Danish churches reduce wine waste with new communion packaging

Danish churches are cutting food waste by switching to long-life communion wine in small bottles and boxed pouches, ensuring fewer unused portions are discarded, DR reports.

The wine, symbolising the blood of Christ in Christian communion, is traditionally served from bottles that spoil within a week of opening. Many smaller churches struggle to use an entire bottle before it must be thrown away.

René Møller, owner of RM Kirkeartikler—a supplier of church supplies in Bording—said customers frequently reported wasting half-bottles. In response, his company now offers communion wine in 150-millilitre mini-bottles (with a three-week shelf life after opening) and in boxed pouches with taps (lasting up to six weeks).

“The difference has been enormous,” Møller said. “Churches can now use all the wine we supply—there’s no waste.”

Unlike traditional communion wine, often imported from Germany, the new product is Danish-made from aronia berries, available in blackcurrant or honey-herb varieties. Møller noted that churches also prefer its “more authentic” taste and darker colour, which better resembles the symbolic blood of Christ.

At Assing Church near Herning, gravedigger Svend Vejen Knudsen confirmed the switch has eliminated waste. Previously, the church opened a new bottle for each service and discarded leftovers. Now, the boxed wine lasts across multiple services.

“We like that nothing goes to waste, that it’s Danish, and that it tastes good,” Knudsen said. “Only the occasional sediment is discarded—nothing more.”

Møller’s company supplies over half of Denmark’s 2,300 churches, with growing demand for the sustainable alternative.