Sustainable Wine: Recent Episodes
Sustainable Wine
Sustainable Wine interviews actors from across the wine value chain, mostly winemakers and growers, on key sustainability issues in the wine industry. Head over to www.sustainablewine.co.uk for more news and analyses on sustainability in wine, winemaking and circular economy.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Vincent O'Brien, managing director at Octavian, a UK-based fine wine storage company. As the long-term custodian of many fine wines shortly after their release, the team at Octavian has a unique perspective on the journey a case of wine takes before it enters the cellar.
We begin by discussing what sustainability looks like at Octavian before turning to packaging. Packaging is a major focus area for SWR, and it's usually discussed on the podcast from the producer and retailer point of view. In this episode, Vincent shares the fine wine storage perspective, explaining why packaging is important from both a functionality and sustainability standpoint, and how current packaging trends are creating new challenges for the long-term storage of fine wine.
In this From the Roundtable episode Hanna Halmari is joined by SWR's Dr Peter Stanbury to discuss the launch of the Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord. They delve into the success of and learnings from the still Bottle Weight Accord, the complexities behind building the Sparkling Accord, and the benefits of getting involved.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Maja Sonesson, founder and CEO of Journy, a digital product passport (DPP) platform designed for the wine industry.
We discuss how DPPs can support the wine sector, from improving communication and transparency to enabling compliance and more efficient reporting. Maja shares insights into the opportunities for producers, importers, retailers, and consumers, and explains how Journy is addressing challenges around interoperability, administrative burdens, data gaps, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Rollo Gabb, CEO and owner of Journey’s End Vineyards in South Africa’s Stellenbosch.
We discuss the wide-ranging sustainability initiatives underway across the business, including energy efficiency, water conservation, lighter-weight bottles, soil regeneration and biodiversity protection.
Rollo also shares Journey’s End’s commitment to supporting its local community through the Journey’s End Foundation. Established in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide meals for people who had lost their incomes, the food program has since continued to grow, recently surpassing seven million meals served. Rollo reflects on the impact the program has had within the community and provides insights into the local partnerships and infrastructure behind its success.
In this From the Roundtable episode, I’m joined by SWR's Toby Webb, Dr Peter Stanbury, and Delaney Sheridan to reflect on SWR's fifth year anniversary. We reflect on our progress to date, looking back at where we started and what we set out to do, and how that has evolved over time. With a focus on our key action areas, we review our achievements so far and discuss what's coming next.
In this From the Roundtable episode, I’m joined by SWR's Dr Peter Stanbury and Delaney Sheridan. This month's conversation is largely centered around the importance of regional specificity in sustainability. From a brief update on our latest work in Standards Benchmarking, to the launch of SWR's Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey, we discuss why granular, region-specific insights and feedback loops are critical to making sustainability happen.
A trial version of this survey has just gone live. It is anonymous and is open to all interested participants. You can find it here: Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey
It'll take just 15 minutes to complete, and all responses will feed directly into the upcoming Sustainable Vineyard Barometer, giving the whole industry a clearer, more honest picture of modern vineyard sustainability.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Antonio Bertone, CEO and co-founder of Alileo Wines. Alileo strikes an interesting balance between old and new, offering natural wines produced using traditional methods, but packaged in a less conventional way. Their Sicilian varietals such as Grillo and Zibibbo are available in both bag-in-box format as well as 20L one-way kegs.
We talk about the packaging decision-making process, the trade-offs that come with alternative formats, and how Alileo is working to change perceptions around boxed wine. With their bold slogan of 'Boxed Wine is Not a Crime', Antonio shares the unique storytelling opportunity packaging can offer and insights into effective consumer engagement.
In this From the Roundtable episode, I’m joined by Dr Peter Stanbury who provides an update on his recent visit to Bordeaux, where SWR and CIVB co-hosted an event focused on seasonal employment in the wine sector. We discuss Bordeaux's collaborative approach, practical actions other regions and vineyards can replicate, and how this feeds into SWR’s broader work on labour standards.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Filipe Carvalho, head of business development at Tree Flower Solutions (TFS), a Portuguese biotech startup that develops natural preservatives for the agri-food industry.
We discuss Chestwine, TFS’s innovative sulfite alternative made from chestnut male flower tannins. Filipe addresses common misconceptions about sulfites, explains why natural alternatives matter, and shares insights into the unique properties and R&D process behind Chestwine.
In this From the Roundtable episode, I’m joined by Dr Peter Stanbury and Luke Mobley to discuss SWR’s work in packaging. We cover why packaging is such a big topic when it comes to sustainability in the wine industry, the recent global policy developments driving change, and how SWR’s Packaging Choice Tool can help producers with their packaging strategy and decision-making. A foundational report and draft framework for the Packaging Choice Tool will be published this May.
Luke also introduces the new Action Area Overview, a document we put together that outlines SWR’s 2026-7 plans and activities, and how you can get involved.
ISO Certification might not be a popular dinner party topic for most people, but if anyone can convince you otherwise, it's managing director Jose Bishop from A Good Certification Group (formerly Certification Oceania).
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, we explore how ISO management systems can move beyond box-ticking to drive real improvement. From the role of ISO standards in the wine industry to common auditing challenges and the approach at A Good Certification Group, Jose shares how audits can be a force for good and help deliver meaningful change.
In this From the Roundtable episode, I'm joined by Toby Webb and Dr Peter Stanbury to discuss SWR's recent decision to combine some efforts from our Labour Standards and Sustainable Viticulture Protocol workstreams under the umbrella of The Sustainable Vineyard. The existing work and plans in each action area won't change - rather they will work together where relevant and appropriate.
This approach reflects the realities on the ground: social and environmental issues are often intertwined and managed by the same small teams in the vineyard. Peter and Toby explain what this means in practice and how collaboration can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and drive more impact.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Gad Pettersson, head of sustainability and product quality at Systembolaget. As part of its ambitious decarbonisation plans, the Swedish alcohol monopoly is leading a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) initiative. The aim is to be able to measure, compare, and ultimately reduce the climate impact across its full product range.
A successful pilot last year demonstrated the feasibility of collecting primary supply chain data on a large scale. Gad shares the key learnings, insights into the data collection process, next steps for the project, and more.
If you as a producer or grower within Systembolaget’s supply chain would like to get involved, please reach out to your Swedish importer.
If you as a retailer or other major stakeholder in the alcoholic drinks sector would like to know more, please reach out to linda.johansson@systembolaget.se
In the first From the Roundtable episode of the year, I'm joined by Dr Peter Stanbury and Delaney Sheridan to discuss what lies ahead for SWR in 2026. Following an incredibly fruitful year, we've got big plans ahead of us, from finalising standards benchmarking to launching the Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord. Peter and Delaney share our key priorities for 2026, what members should look out for this year, and, most importantly, how you can get involved.
In the final From the Roundtable episode of 2025, I’m joined by SWR’s Toby Webb, Dr Peter Stanbury and Delaney Sheridan to reflect on the year. We review what we set out to achieve, what we've accomplished, and where we're headed in 2026.
From sustainability standards and packaging, to sustainable viticulture and labour conditions, find out how SWR is continuing to tackle the tough sustainability challenges while driving innovation and collaboration in the industry.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Luke Tyler, marketing and sales director, and Matthew Deller MW, CEO of Wirra Wirra. Located in South Australia's McLaren Vale, the winery exemplifies what the region is well-known for: premium red wine and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Wirra Wirra has a long history of sustainable practices, with current initiatives spanning across waste reduction, decarbonisation, biodiversity, packaging, and a reconciliation action plan. In recent years, lightweighting has been a major focus, and this year the winery introduced a proprietary 410g glass bottle across a significant portion of its production.
Matt and Luke share practical insights into the lightweighting process, the importance of partnerships across the value chain, and why they chose to join the Sustainable Wine Roundtable and the Bottle Weight Accord.
In this episode of From the Roundtable, I’m joined by SWR’s Delaney Sheridan and Dr Peter Stanbury to share some updates – and clear up a few misunderstandings – about lightweighting sparkling wine bottles.
SWR is developing a new Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord, building on the success of the still wine Bottle Weight Accord (BWA) launched in 2023. We discuss the progress of the BWA so far, what makes sparkling wine more complex, and how we’re working through those challenges.
There are many opinions when it comes to bottle weight, and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. We thought we’d help set the record straight and run through some of the most common claims. Fact or fiction? Have a listen to find out.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Shae Courtney, national quality and sustainability manager for Coles Liquor at Coles Group in Australia. As one of Australia’s largest drinks retailers, Coles Liquor has the capacity to drive change at scale across its supply chain. Packaging is a central focus for the group, with initiatives underway in lightweighting, recycling, waste reduction, consumer engagement and more. We discuss Coles Liquor’s sustainable packaging strategy, the Bottle Weight Accord, approaches to supplier engagement, consumer insights, and more.
In this episode, I’m joined by Jane Masters MW and Andrew Neather to discuss their new book, Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine. Published earlier this month, the book explores how sustainability and wine intersect across the entire value chain.
From grape to glass, they delve into the environmental, social, and economic challenges, opportunities, and innovations shaping the wine industry today. Through compelling data, storytelling, and interviews with growers and producers around the world, Rooted in Change offers deep insight into how the wine world is evolving and adapting to a changing climate.
Jane and Andy share the motivations behind the book, the key lessons they learned along the way, practical advice for listeners, and the importance of maintaining hope and optimism.
You can purchase your copy at Académie du Vin Library or Amazon.
I caught up with SWR colleagues Delaney Sheridan and Dr Peter Stanbury to talk about the Sustainable Viticulture Protocol (SVP), a framework designed to help growers demonstrate sustainable practices in the vineyard. The SVP supports the transition from intensive chemical use toward regenerative practices, while accounting for the different conditions across regions.
Recently, SWR partnered with Waitrose to host a visit to Leckford Farms for SWR members. From data to financing, Delaney and Peter share the key insights from the day’s discussions and explain how SWR is turning these ideas into practical next steps through the SVP.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Nicolas Daspres, technical director at Terra Vitis, and my colleague Dr Peter Stanbury, SWR’s head of research. Terra Vitis, a French sustainability certification for winegrowers, was recently covered in the SWR’s second round of Standards Benchmarking. This benchmarking process, structured around the Global Reference Framework (GRF) – the first global statement of what sustainability in wine entails – provides a clear way to compare standards and drive alignment on meaningful progress.
We explore the process and requirements behind the Terra Vitis certification, including the organisation’s work on labour standards and sustainable packaging. Nicolas shares the benefits of the benchmarking process, the key insights for Terra Vitis, and the actions they are implementing moving forward. We also reflect on some of the broader themes from this second round of benchmarking and discuss what these findings mean for the SWR.
One of the SWR's key action areas is the Sustainable Viticulture Protocol (SVP), a principles-based framework to help with decision-making around chemical use, acknowledging that growing conditions vary considerably across regions. The SVP will be the centre of an on-going change management process away from intensive chemical use in the wine industry, towards a more sustainable, carbon-positive viticultural approach.
As part of this work, the SWR undertook a small research programme earlier this year to better understand producers' priorities around chemical inputs and vineyard management. The aim was to explore whether an approach of collaboration and sharing of insights would be applicable to the sustainability of viticulture.
My colleague Dr Peter Stanbury, SWR's head of research, joins me on the latest From the Roundtable podcast episode to share the findings and what they mean for the SVP.
SWR's Tobias Webb recently visited Colorado and discovered how a thriving wine region is developing, the sustainability issues they face, and what's next for high desert wine.
In the last of three podcasts, he speaks with Cassidee Shull, executive director, Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology (CAVE). Cassidee shares how the region has developed over the last few decades, the important role of wine tourism, and what sustainable growth looks like for the state.
