California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance’s Post

This week WineWorks hosted a webinar with Edwin Massey of NZ WineGrowers on Alternative Wine Packaging. Fascinating to have industry experts Matt Dicey and Chris Archer present their experience of modern Bag-in-Box and wine-in-cans, as well as presentations by Packamama, Frugalpac and refillable bottle solutions - all answering our need to deliver more sustainable solutions to our customers, that go even beyond the excellent progress the industry has made on lightweighting glass. If you're a member of NZ Winegrowers, you'll find a recording of the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/giwt8FpC, otherwise there's an FAQ sheet here: https://lnkd.in/gsg9e9xM that we prepared that will help your winery make decisions on alternative markets that go a step further. Note the environmental impact claims below include all forms of sustainable winegrowing that are endorsed by SWNZ, not just carbon footprint. Energy consumption, water consumption, waste buildup and CO2 emissions are all important. These claims are of course the view of the presenter alone.

Looking back before setting course for 2025 ✨   🌿 Sustainability in wine: A luxury or commercial necessity? 🌿 At Vinexposium Wine Paris 2024, we delved into one of the most pressing topics of our industry: #sustainability. With key players such as gatekeepers, monopolies, importers, and retailers now demanding strong sustainability policies, our outstanding panel explored what it takes to meet these expectations: 👥 Amazing chair : Beverly Tabbron MW Justin Howard-Sneyd Simon Mason Eudes Morgan Gad Pettersson This is the first in a series of three posts leading up to the Wine Paris 2025 edition, which will take place from February 10 to 12, 2025.   In this first post, we will reflect on the key takeaways from the 2024 edition: 🌱 Understanding sustainable development: Originally defined in the 1987 Brundtland report as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," sustainable development has now become central to our sector.   🌍 Key questions explored: What specific sustainability criteria should we consider when selecting wine suppliers? How do we guide wine suppliers who initially do not meet these criteria to improve their practices? How can we support the transition away from chemically-based monocultural agriculture that is detrimental to the soil and local ecosystems, towards regenerative agriculture? How viticulture can be a tool to reverse climate change by working collectively across the supply chain.   🚀 What’s Next? Join us next Tuesday for the second post in this series, where we will focus on concrete actions taken since the conference, and how collaborative efforts or industry-wide initiatives are essential for advancing sustainability in the wine sector.   Stay tuned, and let’s continue this important conversation together. 💬   #Wine #Viticulture #Regenerativeagriculture #Climatechange #Wineindustry #Collaboration #Leadership #Winesustainability

‘Making the case for regenerative viticulture’ 💡🍇 Domaine Bousquet features in the latest issue of Harpers Wine & Spirit as one of the few wineries worldwide, and the first international winery, to be pioneering Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). "We had to be successful to show the world of wine that working regeneratively was not only economically viable but a very positive business strategy," Domaine Bousquet's co-founder and CEO, Anne Bousquet, told Harpers. “Our commitment to regenerative viticulture is akin to where organics stood a decade ago — an emerging category with little consumer awareness. But consumer awareness is growing quickly, particularly as we become all too aware of the impact of our collective carbon footprint on climate change." Find the full article in the November 2023 issue of Harpers Wine & Spirit. #DomaineBousquet #RegenerativeOrganic #OrganicWine

Sustainable Wine Roundtable are thrilled to announce that our membership year for 2024/2025 has officially started. As the leading organisation driving sustainability best practices in the wine industry, the SWR catalyses change through research-backed initiatives that drive clear action across the supply chain. Please see the benefits of SWR membership, details of our ongoing projects and our ambitious plans for 2024/25. Here's a sneak peek: 🔹  The Bottle Weight Accord: Launched in Autumn 2023, participants aim to reduce their average bottle weight below 420g by 2026. With 17 members already on board, we continue to grow and support this initiative. 🔹 Sustainable Viticulture: Launching 9th July, our research on sustainable viticulture and the Sustainable Viticulture Protocol will guide growers towards more sustainable practices, reducing the need for chemical inputs. 🔹 Annual Benchmarking of Wine Sustainability Standards: Our Global Reference Framework helps identify credible sustainability standards and avoid greenwashing. 🔹 Labour Rights: We're developing tools to support growers in managing labour rights, particularly for seasonal workers, facilitating collaboration between growers and retailers. 🔹 Retailer Group: Our Wine Retailer Sustainability Group is driving efficiencies in packaging data requirements and supporting our labour rights work. 🔹 Packaging Innovations: We're developing tools like the Bottle Miles Calculator and Alternative Formats Choice Matrix to address sustainability in wine packaging. Thank you for your continued support. Our efforts to catalyze change are only possible through the collective work of our members, united by a common goal. We truly appreciate you sharing and spreading SWR within your network. Please send any questions to [email protected]. #SustainableWine #SWRMembership #WineIndustry #Sustainability #Wine

