to take up more eco-friendly practices. Check out Maison Ruinart’s website to browse its range of acclaimed Second Skin-wrapped champagnes, and to enjoy the latest artistic productions from Ruinart Studio.

More of a gourmand? Find out how to get premium, restaurant-quality ingredients straight to your door.

Featured