SWR's Tobias Webb recently visited Colorado and discovered how a thriving wine region is developing, the sustainability issues they face, and what's next for high desert wine.
In the second of three podcasts, he speaks with Dr Charlotte Oliver, state viticultural extension specialist at Colorado State University. They discuss the challenges faced by winemakers in the state, how research is helping make vineyards more resilient and sustainable, and what the future of wine in Colorado looks like.
SWR's Tobias Webb recently visited Colorado and discovered how a thriving wine region is developing, the sustainability issues they face, and what's next for high desert wine.
In the first of three podcasts, he speaks with Nick Games, owner of Maison La Belle Vie in Palisade, Colorado. Located 1,500m above sea-level, Nick shares the peculiarities of growing grapes at a high altitude, the environmental challenges they face, and how they are adapting to a changing climate.
With more than 40 sustainability certification schemes across the global wine industry, comparing them can be complex and often confusing. To bring clarity, SWR is leading a benchmark of global wine sustainability standards to help buyers, growers, and consumers understand where these standards align and where they differ.
Following the successful pilot last year, the second round of benchmarking has now been completed, this time including two non-wine-specific standards: the EU Organic Regulation and Demeter certification. In the latest From the Roundtable podcast episode, Hanna Halmari is joined by SWR colleagues Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research, and Delaney Sheridan, operations manager. They share key insights from this second round, how learnings are being applied, and next steps going forward.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, Hanna Halmari is joined by Anna Nardi, director and brand ambassador at Perlage Winery in Veneto, Italy. The family-run business is known for its high-quality Prosecco and for pioneering organic viticulture in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG region.
Sustainability and innovation have been at the heart of the winery’s philosophy since its founding in 1985, when the Nardi family made the decision to fully convert to organic farming. Since then, the winery has continued to drive sustainable progress in the region: Perlage was the first producer of organic Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, the first to release a certified biodynamic Prosecco, and the first Italian winery to receive B Corp certification.
In this episode, Anna shares the story behind the winery’s evolution, the challenges of being organic in a traditional region, and key learnings from nearly four decades of sustainable innovation.
The wine sustainability landscape is incredibly fragmented, with more than 40 different standards in use globally. How do these standards compare? Where do they align, and how do they differ?
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is tackling this complexity head-on through its Standards Benchmarking action area. Each year, SWR will evaluate all wine sustainability standards against the Global Reference Framework and associated scoring matrix, to help bring greater transparency, clarity, and comparability.
A pilot benchmarking study was completed in 2024, analyzing six different wine standards, including Fair and Green.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I’m joined by Lukas Müller, association and policy officer at Fair and Green, and my colleague Dr. Peter Stanbury, SWR’s head of research. We discuss the importance of benchmarking sustainability standards, the nuances behind the process, and key learnings from the pilot. Lukas shares why Fair and Green volunteered to participate, the benefits they’ve seen from taking part, and what’s next for the certification.
Once again, a huge thank you to Fair and Green and the other participants for taking part in the pilot. We've recently concluded the second round of standards benchmarking and will be publishing a full report soon, so do keep an eye out for this.
The glass bottle is often the single largest contributor to a wine's carbon footprint, sometimes accounting for more than half of it. In response, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) began researching the lightweighting of still wine bottles a few years ago. This work led to the development of the Bottle Weight Accord (BWA), launched in 2023. Under the Accord, participants commit to reducing the average weight of their 750ml still wine bottles to below 420 grams by the end of 2026.
Since its launch, the BWA has gained significant traction. With over 20 global companies now involved, the Accord covers approximately 7.5% of all wine sold. As the initiative continues to make progress, the natural next step is to expand into the sparkling wine sector.
The SWR recently published its first progress report, laying the foundation for a Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord. In this podcast, Hanna Halmari and Dr Peter Stanbury, SWR's head of research, discuss the report’s findings, the unique challenges of sparkling wine packaging, and the next steps for a Sparkling Wine Accord.
In this latest From the Roundtable podcast episode, I'm joined by my SWR colleagues Toby Webb, founder and executive director, and Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research. We discuss the story behind the SWR - the how, why, when and where behind the formation of the roundtable.
Toby and Peter share insights into the SWR's origins, the progress we've made so far, and our plans for what's next.
If you’re interested in joining the SWR or getting involved in any of our action areas, please reach out to delaney@swroundtable.org.
It’s no secret that packaging makes up a significant proportion of wine’s carbon footprint. SWR’s research indicates that roughly half of the carbon impact of wine can be attributed to the glass bottle. Whilst many producers are working on light-weighting bottles (see the SWR Bottle Weight Accord), some are also exploring alternative packaging formats.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast, I speak with Kelsey Kolbo, business development manager - wine & liquor at Petainer, about the opportunities presented by PET packaging. Kelsey shares insights into the environmental and economic benefits of PET wine bottles, from lower carbon emissions to reduced risk of breakage. We discuss the drivers behind the shift to alternative formats, common misconceptions about PET, and more.
SWR is developing a Packaging Choice Framework, offering evidence-based insights into the merits and challenges of different packaging formats. If you're interested in learning more or supporting this work, please do get in touch!
How can producers make informed packaging choices that take into account not only environmental impacts, but also financial, practical and consumer considerations? The SWR's Packaging Choice Framework is an upcoming tool that aims to provide evidence-based insights to help guide producers in their packaging decisions.
In this latest From the Roundtable podcast episode, my SWR colleagues Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research, and Delaney Sheridan, operations manager, join me to discuss the what, why, how and when of the upcoming framework.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast, Hanna Halmari speaks with Holly Ellis, people and culture manager, and Molly Newport, wine buyer, from Ellis Wines.
The wine merchant recently became the first in the UK to power its delivery fleet with sustainable Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel. Holly and Molly share insights into the carbon impact of wine distribution and the practical steps Ellis Wines is taking to reduce its footprint, from lightweight packaging and route optimisation to bulk shipping and fleet electrification. You can read more about Ellis Wine's broader sustainability and social impact commitments here.
SWR's Delaney Sheridan also joins the conversation to highlight how the SWR's Packaging Choice Framework and Bottle Miles Calculator projects will support members in cutting emissions. If you're interested in getting involved in either action area, please reach out to Delaney at delaney@swroundtable.org.
SWR's Hanna Halmari recently caught up with colleagues Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research, and Delaney Sheridan, operations manager, for a brief conversation about the Global Reference Framework (GRF). The GRF underpins all of the SWR's action areas, and in this short podcast, Peter and Delaney explain what the GRF actually is, how it was developed, and its importance in the work of the Roundtable.
If you’re interested in joining the SWR or getting involved in any of our action areas, please reach out to delaney@swroundtable.org.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast, Hanna Halmari speaks with Valentina Lira, director of sustainability for Concha y Toro in Chile.
As one of the world’s ten largest wine companies, Concha y Toro has a unique opportunity to drive significant environmental change - and it’s not wasting any time doing so. The company has accelerated its net-zero target to 2040, advancing the goal by 10 years. Valentina shares how Concha y Toro is driving climate action, from implementing regenerative agriculture practices, to reducing bottle weight and transportation and distribution emissions. We also explore the importance of the Bottle Weight Accord, how to engage packaging suppliers to reduce bottle weight, and the progress Concha y Toro has made so far in these efforts.
2024 was an extraordinary year of collaboration, growth and impact for the SWR. We’ve entered the new year with momentum, excitement, and big plans ahead of us!
In this SWR update podcast, I speak with Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research, and Delaney Sheridan, operations manager, to find out more about our 2025 plans and what members can expect over the coming months.
If you’re interested in joining the SWR or getting involved in any of our action areas, please reach out to info@swroundtable.org.
The SWR's Bottle Weight Accord (BWA) launched in November 2023. To mark the one-year anniversary of the Accord, the SWR held a webinar to present the latest data and narratives from BWA signatories, to showcase the tangible results achieved so far.
The Accord is a core commitment by signatories to reduce their average bottle weight of 750ml still bottles to below 420g by the end of 2026. At the time of launch, the BWA had 8 signatories, primarily consisting of retailers. Now, a year later, it encompasses 20 participants and more than 1.5 billion wine bottles produced and sold. This represents around 5% of all wine production worldwide.
Listen to the webinar recording to hear first-hand experiences and key learnings from signatories on how they have implemented the Accord. Hear from:
- Dr Peter Stanbury, research director, SWR
- Rick Eplway, executive leader of merchandising, adult beverages, Whole Foods Market
- Dr Laura Catena, managing director, Bodega Catena Zapata
- Joe Olding, assistant buyer, Tesco
In this end of year podcast the Sustainable Wine Roundtable team review the progress made in 2024 and look ahead to the SWR's 2030 strategy.
Hear from the SWR's founder, Toby Webb, head of research, Dr Peter Stanbury, and head of operations, Delaney Sheridan, as they reflect on the positive developments and milestones achieved in various action areas, including the Bottle Weight Accord, Standards Benchmarking, Sustainable Viticulture Protocol, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast, Hanna Halmari speaks with Viviana Navarrete, the winemaker behind San Pedro TAYU and Viña Leyda. Both brands are part of Chile's VSPT Wine Group, one of the world's top 20 wine producers.
Viviana shares the inspiring story of San Pedro TAYU, a unique Pinot Noir produced in collaboration with the Indigenous Mapuche community in Chile's Malleco Valley, located in the Araucanía region. The partnership began in 2015 with two families and has since grown to include eleven families, with a total of 27.5 hectares of vineyards planted on the community’s own land. The community-centric project combines the Mapuche's traditional knowledge of the land with VSPT's expertise in viticulture, creating a long-term model for shared value creation and collaboration.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Dr Laura Catena, managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and Luca Winery. Laura is a fourth-generation Argentine vintner, physician, and wine writer. She holds a biology degree from Harvard University and a medical doctor degree from Stanford.
Laura is also the founder of the Catena Institute of Wine, which is dedicated to preserving Malbec and elevating Argentine wine since 1995. The Catena Institute is a founding member of the SWR, as well as a recent signatory of the SWR's Bottle Weight Accord.
Laura shares why Catena joined the accord, highlights their progress in lightweighting bottles, and emphasizes the importance of collaboration in addressing consumer misconceptions about bottle weight and wine quality.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Prof. Dr. Mortiz Wagner from the Department of Applied Ecology at Geisenheim University in Germany.
They discuss the SWR's recently launched Sustainable Viticulture Protocol (SVP). The SVP is a shared framework for decision-making in relation to chemical use that aims to improve viticulture practices, with an emphasis on the reduction of chemical inputs and the adoption of regenerative techniques. The protocol was launched earlier this year, off the back of extensive research by an SWR inputs working group of which Moritz was part of.
Moritz shares key learnings from the research, why the protocol is necessary, and what progress he hopes to see over the next year.
Globally, there are more than 40 sustainability standards in the wine sector. How do these, and the organisations behind them actually drive positive change on sustainability along the value chain? Where do they work well, and where are the gaps to fill? Moreover, what can be done to ensure that they are as effective as possible?
In this webinar we deep dive into the role of sustainability standards in shaping the future of the wine industry. We bring together leaders from standards organisations, retailers, and producers to explore how these standards influence operations from vineyard to market. We examine the practical challenges and benefits of adopting sustainability standards, with a focus on ensuring they are accessible and impactful for all stakeholders, including smaller producers.
Key discussion topics include:
- How sustainability standards drive best practices in vineyards, wineries, and supply chains.
- The challenge of inclusivity: ensuring smaller growers are not left behind.
- How standards are used by growers, and how they decide which ones to use
- How sustainability standards influence purchasing decisions and shape the market.
- What do consumers think? How standards affect their buying choices.
We also provide an exclusive preview of SWR’s upcoming benchmarking pilot results and discuss how our benchmarking process addresses the growing complexity of sustainability standards in wine.