Explore the dynamic shifts in the wine industry with '6 Wine Industry Trends to Watch in 2024.' From tackling labor rights to embracing co-fermentation, learn how the sector is innovating for the future.

Why Are Wineries Around the World Seeking This Certification? (Article from NY Times) Certificates of social and environmental responsibility, like B Corp status, have become important markers for wineries that place values front and center. "Grape growers and wine producers have long sought certifications testifying to their sustainable farming methods or their commitment to protecting the environment. Recognizing the long history of exploitation, and perhaps wanting to codify their social values along with their environmental and agricultural practices, a growing number of wine producers have sought certification demonstrating their commitment to what many call social sustainability. These certifications can come from local wine-oriented organizations, like Napa Green in California, LIVE in the Pacific Northwest, Equalitas in Italy and Haute Valeur Environnementale in France. The Regenerative Organic certification has a social fairness requirement in addition to its agricultural standards. And more and more wineries are seeking B Corp certification from B Lab, which promotes the notion that companies benefit by working for both profits and the social good. Achieving B Corp status is no easy thing. It requires a comprehensive analysis of how a company does business, with different standards for different industries. Wine producers are assessed for how they manage water and waste, for how harmonious their agricultural practices are with their particular environment, whether they promote biodiversity and how they manage their workforces. That means analyzing the gender and racial diversity of a company’s employees as well as its income diversity. The average pay ratio of chief executive-to-worker among S&P 500 companies was 272-to-1 in 2022, according to the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Among B Corp companies, B Lab says, it’s 6-to-1. Companies are also asked about their career-development programs, and how their organization relates to their local communities. Companies are given points in each area, and must achieve a minimum of 80 points to be awarded B Corp status. But that’s only the beginning. B Lab points out where companies can improve, and recommends steps toward making those changes. And companies are regularly reassessed. For Beth Novak, chief executive of Spottswoode in Napa Valley, B Corp status has been eye-opening. “The process itself is amazing,” she said. “You learn a lot. All sorts of things arise as you’re answering questions, and, ‘Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.’ We’ve adopted many of them.” She said the only drawback is that not enough people know about B Corp or what it stands for." #Bcorp #CorporateSocialResponsibility #Wineries

There's always an interesting discussion to be had when considering the provenance of your wine, in environmental terms. I feel that, overall, we consider this a lot more when it comes to food and animal produce, and less so about wine. However, the impact of bulk, high volume wine production can be devasting - from river systems being drained of water to a total lack of biodiversity in the vineyard from over-spraying. Is the winery finding a way to capture & reuse the carbon dioxide given off during fermentation? Are alternative packing solutions being considered (the glass bottle is notoriously unsustainable)? Lots of think about when you are next buying wine!

2024 will be a turning point for the Wine Industry, do you agree? There are some interesting trends to consider in the following article. The main takeaway for me is that consumers do not want buzzwords for sustainability anymore, they want tangible and measurable action.

Navigating the 2024 wine landscape, I'm intrigued by the industry's evolving narrative. From regenerative viticulture to labor advocacy, and the East Coast's emergence, each trend shows how we’re evolving. Witnessing collaborations reshape the sector and grassroots efforts drive inclusivity paints a compelling picture. Excited to engage with these dynamics and share insights on the ever-changing world of wine. 🍇🌱 #WineTrends2024 #IndustryInsights https://lnkd.in/gGFPDgPv