Coming soon to a wine shop near you -- temperature-activated beer bottles, plastic screw-capped wine, electroluminescent vodka. Booze bottling innovation is skyrocketing, finds Kasmin Fernandes

Sixty per cent of wine sales are based on that ever-elusive air around the bottle." Late wine critic Jerry Mead was essentially referring to the way wines are packaged or, more specifically, how a label design can stimulate a consumer's interest in purchasing the product, whether wine or vodka. Today, this innovation in bottling and packaging is accelerating faster than you can say "cheers".

A distinctive jade-green bottle of Australian-made Lucky Beer in the shape of the laughing Buddha. The light, Asian-style Lucky Beer was created by Philip Smouha to "put a smile on people's faces as they were drinking".u00a0 Pic/ AFP PHOTO

Australian wine producer Reschke has developed Vinolok for its Fume Blanc. The brand worked closely with packaging design consultancy Webb Scarlett DeVlam and supplier Kingfisher Glass to create a bottle that can be reused thanks to the inclusion of a novel glass with a resealable closure.