Speakers:
- Will Drayton, Director Technical Viticulture, Sustainability & Research, Treasury Wine Estates (USA)
- Linda Johansson, Sustainability Manager, Systembolaget (Sweden)
- Kate Venugopal, International Marketing Sustainability Specialist, Wine Institute (USA)
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
If you have any questions with regards to SWR’s sustainability standards benchmarking, please contact Dr. Peter Stanbury (Research Director) or Delaney Sheridan (Operations Manager).
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Jody Bogle, vice president of consumer relations at Bogle Family Vineyards.
They discuss Bogle’s new wine label, Element[AL] that launched earlier this year. The wine comes in a first-of-its-kind aluminium wine bottle - not a can, but a full-size wine bottle. Jody shares why they chose aluminum, what the process from inception to bottling looked like, and insights on consumer perceptions and marketing.
The SWR recently launched the Sustainable Viticulture Protocol. The protocol is a shared set of steps that aims to reorient viticulture practices, with an emphasis on the reduction of chemical inputs and the adoption of regenerative techniques.
In case you missed the launch or you're short on time, you can listen to this podcast for a quick update on the protocol. Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the SWR, and director of research and standards Dr Peter Stanbury share the context behind the protocol, what we're trying to achieve, and next steps.
There are over 40 wine sustainability standards around the world. This is understandable given the fact that sustainability in wine is so context dependent. It’s also incredibly confusing. With so much variability, how can you assess how these certifications and standards compare against each other?
This is where the SWR ‘Global Reference Framework’ (GRF) comes in. As the first global statement of what sustainability means in the wine sector, the GRF is a tool which will enable transparent benchmarking of wine sustainability standards around the world.
A pilot benchmarking of 6 standards is currently underway, with the aim to test the applicability of the GRF and the scoring matrix. In this short podcast Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the SWR, and director of research and standards Dr Peter Stanbury share the latest updates on the standards benchmarking project and future plans.
Sustainable Viticulture Protocol Launch Webinar
On July 9th, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) proudly unveiled the ‘SWR Sustainable Viticulture Protocol’ to an enthusiastic virtual audience of wine professionals. The webinar launch was moderated by Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, SWR, who introduced the protocol and its objectives.
Environmental practices in the vineyard, particularly the use of chemicals like herbicides, fungicides, and fertilisers, are critical issues in wine sustainability. While organic and biodynamic methods have gained popularity for their reduced chemical use, they are not the only paths to achieving sustainability. Our new protocol seeks to reorient viticulture practices, emphasising thereduction of chemical inputs and the adoption of regenerative techniques.
The development of the Sustainable Viticulture Protocol stems from a year’s worth of dedicated work focused on addressing the sustainable use of vineyard chemicals supported by SWR members Treasury Wine Estates (USA), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (USA), VSPT Wine Group (Chile), Cloudy Bay (New Zealand), and Hochschule Geinsenheim University (Germany). This protocol is not merely about reducing chemical usage but also about reshaping viticulture practices to inherently require fewer chemical inputs. It builds on the success of the Bottle Weight Accord, which has driven significant industry-wide action towards reducing bottle weight.
Read more here.
Reducing wine bottle weight is a no-brainer: The bottle makes up almost half of wine's total carbon footprint, and it's an opportunity for the sector to demonstrate real change in its environmental impact and carbon reduction.
Last autumn the SWR developed the Bottle Weight Accord (BWA) in which signatories around the world committed to reducing their average bottle weight to below 420g by the end of 2026. At the time of launch, the BWA had 13 participants, primarily consisting of retailers. Now, six months later, the number of participants has grown to 19, with numerous producers in the mix.
In this short podcast Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the SWR, and director of research and standards Dr Peter Stanbury, provide a brief update on the Accord and the progress made so far. They reflect on the easy wins, the biggest challenges, the trade-offs that need to be addressed, and more.
You can read more about the Accord and how to get involved here.
At the end of May 2024, we marked the six-month anniversary of the SWR Bottle Weight Accord’s release with a reflective webinar. We discussed the progress and future of the Bottle Weight Accord, highlighting the advancements made, stories and experiences of our members, and our vision for the next phase of the Accord.
Discover how the Accord is evolving to include both retailers and producers, expanding geographically, and fostering critical conversations around implementation. Speakers:
- Simon Mason, Head of Wine Sustainability & Due Diligence, The Wine Society
- Emily Revell, Purpose & Sustainability Manager, Virgin Wines
- Nicolas Daspres, Technical Director, Terra Vitis
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
In this short podcast Toby Webb, founder of the SWR, and head of research Dr Peter Stanbury provide a quick update on the work the SWR is doing in the sustainable viticulture space.
Organic and biodynamic approaches aren't necessarily always possible or the best way forward for all vineyards, given factors such as weather conditions, terroir, and rainfall. The SWR is busy trying to understand what a principle-based approach to sustainable viticulture could look like and how we can move towards regenerative vineyards. Listen to the podcast to find out more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Anne Laure Ferroir, director at Terra Vitis, and Morgane Le Breton, co-manager at Maison Le Breton.
They discuss how eco-design is evolving in France, with a particular focus on light-weighting bottles and alternative packaging formats. Morgane shares how Maison Le Breton is approaching sustainable packaging, and Anne-Laure reflects on the initiatives she's seeing across Terra Vitis members.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Emily Brighton MW, head of technical at North South Wines, the first UK wine distributor to receive B Corp accreditation.
Emily achieved her Master of Wine title earlier this year, for which she wrote a research paper investigating the impact of B Corp certification on wine distributors. In this podcast they discuss the main findings of Emily's research and the key learnings and insights for others working towards becoming a B Corp.
You can find Emily's research paper here.
One of the key pillars of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable is to help raise the quality of information and understanding of what sustainability is in wine. The Global Reference Framework (GRF) aims to do exactly that, and in this short podcast Toby Webb, founder of the SWR, and head of research Dr Peter Stanbury provide a quick update on the workstream.
With over 70 sustainability standards globally relevant to the wine industry, the GRF aims to enable a transparent cross-comparison of all of these existing standards. Peter and Toby discuss the progress made so far, how they've ensured a robust process throughout, the impact they want to see a year from now, and what's next.
This podcast is the second in a series of brief SWR action area updates we'll be publishing this month.
In this short podcast Toby Webb, founder of the SWR, and head of research Dr Peter Stanbury provide a quick update on the Bottle Weight Accord. They reflect on the progress made to date since the launch of the Accord six months ago, and look ahead to future milestones and next steps.
You can read more about the Accord and how to get involved here.
This podcast is the first in a series of brief SWR action area updates we'll be publishing this month.
Earlier this year at ProWein, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable's Richard Bampfield MW caught up with Fabian Kerbeck, sustainability and quality control lead at the VDP and Johannes Hasselbach from Weingut Gunderloch.
Fabian and Johannes share what's happening in the German sustainable wine space, with a particular focus on the role of the VDP in promoting sustainability amongst its 200 members. They discuss the importance of collaboration, the need to move away from dogma towards a more flexible approach to sustainability in the vineyard, and more.
Hilke Dahlem, co-president of the VDP, also joins the conversation to share some more background on the VDP, why the association was set up, and what sustainability means for the VDP today.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Romain Ott, winemaker at the Provençal winery Château Léoube. Romain shares the estate's approach to sustainability, specifically their focus on organic viticulture and biodiversity. Romain underscores the importance of protecting and restoring nature through maintaining and regenerating what already exists: We need to work with the nature, help it and guide it, rather than trying to "recreate the environment."
They also discuss the impact of climate change in the Provence region, how winemakers are adapting, the role of innovation, and more.
In this podcast Toby Webb, founder of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, talks with Etelle Higonnet. They discuss vitiforestry and it's potential and use in vineyards for management of climate risk and nature improvements. For more resources on vitiforestry, including a contact database, see here.
The SWR Bottle Weight Accord now has 15 signatories with many more wine businesses, from retailers to producers, currently in the process of joining.
The SWR Bottle Weight Accord is a voluntary collaboration in which signatories commit to reducing the average 750ml still wine bottle weight to below an average of 420 grammes by the end of 2026.
At SWR we know this is not going to be easy. Our role is also to support members in making this happen. We will do this in two ways:
- Firstly, we’ll drive both connections and collaboration between members so they can share challenges and solutions.
- Secondly, we’re developing guidance and tools to enable the Accord to happen.
In this webinar our speakers share more about the process, the outcomes and most importantly, the climate and savings.
Speakers include:
- Dr Peter Stanbury, Research and Standards Director, SWR
- Anne-Laure Ferroir, Director, Terra Vitis
- Jeff Turnas, Senior Vice President of Culinary, Whole Foods Market
Moderated by Tobias Webb, Founder and Executive Director, SWR
In this short podcast Sustainable Wine Roundtable founder Toby Webb and head of research Dr Peter Stanbury discuss the Bottle Weight Accord. They explain what it is, why wine retailers and producers are signing up, and why you should too.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Amanda Whiteland, CEO of Margaret River Wine Association (MRWA) in Western Australia.
Amanda explains what makes the region so unique for winemaking and shares more about MRWA and its sustainability initiatives. They discuss how climate change is affecting the region, how winemakers are adapting, and what the future looks like for Margaret River wine.
You can find MRWA's inaugural sustainability report here and a few sustainability case studies below:
- Revegetation Program – Voyager Estate
- Wastewater – Cape Mentelle & Stormflower
- Energy Savings – Xanadu Winery
In this podcast Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, and marketing consultant Joe Fattorini have a candid conversation about communicating sustainability to consumers.
Toby, representing his personal views and not those of the SWR, takes a deliberately provocative stance. He kicks off the conversation by suggesting that communicating sustainability in today's wine industry "is a waste of time." Trying to communicate sustainability is too difficult at the moment, he says, and it instead distracts us from the real business of sustainability in wine.
Joe, with his background as a tv presenter, marketing consultant, and wine merchant, brings in a different perspective, having typically worked closely with the customer as the starting point. Listen to the discussion to find out what points they agree on, and where they disagree.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Luke Landers, senior sustainability manager at online wine retailer Naked Wines UK. Luke explains how Naked Wines effectively cuts out the middleman and facilitates a direct connection between customers and winemakers. They discuss the key sustainability priorities for the retailer, how their unique model enables them to support winemakers and growers in sustainable production, and how they educate and engage consumers on sustainable wine.
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is delighted to present an in-depth exploration of labour standards and human rights in the wine industry in our three-part workshop series. This workshop series aims to shed light on these pressing issues and initiate a collective effort towards their resolution.
This final workshop from 21st November provides attendees with actionable insights to address labor rights challenges within their own businesses or functions. It aims to equip participants with the tools needed to assess and mitigate such risks.
Our esteemed panelists include:
- Linda Lipparoni, CEO, WIETA
- Jason Glaser, CEO, La Isla Network
- Silvia Bianco, Italy Programme Manager, Stronger Together
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is delighted to present an in-depth exploration of labour standards and human rights in the wine industry in our three-part workshop series. This workshop series aims to shed light on these pressing issues and initiate a collective effort towards their resolution.
In this second part of the workshop from 2nd November, we build upon existing expertise in various industries, showcasing best practices and guidance applicable to the wine sector.
Our esteemed panelists include:
- Yann Wyss, Global Head, Social Impact and Human Rights, Nestlé
- Alexander Sykes, Sustainable Sourcing, Diageo
- Sophia Gynch, Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, OECD
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is delighted to present an in-depth exploration of labour standards and human rights in the wine industry in our three-part workshop series. This workshop series aims to shed light on these pressing issues and initiate a collective effort towards their resolution.
This inaugural session from 18th October 2023 explores the issues which are covered by the concept of human and labour rights. We cover topics such as forced and migrant labour, living wage standards, and modern slavery, providing concrete examples.
