Actor’s French plantation will launch 193,000 containers of Telmont champagne in varying tints to save glass that is usually discarded.

Leonardo DiCaprio acquired a stake in the wine producer in 2022 after being attracted by its environmental credentials
It is, perhaps, a fitting initiative for Hollywood’s most prominent environmental campaigner.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s French vineyard has announced it will begin releasing its Telmont champagne in bottles of varying colours of green in order to be more eco-friendly.

Approximately 193,000 bottles are due to go on sale in every colour from “green to cinnamon” this year.

The idea is to make use of the considerable amount of glass that normally gets discarded as bottle-making furnaces switch between colours.

Traditionally, like most French wine, champagne is kept in green bottles.

Originally, this was the natural colour achieved by higher-strength glass, but it also has the advantage of protecting the liquid inside from flavour-altering light.

The acclaimed actor frequently speaks out about climate change
French wine-makers are famously rigorous in presenting a carefully controlled product, both in contents and branding.

However, Ludovic du Plessis, the president of Telmont, said the decision to bottle its produce in non-uniform glass should be seen as liberating.

“For us, sustainability is not a limit or a constraint, but a ground for creativity and innovation,” he said.

“Every shade of green is a symbol of our commitment to the environment.

‘Trying to transform the wine industry’
“We’re not just changing the colour of our wine bottles, we’re trying to transform the wine industry one shade at a time in the name of Mother Nature.”

Mr DiCaprio acquired an equity stake in the wine producer, based near Epernay, northern France, in 2022, attracted by its environmental credentials.

Sir Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue and the Nineties television icon Noel Edmonds have also launched wine labels.

Meanwhile, Keira Knightley and her husband, James Righton, have owned Les Cinq Puits vineyard in the southern Rhône since 2013.

Telmont intends to become the first ‘climate-positive’ champagne house by the end of the decade
The new scheme is part of Telmont’s drive to become the first “climate-positive” champagne house by the end of the decade.

In possession of an organic certificate since 2017, it plans fully to convert the vineyards to organic by 2025.

It has already invented what it claims is the lightest champagne bottle in history, weighing 800g, around 35g lighter than standard bottles.

It has also stopped exporting its bottles via air, an example Mr DiCaprio’s critics would doubtless advise him to follow, given his much-criticised use of private jets.

Titled 193,000 shades of green, the new project comes after Telmont eliminated superfluous packaging and transparent glass in a bid to enhance its green credentials.

‘It’s just a question about education’
Axing gift boxes reduces a bottle’s carbon footprint by 8 per cent, according to Mr Du Plessis.

He told Just Drinks: “People told me, ‘You are going to lose sales.’ Two years after, I can tell you it’s double-digit growth in terms of volume, in terms of sales. It’s been crazy.

“It’s just a question about education: education of the retailer, to tell him our project, to tell him our philosophy, and these guys love it. Even in Japan, where they are geeks of gift boxes, they said, ‘No, OK, we understand. We’re going to spread the good word.’”

Mr DiCaprio has been increasingly outspoken about climate change in recent years.

Accepting his Academy Award for The Revenant in 2016, he said: “Climate change is real, it is happening right now.

“It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”

The 2021 film Don’t Look Up, in which he starred, was taken as a parable against climate change denial.