Our esteemed panelists include:
- Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
- Jantine Werdmuller von Elgg, CEO, Stronger Together
- Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, Institute for Human Rights and Business
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari is joined by Harriet Kininmonth, wine trading director, and George Kyle, head of ESG, from C&C Group.
C&C Group is a multinational drinks manufacturing, marketing and distribution company. As George says, it's "probably the largest alcohol brand and distribution business that people don't know about." George shares the group's approach to sustainable and ethical procurement, and Harriet provides insights into how the sustainability strategy translates into practice for the wine division.
On Tuesday, 10th October 2023, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable officially launched the SWR Bottle Weight Accord.
The launch followed a 6-month in-depth study into wine bottle weight reduction, which was co-funded by SWR retailer members Alko (Finland), Lidl GB (UK), Systembolaget (Sweden), The Wine Society (UK) and Whole Foods Market (USA). The SWR ‘Bottle Weight Accord’ is focused on the light weighting of 750ml still wine bottles with the initial target to reduce the current average bottle weight among its retailer members from 550g to 420g before the end of 2026.
The launch event speakers included:
- Dr Peter Stanbury, Research Director, SWR
- Jancis Robinson MW
- Marcus Ihre, Sustainability Manager, Systembolaget
- Dom de Ville, Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, The Wine Society
- Douglas Bell, Global Purchasing Manager, Whole Foods Market
- Ella Worley, Wine Portfolio Lead, Naked Wines USA
- Nick Kirk, Technical Director, British Glass
About the SWR Bottle Weight Accord
This accord is supported by the following retailers: Laithwaites, Lidl GB, Naked Wines UK, Naked Wines USA, Systembolaget AB, The Wine Society, Virgin Wines, Waitrose & Partners, Whole Foods Market.
The glass bottle is the single most significant component of wine’s entire carbon footprint. Research by the SWR shows that as much as half of the carbon impact of wine comes from the bottle itself, a combination of embedded carbon from manufacturing along with the energy required to transport it.
Based on the findings of that research, the SWR has launched the Bottle Weight Accord supported those retail members listed above in order to reduce the average weight of the 750ml still wine bottles they sell from the current average of approximately 550 grams to an average bottle weight below 420 grams by the end of 2026.
This will be achieved through a number of steps:
- Removing as many of the heaviest bottles as soon as possible;
- Light-weighting the bottles of “own brand” wines by the end of 2025;
- Collaborating through SWR to work with branded wines makers.
Each SWR retailer member has undertaken to introduce phased reductions within their own procurement processes. The modalities for each member will be communicated to SWR, which will monitor progress over time. In each case this will include providing SWR every six months with the member’s average wine bottle weight so that SWR can demonstrate publicly bottle weight reductions over time.
As part of this accord, SWR will also work with its members in other parts of the supply chain to facilitate this process of change. This will include working with producers to access lighter weight bottles and providing guidance to bottlers on changes in the management of filling lines. We recognise that there may be challenges in certain areas, for example with the packaging rules of some appellations. However, the SWR believes that taking a collective approach to these issues is the most effective way of delivering change.
The SWR sees taking average wine bottle weight below 420g as only the first step, and will be exploring what further reductions will be possible over time. We will also be undertaking further work to address the carbon impact of wine packaging, including light-weighting of sparkling wine bottles, examination of the expanded use of alternative packaging formats, and of bulk shipping.
For further information, please contact Dr. Peter Stanbury (SWR Research Director) peter@swroundtable.org or Tom Owtram (SWR General Manager) - tom@swroundtable.org
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity” conference from 1st February 2023.
Fictional case study: What a carbon positive wine would look like from vine to post-consumption
In this short session, we consider how grapes from harvest will be consumed sustainably by 2030, including the all important packaging and distribution aspect. We look at how a regenerative, circular wine supply will look end to end, and have the
most positive impact on society and the environment.
Speakers:
- Dom de Ville, Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, The Wine Society
- Tamlyn Currin, Sustainability Editor, JancisRobinson.com
- David A. Harvey, Raeburn Fine Wines
Moderator: James Streeter, Chair to SWR Leadership Committee, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks to Michael Parks, director of sustainability at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). TWE is an Australian winemaking and distribution business with global operations. Michael shares how sustainability is embedded throughout the business and the progress they have made on climate action. They also discuss how TWE is helping its growers transition to sustainable practices, the role of certification, and how to promote responsible alcohol consumption.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) webinar from 26th July, 2023 our expert speakers discuss the role of carbon insetting and nature enhancement in the wine industry and what part the SWR can play.
Key discussion points include:
- What do we mean by insetting?
- How are carbon and nature enhancement linked?
- What is the landscape approach? How would that work?
- What is wine's unique advantage in this space?
- What might an SWR role be?
- Challenges and opportunities
- Discussion of next steps
Speakers* Dom de Ville, director of sustainability and social impact, The Wine Society * Marta Juega Rivera, sustainability manager and winemaker, Alliance Wine * Antonio Roade, ESG director, Adolfo Dominguez * Tobias Webb, executive director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks to Carlos de Jesus, director of marketing & communications at Amorim Cork, the world's largest producer and supplier of cork stoppers. Cork is often referred to as one of the most sustainable materials in the world. Carlos explains why, sharing how the harvesting of cork contributes to environmental, economic and social sustainability. They also discuss the role of certification, recycling, and why cork will remain a competitive closure in the future.
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 "How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity" conference from 1st February 2023.
Supply chain data collection, how will unified approaches transform sustainability performance?
Big players in wine, such as retailers, want to take a consistent approach to the sustainability data they ask for from importers, distributors, producers and other suppliers. This makes sense and can also have a positive impact on the value chain in terms of reducing costs and saving time. So what are the trends? We’ll include an update on the SWR retailer initiative in this area and look at how bottle weight approaches will spread to other areas.
Speakers:
- Erica Landin-Löfving, Chief Sustainability Officer, Vintage Wine Estates
- Ondrej Tarabus, Climate Programme Director, Preferred by Nature
- Andres Valero, Sustainable Leader, Grupo Avinea, Argentina
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Fabian Kerbeck, sustainability and quality control lead at the VDP in Germany. The VDP is a German wine group representing many of the country's top producers (around 200) with strict member requirements on quality and sustainability. Hanna and Fabian discuss the VDP's sustainability agenda, milestones, and more.
Sustainable Wine’s Toby Webb recently visited Dourakis Winery in Chania, Crete where he spoke with oenologist Adonis Dourakis. In this podcast Adonis shares more about their wines and how climate change is impacting indigenous grapes in the region. They discuss the current state of grape growing in Greece, how growers are adapting to the changing climate, and the future of regenerative viticulture in Crete.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb is joined by Joe Fattorini, marketing consultant, and Dr Peter Stanbury, head of research, SWR, for an honest conversation on the realities of sustainability. In this first part of a mini-series on debunking myths in wine, they debate trends and facts, and discuss consumer research, myths, hypocrisy, and more.
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
What will a sustainable vineyard and winery look like in 2030?
This session offers both a summing up of what we learned during the event, and a look forward into the future. Technology cannot save us, but we know it will help a lot. But cultural change around existing practices also matters. How will these factors combine, in that watershed year of 2030, to change how the sustainable vineyard and winery operate? How will such changes, affect how they relate to the rest of the wine value chain?
Speakers
- Chris Boiling, Freelance Consultant and Wine Writer
- Laura Catena, Owner, Catena Institute of Wine
- Julien Gervreau, Founding Board Member, International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA)
- Jason Haas, Partner & General Manager, Tablas Creek
- Dr. Greg Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Abacela
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, SWR
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
Emerging solutions for sustainability in vineyards and wineries (Dragons Den)
This is the really fun part of the conference. In this session we ask three seasoned wine experts to judge some existing and up and coming solutions from those who believe they have THE solution to one sustainability related challenge or another. 3-4 start ups and solution providers make 3 minute pitches around specific challenges, and our Dragons in response, roar.
Speakers:
- David Carter, CEO, Deep Planet
- Nicolas Jamin, Oenologist – ENITAB, Member of the board of directors of Aquitaine Biodynamie
- Dr. Enno Lippold, Owner and Winemaker, Dr. Lippold & Associates - Consulting Enologists
- Jennifer Lynch, Manager, Industrial Redesign & Innovation - Climate & Engineering, Deloitte
Moderator: Richard Bampfield, MW
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the winery: Sustainable design, and building efficiency
It’s clear that applying modern design and thinking to wineries can make them look beautiful. It can also, and usually does, hugely improve energy efficiency. But most wineries don’t get the chance to rebuild from the ground up, given the cost. So which are the changes which can deliver energy efficiency, whilst reducing climate impacts and saving money This session features some leading experts to discuss.
Speakers:
- Oscar Bayley, CSR Manager, Famille Perrin
- Marie Fourure, CSR Project Manager, Famille Perrin
- Victoria González-Gordon López de Carrizosa, Chief Sustainability Officer, González Byass
- Carlos Manuel Silva, CEO, Amorim Insulation
Moderator: David Harvey, Raeburn Fine Wines
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the winery: Energy use and Capturing CO2 – should you do it?
A handful of wineries around the world are capturing and re-using or storing CO2. In this session we ask why, although we know part of the answer (climate change). but also, how much does it cost to do so? What does it cost to capture – and re-use - CO2, and what are the uses for it (in tanks, as a solid) once you have it. In this session we talk to those who’ve been doing it, and put audience questions on the how and why, directly to them.
Speakers:
- Felix Egerer, Viticulturist, Unsworth Vineyards
- Joao Luis Barroso, Sustainability Coordinator, Wines of Alentejo
- Sergio Nicolau, Viticulturist and Agronomist, Orgo Regenerative Biology Management
- Diana Snowden Seysses, Winemaker, Snowden Vineyards
Moderator: James Streeter, Chair, SWR
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the winery: Water use
We’ve all been to wineries, or worked in them, and seen the endless hoses, doing important work helping managing hygiene and wine quality. But how clear are we about what represents best practice in winery water use? On the one hand no-one likes to waste water, but on the other, it is not always competitively priced, and incentives matter. In this session we consider if there is a knowledge sharing gap, how much water efficiency can save producers, and what role SWR might play.
Speakers
- Nicolas Daspres, Programme Coordinator, Terra Vitis Loire
- Robert Eden, General Manager, Chateau Maris
- Andrés Valero, Sustainability and CSR Leader, Grupo Avinea
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, SWR
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the vineyard: Agroforestry and regeneration
Do vineyard operators understand what agroforestry means for vineyards? How can such practices tackle climate change and add to regeneration? In this session our speakers discuss the benefits and practices that make a difference.
Speakers
- Nicolas Daspres, Programme Coordinator, Terra Vitis Loire
- Etelle Higonnet, Environmental and Human Rights Expert, Chevalier de L'ordre National du Mérite
- Mathieu Meyer, Estate Director, Château Galoupet, (LVMH)
Moderator: Patrick Worms, Senior Science Policy Advisor, CIFOR-ICRAF
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the vineyard: Water and irrigation
“We’ll run out of water before climate change gets us”. So said the owner of a leading Spanish producer at a London event recently. Nothing focuses the minds on climate change quite like extended drought. It’s clear we can’t really separate the two.
So what are the emerging better practices on water and irrigation management? More importantly, how can groups such as SWR enable the sharing of practices and data, so the producer groups can learn, and share, what works in improving practices, and outcomes?
Speakers
- Cecilia Acosta, Agricultural Manager, Grupo Avinea
- Dudley Brown, Owner and Viticulturist, Inkwell Wines
- Álvaro Martinho Lopes, Winemaker, Real Companhia Velha
- Sushma Shankar, Co-Founder & COO, Deep Planet
Moderator: James Streeter, Chair, SWR
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In the vineyard: How does sustainability regenerate vineyards without organics?
Those who work in sustainable viticulture know that organics are not the solution to sustainable vineyards at scale. So without spending our time knocking organics, we focus this session on answering the question: “What does sustainability in vineyards, at scale, look like?” SWR has a working group of leading large scale producers looking at this. We consider their views and have an interactive discussion.
Speakers
- Stephen Cronk, Chairman of Trustees, Regenerative Viticulture Foundation
- Bruno Le Breton, Owner & Winemaker, BLB Vignobles
- Michele Manelli, Owner & Winemaker, Salcheto Winery
- Dr. Charles 'Merf' Merfield, Merfield Agronomy Ltd
Moderator: David Harvey, Raeburn Fine Wines
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
What are the regulatory, business case, and investor drivers for sustainability?
Large wine retailers, as high profile companies exposed to climate risk, investor interest and millions of customers, understand the drivers for sustainability change. But smaller companies, outside some large producer groups in wine, face less scrutiny and pressure. Our panel discusses how the business case for sustainability is moving from larger to smaller companies in wine, and what can be done to turn ‘business drivers’ into commercial opportunity.
Speakers
- Stephanie Duboudin, Interim CEO, Winevictoria
- Marcus Ihre, Sustainability Manager, Systembolaget
- Andrew Gale, Director of Technical & Sustainability, Enotria & Coe
- Gregoire Letort, Founder, Stealth Mode
Moderator: Caroline Hermann MW
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
Can sustainability make vineyards and wineries more profitable? Practical examples
In this opening session, we avoid cliched leadership speeches and dive right into real life practical examples of HOW sustainability in practice has delivered for wine businesses, both in the fields and in production.
Speakers:
- Dom de Ville, Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, The Wine Society
- Victoria González-Gordon López de Carrizosa, Chief Sustainability Officer, González Byass
- Marta Mendonca, Manager, Porto Protocol
Moderator: Wendy Narby, Wine Educator and Founder, Insider Tastings
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 “The sustainable vineyard and winery in 2030” conference from 3rd May 2023.
In this pre-event workshop, we discuss how the wine sector can tackle important labour and human rights issues in wine. We look at the drivers, incentives and business case to do so, and focus on how SWR can work with members to deliver a practical programme that meets retailers needs whilst focusing on better outcomes for vineyard and winery operators, and their workforce.
Speakers:
- Axel Kollberg, Sustainability Manager - Human Rights in Global Supply Chains, Systembolaget
- Anu Kultalahti, Researcher, Finnwatch
- Timothy Gore, Director, Sustainability Advisory (Climate, Circular Economy & Human Rights), KPMG
- Jimena Sanchez, Network Representative, Amfori
- Stefano Stefanucci, Director, Equalitas
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, SWR
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Caine Thompson, managing director at Robert Hall Winery and O'Neill Vintners & Distillers.
Robert Hall is currently running an industry first comparative study of sustainable vs regenerative vineyard management. Caine and Hanna discuss what regenerative means to Robert Hall, the learnings of the study so far, as well as why O’Neill pursued B-Corp certification.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Toby Webb talks with Dom de Ville, director of sustainability and social impact at The Wine Society.
The Wine Society recently published a carbon footprint report. In this podcast Dom gives a breakdown of the Society's carbon footprint calculations, their reduction targets, and how the Society is planning to achieve these. Toby and Dom discuss the importance of bottle weight reduction, the potential of insetting, the ambition of becoming nature-positive, and more.
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 "How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity" conference from 1st February 2023.
Alternative packaging formats and social acceptance
Alternative packaging is a broad spectrum for consumers. Some of it is really appealing, whilst some looks straight out of the 1970s. Design will be key in driving consumer demand but so will ‘choice editing’ and preferential shelf space by retailers, along with other consumer marketing efforts. So what are the latest numbers on sales, and how do/will sales scale and impacts (recycling) be tackled?
Speakers:
- Barry Dick, BWS Global Bulk Wine Sourcing Manager, Waitrose & Partners
- Anne Jones, Wines, Beers and Spirits Expert. Sustainability, Waitrose and Partners
- Oliver Lea, The BIB Wine Company
Moderator: Joe Fattorini, Marketing Consultant
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 "How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity" conference from 1st February 2023.
Bottle weight reduction
Bottle weight reduction is happening, but not nearly fast enough. So how are groups such as SWR accelerating the process? What are some timescales and upcoming requirements from retailers? How can change be supported across the value chain? How will reduction plans be best aligned with alternative packaging approaches?
Speakers:
- Nick Kirk, Technical Director, British Glass
- Simon Mason, Head of Wine Sustainability & Due Diligence, The Wine Society
- Linda Johansson, Sustainability Manager, Systembolaget
- Barry Dick, BWS Global Bulk Wine Sourcing Manager, Waitrose & Partners
- Josep Maria Ribas Portella, International Wineries for Climate Action
- Maarten Vreeswijk, Ahold Delhaize Wine Buying Center
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 "How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity" conference from 1st February 2023.
So you understand the need to tackle emissions: How do you get started?
Climate strategies must be part of a holistic sustainability strategy, which is more than a few web pages featuring babydoll sheep, alternative packaging pilots and diversity initiatives. Starting with climate change is a good way into broader sustainability strategies. So how can you learn from wine businesses trying to lead in the space. Specifically:
- What are the tools and off the shelf approaches that help you set a baseline?
- How do you put them into action, and what is a meaningful timeline to create a climate, then a holistic sustainability strategy?
- Examples of how it’s done – what are the transferable lessons for others?
- How can collaboration initiatives, such as SWR, improve collaboration and sharing of better practices?
Speakers:
- Julien Gervreau, Founding Board Member, International Wineries for Climate Action
- Michele Manelli, Owner and Winemaker, Salcheto Winery
- Sarah Braude, Casella Family Brands, Australia
Moderator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
This is a recording of a panel session from the SWR Global Conference Series 2023 "How to turn climate mitigation and adaptation into business opportunity" conference from 1st February 2023.
Strategy in action: Real life examples of climate innovation creating business opportunity
The science and impacts of climate change are clear, and do not need debating here. What we do need to urgently consider is how wine businesses can turn mitigation and adaptation into opportunity. In this session, we’ll discuss:
- Is there too much doom and gloom? Do we need to change the climate narrative in wine?
- What constitutes an effective climate strategy - and how that must be part of a credible broader sustainability strategy?
- Examples of game changing approaches in action: How do we inspire wine businesses to take action, and lead using their ability to engage consumers and the value chain?
- What’s the role of groups such as the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR), and others, in coordinating and catalysing action, and communicating that to the industry and outside wine?
Speakers:
- Kim Forsberg, Sustainability Manager, Vingruppen
- Marta Mendonca, The Porto Protocol
- Valentina Lira, Sustainability Director, Concha y Toro
- Sandrine Sommer, CSO, Moet Hennessy
- James Streeter, Chair of SWR Leadership Committee, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
Moderator: Toby Webb, Executive Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
In this Sustainable Wine podcast Toby Webb sits down with Franck Bijon, president of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.
Located in the Médoc in Bordeaux, France, around 250 châteaux are part of the classification, with most of them family-owned. Looking ahead to the future of sustainable wine in the region, Franck shares the sustainability targets of the classification. They discuss labor issues, organic viticulture, QR codes on wine bottles, consumer engagement, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Magdalena Pesce, general manager at Wines of Argentina.
They discuss the biggest sustainability challenges and opportunities in the country, and how Wines of Argentina is helping wineries navigate the changing landscape. They also highlight the important work of the Women of Argentina Platform. Magdalena shares how the organization is working to advance equal opportunities and strengthen the role of women in the sector.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Marie Fourure, CSR manager at Famille Perrin, a leading organic wine grower in the Southern Rhône Valley in France.
They discuss the family's global sustainability strategy, how climate change is affecting the their vineyards and wine making processes, the renovation work taking place at Château de Beaucastel, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable podcast Tom Owtram speaks with David Gates, Senior VP of Vineyard Operations at Ridge Vineyards in California.
Ridge Vineyards is the largest grower of organically certified grapes in Sonoma County and in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. David shares an overview of the winery's farming philosophy and why they decided to transition to organic farming in 2008. They discuss the key challenges in the conversion, the impact of climate change in the vineyards, and how Ridge is adapting to a warming climate.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable podcast Tom Owtram speaks with Randall Grahm, winemaker and founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard in California. Grahm has recently purchased a vineyard site in San Juan Bautista, which he calls Popelouchum, (the Mutsun word for “paradise").
Randall shares his journey in wine and how he began working with the Rhône varieties that he helped make so popular in California. They discuss Randall's philosophy in the vineyard, his definition of sustainability in the vineyard, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable podcast Tom Owtram speaks with Beth Novak Milliken, president and CEO, and Aron Weinkauf, vineyard manager and winemaker, of Spottswoode Winery in Napa Valley, California.
As one of the first vineyards to have adopted organic farming in Napa Valley, Spottswoode has also incorporated biodynamic practices and will soon be Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC). They discuss the direction of sustainability within the wine industry, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, the benefits of regenerative practices, communicating sustainability, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Sandro Sartor, President of Wine in Moderation and CEO of Ruffino, an Italian wine producer based in Tuscany.
Wine in Moderation is a social responsibility program with the aim to promote a sustainable culture of wine. Sandro shares how the program helps the sector implement social responsibility initiatives, the progress they have seen over the years, how wine companies can get involved, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Kim Wilson, managing director and founder, and Rebecca Murphy, technical and buying assistant, at North South Wines.
North South Wines is a UK wine distributor with an ambition to achieve sustainable development across the business. The company submitted its B Corp application in July 2022. In the podcast Rebecca and Kim share what sustainability means to North South Wines, why they opted to apply for B Corp certification, key learnings from the application process, how they work with suppliers to drive sustainability throughout the supply chain, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Paul Espitalié, President of the Chablis Commission of the Bourgogne Wine Board. Chablis is the northernmost wine district of the Burgundy region in France and is known for producing a distinctive light and dry Chardonnay. They discuss the impacts of climate change in the region, the climate adaptation strategies and practices in place, emissions reduction efforts, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Franco Bastias, head of agriculture at Domaine Bousquet in Mendoza, Argentina.
Domaine Bousquet is one of Argentina’s leading organic producers and the winery recently took step further and obtained the Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). Hanna and Franco discuss the main differences between organic and regenerative, the social dimension of the ROC, communicating regenerative, consumer trends, and more.
This episode is part of our ‘SWR Member Interview’ podcast series. Each episode will feature a different guest speaker from the SWR in which we’ll highlight the latest news, innovations and developments of this member’s sustainability journey and their involvement in the SWR.
We welcome all members interested in taking part to contact Hanna Halmari – hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
This is the first panel from the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Quarterly Live Panel Discussions series, which brings together SWR members and non-members to share experiences and discuss the most pressing issues in wine.
Alongside presenting the latest progress of the SWR and the opportunities and benefits of SWR membership, we hear from some of our members on what their motivations were for joining and how the SWR is supporting their organisations to achieve their sustainability objectives.
Our panel of SWR members include:
- Dom de Ville, Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, The Wine Society (The International Exhibition Co-operative Wine Society Limited)
- Anne Jones, Sustainability Expert – Wines, Beers and Spirits, Waitrose & Partners
- Marta Juega, PhD, Winemaker and Sustainability Manager, Alliance Wine
- Chris Millson, Head of Sustainability, Direct Wines
- Andres Valero, Sustainability and CSR Leader, Grupo Avinea
Moderator: Tobias Webb, Executive Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
Find out more about our upcoming panel discussions here.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb sits down with Joe Fattorini, presenter of The Wine Show to talk about how to communicate and engage consumers in the complex world of sustainable wine. They discuss the importance of transparency and storytelling, the role of terminology, certification, need states and more. This conversation is part of their quarterly podcast series on communicating sustainability. You can listen to the first podcast here.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Tom Owtram talks with Johan Reyneke, owner and winemaker of Reyneke Wines.
Since the early 1990's, Johan has been a pioneer in biodynamics and is now globally recognised for his sustainable approach to viticulture and winemaking.
Situated in the Polkadraai Hills just outside of Stellenbosch, Tom and Johan discuss the challenges of certification, the definition and benefits of regenerative farming, how Reyneke Wines is taking action to address the sustainability of their packaging, the importance of social sustainability, and the need for greater collaboration between different wine regions. They conclude by looking ahead to 2030 and Johan shares his thoughts on the challenges for the South African wine industry and where he hopes the industry will be.
In the November episode of the Sustainable Wine Show Hanna Halmari (editor, Sustainable Wine), Tom Owtram (operations and partnerships manager, SWR) and Toby Webb (founder, SWR) get together to discuss the latest sustainability news in wine and recent developments within the Sustainable Wine Roundtable. They’re joined by guest speaker, Dom De Ville, director of sustainability and social impact at The Wine Society. Dom shares what The Wine Society has been up to recently and their involvement in the roundtable.
For more information or to register your interest in featuring in the podcast, please contact Hanna Halmari at hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In this episode Sustainable Wine’s Toby Webb speaks to Miguel Torres, fourth generation of the Torres family and president of Bodegas Torres in Penedès. Torres shares the various sustainability initiatives and innovations underway at Familia Torres, highlighting how the winery is adapting to climate change, reducing emissions, and capturing carbon.
They discuss how to engage actors throughout the wine value chain in climate change issues, the importance of technology investments in sustainability, and more.
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Tom Owtram talks with Maryna Calow, head of communications at Wines of South Africa (WOSA). WOSA is a not-for-profit industry organisation which promotes the exports of all South African wine in key international markets. They discuss the current challenges faced by the South African wine industry, how sustainability is currently perceived, the barriers to organic adoption and certification, the potential trade offs when shipping wine in bulk, and highlights from Cape Wine 2022 where sustainability took centre stage of the three day conference.
This episode is part of our ‘SWR Member Interview’ podcast series. Each episode will feature a different guest speaker from the SWR in which we’ll highlight the latest news, innovations and developments of this member’s sustainability journey and their involvement in the SWR.
We welcome all members interested in taking part to contact Hanna Halmari – hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari talks with Sally Evans, owner and winemaker at Château George 7 in Fronsac, Bordeaux.
Sally entered the industry as a non-wine professional and built the winery from the ground up. They discuss how this has shaped Sally's approach to sustainability, the challenges she faces as a small producer in Bordeaux, consumer perceptions of sustainability, sustainable packaging challenges and solutions, and more.
This episode is part of our ‘SWR Member Interview’ podcast series. Each episode will feature a different guest speaker from the SWR in which we’ll highlight the latest news, innovations and developments of this member’s sustainability journey and their involvement in the SWR.
We welcome all members interested in taking part to contact Hanna Halmari – hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In the October episode of the Sustainable Wine Show Hanna Halmari (editor, Sustainable Wine) and Tom Owtram (operations and partnerships manager, SWR) get together to discuss the latest sustainability news in wine and recent developments within the SWR. They're joined by guest speaker, Marta Juega Rivera, winemaker and sustainability manager at Alliance Wine and a founding member of the SWR. Marta shares what Alliance Wine has been up to recently and their involvement in the SWR.
For more information or to register your interest in featuring in the podcast, please contact Hanna Halmari at hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In this podcast Sustainable Wine’s Toby Webb talks with Ann Carlsson Meyer, CEO of Systembolaget, Sweden's alcohol retail monopoly. As one of the world's largest buyers of wine, Systembolaget is leading on industry-wide transformation in the areas of environment, climate and human rights through its sustainability initiatives. Ann elaborates on these and shares how Systembolaget is working hand in hand with both suppliers and customers to drive positive change in the wine value chain.
They discuss the importance of collaboration in the industry, the role of the SWR, how wine retailers can and must take responsibility for sustainability to ensure the future of wine, and much more.
This is the first episode in our new ‘Sustainable Wine Show’ featuring Toby Webb (founder, SWR), Tom Owtram (operations and partnerships manager, SWR) and Hanna Halmari (editor, Sustainable Wine). Each month the team will get together to discuss the latest sustainability news in wine and recent developments within the SWR. Going forward, in each episode we’ll feature a different guest speaker from the membership to talk about their current work in sustainability.
For more information or to register your interest in featuring in the podcast, please contact Hanna Halmari - hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Sustainable Wine's Hanna Halmari talks with Erica Löfving, chief sustainability officer at Vintage Wine Estates. They discuss what makes for a credible sustainability strategy in the wine industry, upcoming ESG reporting pressures, and what a sustainable water management strategy looks like.
This is the first episode in our new 'SWR Member Interview' podcast series. Each episode will feature a different guest speaker from the SWR in which we’ll highlight the latest news, innovations and developments of this member’s sustainability journey and their involvement in the SWR.
We welcome all members interested in taking part to contact Hanna Halmari - hanna@sustainablewine.co.uk
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb talks to Richard Lloyd of Accolade Wines. Richard is the general manager of European operations and supply chain at The Park, Accolade's multi-award-winning drinks manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facility.
The Park, which packages 25% of all wine sold in the UK, is leading on a number of sustainability initiatives at their facilities. Toby and Richard discuss circular approaches, sustainable innovations in industrial manufacturing, cross-industry learnings on accelerating sustainability, addressing the issue of bottle weight, consumer education, and more.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb talks with Dr Laura Catena, a fourth-generation Argentine vintner. Laura is Managing Director at Bodega Catena Zapata; Founder of Catena Institute of Wine; and Owner at Luca Wines.
They discuss Laura's work at Bodega Catena Zapata and the work of the Catena Institute of Wine. Laura shares why the Institute joined the Sustainable Wine Roundtable as a founding member, learnings of water use and conservation from Argentina, the pressures, challenges, and opportunities surrounding wine packaging, and much more.
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Wine people: Ensuring the rights and well-being of workers, advancing equality and diversity, and nurturing good relations with neighbouring communities
Speakers: * Emerentia Patientia, Senior Project Officer, Fairtrade Africa * Allan Sichel, President, Bordeaux Wine Council * Jimena Sanchez, Network Representative, Amfori
Moderator: * Dr. Peter Stanbury, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Carbon accounting: Harmonising the metrics and methodologies. Is standardisation a realistic goal?
Speakers: * Stefan Jirka, Senior Manager, Agriculture Innovation, Verra * Derek Markolf, Americas Climate Change and Sustainability Technical Manager, Lloyd's Register * Josep Maria Ribas Portella, Member Board of Directors, International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) * Josh Prigge, Sustainability Consultant and Principal, Sustridge * Sara Walton, Sector Lead (Food), British Standards Institution (BSI)
Moderator: * Toby Webb, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Consumers say they want sustainable wine; how can retailers deliver?
Speakers: * Devon Broglie, Wine, Beer, and Spirits Product Development and Innovation, WholeFoods * Sara Norell, Director of Assortment, Purchasing & Supplychain, Systembolaget * Dan Thomas, Co-founder, Smashed Grapes * Andrés Valero, Sustainability and CSR Leader, Grupo Avinea
Moderator: * Joe Fattorini, Trade Managing Director, Pix
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Wine standards and certification: Clarity, coordination and common cause. How do we make this happen?
Speakers: * Linda Johansson, Sustainability Manager, Systembolaget * Anne-Laure Ferroir, Director, Terra Vitis * Stefano Stefanucci, Executive Director, EQUALITAS * Ana Varsi, Associate Director of Sustainability Standards & Scheme Manager, LSQA
Moderator: * Dr. Peter Stanbury, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: How is wine adapting to the climate chaos? And is it moving fast enough?
Speakers: * Mafalda Guedes, Corporate Brand & Communications, Sogrape * Anna Hooper, Manager of Industry Policy, Australian Grape & Wine * Prof. Gary Pickering, Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute, Brock University * Prof. Hans Schultz, President, Hochschule Geisenheim University * Luis Reginato, Vineyard Manager, Catena Zapata
Moderator: * Toby Webb, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Breaking out of the bubble: Learning from other industries - key lessons for wine. How standards can guide and incentivise sector-wide transformation
Speakers: * Caroline Hermann MW * Etelle Higonnet, Senior Advisor, National Wildlife Federation * Annette Pensel, Executive Director, Global Coffee Platform * Elena Schmidt, Executive Director, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials
Moderator: * Toby Webb, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Packaging: Mitigating glass impacts - is standard size & weight the key?
Speakers: * Barry Dick MW, BWS Global Bulk Wine Sourcing Manager, Waitrose & Partners * Dr. Nick Kirk, Technical Director, British Glass * Ceri Parke, Owner, Cantina Goccia * Simon Mason, Head of Wine Sustainability & Due Diligence, The Wine Society * Amina Merlez Ghiglino, Innovation & Development Specialist, VSPT Wine Group
Moderator: * Trina Plamondon, Founder, Boutèy
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Vineyard inputs: A new approach to an old debate. Protecting human health, the environment and productivity.
Speakers: * Franco Bastias, Chief Agronomist, Domaine Bousquet * Will Drayton, Director of Technical Viticulture & Research Winemaking, Treasury Wine Estates * Laurel Marcus, Executive Director, Fish Friendly Farming * Jim White, Technical Director, Cloudy Bay
Moderator: * Dr. Paul Jepson, Independent Consultant, Portland Oregon
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Sustainable tourism: How do we link sustainable tourism with sustainable wine?
Speakers: * Saúl Blanco, Director of Sustainable Travel Programme, Preferred by Nature * Shelly Fuller, Fruit & Wine Programme Manager, WWF South Africa * Catherine Leparmentier, Managing Director, Great Wine Capitals * Michele Manelli, Equalitas Vice-President & Owner, Salcheto Winery * Gergely Szolnoki, Professor of Market Research, Hochschule Geisenheim University
Moderator: * Marta Juega Rivera, Winemaker and Sustainability Manager, Alliance Wine
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: Strategy Panel: Why is sustainability now not a choice but a necessity? What does it mean for wine businesses?
Speakers: * Anne Bousquet, CEO & Co-founder, Domaine Bousquet * Kirsten Gray, Chief Sustainability and External Affairs Officer, Treasury Wine Estates * Erica Landin-Lofving, Chief Sustainability Officer, Vintage Wine Estates * Sandrine Sommer, Chief Sustainability Officer, Moët Hennessy * Sam Thackeray, Managing Director, Enotria&Coe
Moderator: * Toby Webb, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
On June 22-23 the Sustainable Wine Roundtable held its first annual conference. The two-day online event brought together 250+ experts from across and outside the global wine industry to discuss the critical sustainability challenges facing the sector. All of the session recordings are available online.
Session Title: How will the Sustainable Wine Roundtable catalyse change in the global wine industry? And why does it matter?
Speakers: * Carlos De Jesus, Director Marketing & Communications, Amorim * Marcus Ihre, Sustainability Supply Chain Manager, Systembolaget * Valentina Lira, Director of Sustainability, Concha y Toro * Barbara Wolff Gopfert, Sustainability & Innovation Manager, VSPT Wine Group * Hubert Zeimett, Managing Director, Château Léoube
Moderator: * Richard Bampfield MW
May Monthly Discussion Topic: How can hospitality drive demand for sustainable wine?
Speakers:
- Muriel Chatel, managing director, SustainableWineSolutions
- Bethany Morgan-Jones, GM and head sommelier, Apricity
- Juliane Caillouette Noble, managing director, The Sustainable Restaurant Association
- Marta Juega Rivera, winemaker and sustainability manager, Alliance Wine
Moderated by Toby Webb, founder, Sustainable Wine
Every month the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) hosts a free debate-style webinar in which we address a challenging topic in wine sustainability. We discuss key issues, propose solutions, and explore the practical implementation of sustainability in wine. See here for more information on the next upcoming discussion.
April Monthly Discussion Topic: Does glyphosate have a role in sustainable viticulture?
Speakers:
- Franco Bastias, agronomist and sustainability leader, Domaine Bousquet
- Kevin Corliss, vice president vineyards, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
- Jon Entine, founder and executive director, The Genetic Literacy Project
- Luis Reginato, vineyard manager, Catena Zapata
- Whitney Beaman, sustainability program manager, The New York Wine & Grape Foundation
Moderated by Toby Webb, founder, Sustainable Wine
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Every month the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) hosts a free debate-style webinar in which we address a challenging topic in wine sustainability. We discuss key issues, propose solutions, and explore the practical implementation of sustainability in wine.
In this Sustainable Wine podcast, Toby Webb talks with Joe Fattorini, presenter of The Wine Show and Managing Director Trade at Pix, a wine discovery platform. They discuss how Pix helps connect people with wine, insights into how people search for and select wine, and how consumers can be driven to make sustainable choices. They debate who can - and should - drive the change to shift the majority of wine to be sold in sustainable packaging, how to change consumer perceptions of boxed wine at scale, the role of choice editing by retailers, and much, much more.
March Monthly Discussion Topic: What will be the role of data in driving technology gains for both sustainability and efficiency in vineyards and wineries?
Date: Wednesday 30th March, 5 pm GMT
Speakers:
- Will Drayton, Director of Technical Viticulture & Research Winemaking, Treasury Wine Estates
- Erica Landin-Lofving, Chief Sustainability Officer, Vintage Wine Estates
- Morgane Le Breton, Head of Marketing, BLB Vignobles
- Andres Valero, Sustainability and CSR Leader, Grupo Avinea
Moderated by Toby Webb, founder, Sustainable Wine
Every month the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) hosts a discussion on a challenging topic in wine sustainability. We debate key issues, propose solutions, and explore the practical implementation of sustainability in wine.
These are free to all, debate-style webinars facilitated by Toby Webb, featuring SWR members and guest speakers from both inside and outside the wine industry. You can register for the upcoming discussion here.
Register fo
In this Sustainable Wine podcast Toby Webb talks to Bordeaux expert Wendy Narby of Insider Tasting. They discuss Bordeaux's history in sustainability, the multiple sustainability initiatives and certifications driving change, how sustainability can be an opportunity for smaller producers in the region, and much more.
In this Sustainable Wine podcast Toby Webb talks with Iain Richardson, general manager at Mouchão Winery in Alentejo, Portugal. The Mouchão estate is roughly 900 hectares and of that only 43 are planted under vine. They discuss how the winery has been affected by climate change, what the estate is doing in terms of climate adaptation in the vineyard, lessons learned from the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program, and the potential of landscapes approaches in the wine industry.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb speaks to Juliane Caillouette-Noble, managing director at the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). The SRA was set up in 2009 to establish a common language and shared experience for the restaurant and hospitality industry. Starting out with 50 founding members, the SRA now works with around 12,000 kitchens throughout the UK.
They discuss the challenges of balancing the niche definitions of sustainability within a broader holistic framework, raising awareness of the sustainability issues throughout the wider value chain, consumer education, and the opportunities for cross-over between the Sustainable Restaurant Association and the Sustainable Wine Roundtable.
Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb speaks with João Barroso, Sustainability Coordinator for the Wines of Alentejo, and Luís Patrão, vineyard manager at Herdade de Coelheiros.
Located in the demarcated region of Alentejo (DOC), the Coelheiros estate is over 800ha, consisting of vineyards, walnut orchards, and a cork forest. With its holistic and cross-sectional approach to sustainability, Coelheiros is one of the first wineries to have received the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program (WASP) certification seal.
Listen to the podcast to find out how the winery is approaching circularity, climate change adaption, organics, and more.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb talks to Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, associate director of wine at the Dartington Trust. They discuss regenerative agriculture, how regenerative viticulture works in cool climates, and how all of this feeds into Justin's work at Dartington, a centre for learning in arts, ecology and social justice based on a 1,200-acre estate in South Devon, UK.
The Sustainable Wine team recently sat down to discuss the year in review and take a look at the year ahead. In this podcast Sustainable Wine's founder, Toby Webb, and editor, Hanna Halmari, discuss the key sustainable wine themes and trends from 2021.
Looking forward to 2022, Tom Owtram, Sustainable Wine's outreach and development manager, talks about the work of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable and its plans for the year ahead.
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
There are many sustainability vineyard standards and certifications. How can the best of them help vineyards all over the world, raise their game on sustainability? Important work has been done around the world on creating useful regional standards. Now there is a significant opportunity to join them up, learn from the best of what they have done, and create a global standard.
In this session we will look at how that is happening, what value it will add, and the work planned for 2022 and beyond.
Speakers:
- Stefano Stefanucci, director, Equalitas
- Marcus Ihre, sustainability manager supply chain, Systembolaget
- Chris Wille, technical director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR)
- Fred Loimer, founding member, respekt-BIODYN
- Tatiana Svinartchuk, head of economy and law unit, OIV - International Organisation of Vine and Wine
Moderator: Tom Owtram, outreach and development manager, Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR)
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Speakers:
- Bruno Le Breton, owner and winemaker, BLB Vignobles
- Anne Bousquet, president, co-founder, Domaine Bousquet
Moderator: Richard Bampfield, MW
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Speakers:
- Eloi Jacob, managing director, Château Fourcas Hosten
- Marion Merker, marketing manager, Château de La Dauphine
- Marie-Laure Latorre, managing director, Château Jean Faure
- Jane Rickson, professor of soil erosion and conservation, Cranfield University, Cranfield Soil and AgriFood Institute
Moderator: Lauren Holman, sales manager and sustainability lead, Château Léoube
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Science based approaches are not always taken on board in the wine industry. One good example is how the term organic is understood and applied. In this session we will debate, with a science communications expert, how this should change. Climate change means we really do need all the tools available to us, and we will discuss how we move from dogma, to science based approaches.
Speakers:
- Ernst Loosen, owner, Weingut Dr. Loosen
- Jon Entine, executive director, Genetic Literacy Project
- Bruno Le Breton, owner and winemaker, BLB Vignobles
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Water use reduction is vital for many reasons. Climate impacts via energy use is one. Another is localised or regional shortages. The wine industry has not always been the most efficient user of water, amongst many others. So what does best practice in water management mean, how is it best done, what are the benefits and outcomes?
Speakers:
- Lauren Holman, sales manager and sustainability lead, Château Léoube
- Rosana Lisa, director, Bodegas Ramon Bilbao
- Franck Massard, sommelier and vigneron, Franck Massard
Moderator: Linda Johnson-Bell, Founder of The Wine and Climate Change Institute, Oxford (TWACCI)
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Regenerative is everywhere you turn. But there is only one standard and certification scheme, out of California, so far. More are coming. But does regenerative ‘do the job’ in describing and catalysing sustainable practices? Our speakers bring different perspectives to this debate and we’ll ask them questions such as:
- What does regenerative actually mean? Should it go beyond soil?
- How have sustainability concerns changed how they work in the vineyard today?
- Do we need more and better standards for sustainable viticulture beyond organic? Should these be certifiable?
- How do we get the sustainability message across to growers and smaller producers- often using outdated practices because “that’s how we do it”
Speakers:
- Basile Tesseron, owner and winemaker, Château Lafon-Rochet
- João L. Barroso, sustainability programme coordinator, Wines of Alentejo
- Stephen Cronk, founder & CEO, Mirabeau Wine
- Abby Rose, co-founder, Vidacycle
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
This is a recording from our Sustainability in the Vineyard online conference that took place on 22nd June, 2021.
Whilst vineyards can often be carbon sinks, emissions can still be a factor. All businesses will need to show how they are cutting emissions and moving towards net positive impacts. This session will discuss three important themes:
- What can you do now to mitigate impact, adapt to current climate changes and prepare for those in the future?
- How should vineyard owners and managers seek to influence what happens in the winery to reduce emissions? (Bottle weight as an example)
- What is the role – and responsibility – of wine producers overall, to communicate and raise awareness about climate change to customers, suppliers and the public in general?
Speakers:
- Charles Philipponat, CEO, Champagne Philipponnat
- Nicole Rolet, owner, Chêne Bleu
- Chris Foss, chair, Sustainable Wines of GB
- Alistair Nesbitt, CEO, Vinescapes
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
This is a recording from our Sustainable Wine Packaging online conference that took place on 23rd June, 2021.
An opportunity to discuss the reality of reusable packaging for refillable retailing. How recyclable can bag in box become, and when? Which are the best examples that may dominate the market and the technology behind recycling them? Our panel of experts will highlight examples of better packaging, assess its impacts, and consider which may fail, and which many succeed in helping transform the market for wine packaging.
Speakers:
- Oliver Lea, co-founder & managing director, The BIB Wine Company
- Dr. Carlos Ludlow Palafox, CEO, Enval
- Rob Malin, CEO & co-founder, When in Rome
- Oli Purnell, co-founder, The Copper Crew
Moderator: Sally Evans, owner and winemaker, Château George 7
This is a recording from our Sustainable Wine Packaging online conference that took place on 23rd June, 2021.
Talking to consumers about sustainability has never been easy. In 2021 awareness of sustainability issues has never been greater. But helping customers move beyond buying organic or natural wine means getting them to think about packaging and distribution, which is where the biggest impacts actually are, in terms of CO2. In this session we’ll discuss how those closest to customers can engage them in sustainability beyond bottle labels.
Speakers:
- Muriel Chatel, managing director, Borough Wines
- Melissa Saunders, MW, CEO, Communal Brands
- Damien Barton, director, Château Leoville Barton & Langoa Barton
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
This is a recording from our Sustainable Wine Packaging online conference that took place on 23rd June, 2021.
This chart, tweeted by Jancis Robinson recently, shows the CO2 footprint of wine in its value chain. Transport and distribution has a significant impact. So what can be done about making distribution lower carbon? This session will discuss how this can, and is happening. We will look at the challenges and opportunities to save money and drive innovation.
Speakers:
- Mickael Alborghetti, CEO & founder, Ethic Drinks
- Sam Boex, co-founder, Flexi Hex
- Richard Ellison, managing director, Wanderlust Wines
- Nicolas Rizzi, owner, Modal Wines
Moderator: Pauline Vicard, executive director, Areni Global – FM4FW
This is a recording from our Sustainable Wine Packaging online conference that took place on 23rd June, 2021.
The glass industry has come under pressure on its CO2 footprint in recent years. Bottle weight has become the most significant factor in climate change in wine as a result of the footprint of glass. Meanwhile alternative formats are getting a lot of attention. However, glass is here to stay for much of the wine industry. So how can it, and is it, reducing its footprint? And what can wine bottle sourcing businesses do, to support lower carbon glass? We will discuss here.
Speaker:
- Dr. Nick Kirk, technical director, British Glass
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
This is a recording from our Sustainable Wine Packaging online conference that took place on 23rd June, 2021.
Research appears to show that packaging can be the largest part of wine’s carbon footprint, with up to 30% of the GHG emissions from wine, being in bottle manufacture and transport. We will look at the latest numbers on impact, how this can be changed. We’ll also ask what retailers want now on packaging performance, and how will that change to 2025 and beyond?
Speakers:
- Anne Jones, partner and category manager drinks, Waitrose & Partners
- Kim Forsberg, sustainability manager, VinGruppen
- Joanna Griffiths, global food community director, BSI
- Carlos de Jesus, marketing & communication director, Amorim Cork
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb speaks to Miguel Torres, fourth generation of the Torres family and president of Bodegas Torres in Penedès. They discuss the impacts of climate change in Catalonia, the adaptation and mitigation efforts at Bodegas Torres, what the future of climate leadership in the industry looks like, and more.
The recently launched Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is the only global, independent, non-profit, multi stakeholder roundtable built to accelerate sustainability in the wine industry. On 15th September 2021, the SWR held a global media briefing to announce the launch, its founding members, future plans and how you can get involved. Listen to the recording here.
In this podcast Sustainable Wine’s Toby Webb is joined by Andrés Valero, leader of sustainability and CSR at Grupo Avinea, and Juan Pablo Murgia, chief winemaker at Bodega Argento.
They discuss what sustainability means to the business, what it looks like on the ground at Avinea's vineyards, the importance of organic viticulture and how this concept is evolving within the organisation.
We'd like to thank Grupo Avinea for their generous support as a sponsor of the Future of Wine Americas Conference.
The second session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers:
- Anna Brittain, executive director, Napa Green Sustainability Program
- Kathy Clancy, founder, The Natural Wine School
- Fintan du Fresne, general manager and winemaker, Chamisal Vineyards
- Joel Peterson, executive director, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance
Moderator: Wendy Narby, wine educator and founder, Insider Tastings
The second session from the Pre-Conference Workshop: 'Sustainable Wine Packaging - How to lower your footprint and engage your customers', in partnership with BSI
Speakers:
- Zach Lawless, co-founder / CEO, The Good Goods
- Bruce Schneider, co-founder, Gotham Project
- Joanna Griffiths, Global Food Community Director, BSI Group
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The first session from the Pre-Conference Workshop: 'Sustainable Wine Packaging - How to lower your footprint and engage your customers', in partnership with BSI
Speakers: - Joanna Griffiths, Global Food Community Director, BSI Group - Melissa Saunders MW, CEO, Communal Brands
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The third session from the Pre-Conference Workshop: 'How to measure GHG emissions and take effective and collective climate action', in partnership with International Wineries for Climate Action
Speakers: - Francisca Estartus Iriarte, Head of Sustainability, VSPT Wine Group - Julien Gervreau, VP Sustainability, Jackson Family Wines and IWCA Founding Board Member
The first session from the Pre-Conference Workshop: 'How to measure GHG emissions and take effective and collective climate action', in partnership with International Wineries for Climate Action
Speakers: - Beth Novak Milliken, President & CEO, Spottswoode Estate and IWCA Member - Miguel A. Torres, 4th generation and President, Familia Torres - Bárbara Wolff, Chief Corporate Affairs and Innovation Officer, VSPT Wine Group
Moderator: - Julien Gervreau, VP Sustainability, Jackson Family Wines and IWCA Founding Board Member
The fifth session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Laura Catena, managing director and founder and board member, Bodega Catena Zapata and Catena Institute of Wine - Fernando Buscema, winemaker and executive director, Bodega Catena Zapata and Catena Institute of Wine
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The fourth session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Edward Field, owner and founding partner, Natural Merchants - Rob McMillan, EVP & Founder, Wine Division, Silicon Valley Bank - Beth Vukmanic, program director, SIP Certified - Pamela Strayer, Senior Editor, Slow Wine Guide USA
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The sixth breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Steve Matthiasson, owner and winemaker, Matthiasson Family Vineyards - Mike Swanton, owner/operator, Laura Michael Wines
Moderator: Deborah Parker Wong, National Editor, Slow Wine Guide USA
The fifth breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Carlo Mondavi, co-founder & chief farming officer Monarch Tractor, co-founder winegrower, RAEN winery
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The fourth breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Caleb Mosley, vineyard manager, Matthiasson Family Vineyards - Laurel Marcus, executive director, California Land Stewardship Institute - Cristóbal Undurraga, technical director, Viña Koyle - John Williams, co-founder, Frog’s Leap
Moderator: Linda Johnson-Bell, author and founder, The Wine and Climate Change Institute
The third breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Brighid O’Keane, outreach director, LIVE - Katie Pease, program manager, Sustainable Winegrowing British Columbia (SWBC) - Brian Talley, president and CEO, Talley Vineyards
Moderator: Anna Chilton, Independent Wine and Supply Chains Expert
The second breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers:
- Susan Cholette, VP of consulting services, CleanMetrics & professor, Decision Sciences, San Francisco State University
- Marie-Odile Fortier, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of California
- Elton Potts, managing partner, Vine Vault
Moderator: Caren McNamara, founder and CEO, Conscious Containers
The first breakout session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers:
- Gabriel Bloise winemaker, Chakana Winery
- Miguel Garcia, sustainable agriculture program manager, Napa Resource Conservation District
- Jordan Lonbord, viticulturist, Tablas Creek Vineyard
- Dr. Cristine Morgan, chief scientific officer, Soil Health Institute
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The third session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Yannick Benjamin, co-founder, Wine on Wheels - Alicia Towns Franken, board member & mentor, Wine Unify - Lia Jones, executive director, Diversity in Food and Beverage - Karissa L. Kruse, president, Sonoma County Winegrowers
Moderator: Deborah Parker Wong, National Editor, Slow Wine Guide USA
The first session from the second day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Ignacio Gavilan, director, The Consumer Goods Forum - David Grayson, emeritus professor of corporate responsibility, Cranfield School of Management, UK and chair of the Institute of Business Ethics - Caroline Hermann MW, attorney - Etelle Higonnet, senior advisor, National Wildlife Federation
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The fifth session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Laura Diaz, winemaker and general manager, Ehlers Estate - Jon Entine, executive director, Genetic Literacy Project - Randall Grahm, founder, Bonny Doon Vineyard - Carlo Mondavi, co-founder & chief farming officer Monarch Tractor, co-founder winegrower RAEN winery
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The fourth session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Ron Gonen, CEO, Closed Loop Partners - Joanna Griffiths, Global Food Community Director, BSI Group - Nicolas Quillé MW, chief winemaker and operations officer, Crimson Wine Group - Melissa Saunders MW, CEO, Communal Brands
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The sixth breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Andy Rose, head of strategy, The Good Goods - Bruce Schneider, co-founder, Gotham Project
Moderator: Martin Reyes MW, principal, Reyes Wine Group
The fifth breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speaker: Andrés Valero, leader of sustainability and CSR, Grupo Avinea
Moderator: Josh Prigge, sustainability consultant and principal, Sustridge
The fourth breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers:
- Felix Egerer, vineyard manager, Tantalus
- Juan Pablo Murgia, chief winemaker, Bodega Argento
- Michael Scholz, VP of Viticulture and Winemaking, St Supéry Estate Vineyard & Winery
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, SustainableWine
The third breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Paul Foulkes-Arellano, founder, Circuthon Consulting - Caren McNamara, founder and CEO, Conscious Containers - Bárbara Wolff, chief corporate affairs and innovation officer, VSPT
Moderator: Carrie Mae George, Vice President and Head of Sustainability Impact, Everledger
The second breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Carlos de Jesus, director marketing and communications, Amorim Cork - Rob McMillan, EVP and Founder, Wine Division, Silicon Valley Bank - Michaela K. Rodeno, owner, Villa Ragazzi - Sandra E. Taylor, CEO, Sustainable Business International LLC
Moderator: Michelle Bouffard, founder, Tasting Climate Change
The first breakout session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - David Gates, senior VP of Vineyard Operations, Ridge Vineyards - Melissa Hansen, research program director, Washington State Wine Commission
Moderator: Thomas Grandperrin, co-founder, UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture
The third session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers:
- Richard Bampfield MW, chair of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR)
- Elena Carretero Gomez, vice chairman r+d consortium, Wines of Chile, corporate affairs & sustainability director, Santa Rita Estates
- Allison Jordan, executive director, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
- Pau Roca, director general, International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV)
- Andrés Valero, leader of sustainability and CSR, Grupo Avinea
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The second session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference
Speakers: - Jessica Baum, director of regenerative development & sustainability, Fetzer Vineyards - Will Drayton, director of technical viticulture & research winemaking, Treasury Wine Estates - Julien Gervreau, founding board member, IWCA - Diana Snowden Seysses, winemaker, Domaine Dujac and Snowden Vineyards
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The first session from the first day of our Future of Wine Americas 2021 conference.
Speakers: - David Amadia, president, Ridge Vineyards - Eduardo Chadwick, president, Viñedos Familia Chadwick - Katie Jackson, SVP, Jackson Family Wines - Beth Novak Milliken, president and CEO, Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery - Peter Work, winemaker & grapegrower, Ampelos Cellars
Moderator: Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
Sustainable Wine's Toby Webb talks with Valentina Lira, Sustainability Manager at Concha y Toro about the company's recently gained B Corporation certification.
They discuss why Concha y Toro decided to go for B Corp certification, the challenges they faced, what they have learnt so far, and more.
In this podcast, Toby Webb speaks with Éloi Jacob, managing director at Château Fourcas Hosten; Marie-Laure Latorre, managing director at Château Jean Faure; and Lisa Saunière, managing director at Château de La Dauphine on how they are working together towards a shared vision of sustainable wine.
They discuss their collaboration, their sustainability journeys, the challenges of going organic in Bordeaux, and how to talk about sustainability to consumers.
Jon Entine, who leads the Genetic Literacy Project, a science communication non-profit, joins Sustainable Wine’s Toby Webb to discuss chemicals and science in agriculture. Their robust discussion covers topics such as glyphosate, copper sulphate, gene editing, and the science and impacts of both synthetic and organic chemicals in food and wine.
Toby Webb has a long conversation with Emma Swain, CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery. They discuss what sustainable means to Emma and her colleagues, how they have put it into practice, the results so far, and the challenges that remain.
Dr Alistair Nesbitt speaks with Toby Webb about climate change, grape growing and how to adapt to a hotter future.
Toby Webb and Jo Griffiths from standards setter BSI discuss key messages from recent discussions on sustainable packaging for the wine industry.
Toby Webb and Dominique Tourneix discuss the evolution of closures, sustainability, corks and more.
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
The closing plenary session of the conference focuses on the next generation of wine consumers. The concern in the wine industry is that younger generations are drinking less and less wine and switching to spirits and other drinks. So how can sustainability help make wine more relevant again, outside the tiny but growing niches of organic, biodynamic, natural or “clean”? Our panel debates.
Speakers:
- Richard Wright, behavioural science director, Unilever
- Madeline Puckette, co-founder, WineFolly.com
- Allison Jordan, executive director, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
- Richard Ellison, founder and buyer, Wanderlust Wine
Moderator:
- Hanna Halmari, editor, Sustainablewine.co.uk
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Packaging, distribution, and post consumer recycling (or lack of it) is the biggest part of wine’s carbon footprint. So what does the future look like for bottles, packaging and closures, in light of sustainability concerns, and opportunities? Our panelists discuss.
Speakers:
- Lauren Holman, export sales manager, Château Léoube
- David Harvey, head of the London office, Raeburn Fine Wines
- Brad Greatrix, winemaker, Nyetimber
- Dominique Tourneix, CEO, DIAM France
Moderator:
- Sally Evans, owner and winemaker, Château George 7
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Well, where do we start with this? Aveline and other ‘clean’ and ‘natural’ wines serve to raise the blood pressure of various wine experts like almost no other issues. But natural marketing is an old game, and so shouldn’t the wine industry just live with it, and focus on the best ways to do real, meaningful communications about wine, its provenance and impacts? Our panelists discuss.
Speakers:
- Richard Bampfield MW
- Anne Jones, partner & category manager, drinks, wines, beers and spirits buying, Waitrose & Partners
- Felicity Carter, editor-in-chief, Meininger’s Wine Business International
- Liz Earle MBE, writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur
Moderator:
- Erica Duecy, chief content officer, Emetry
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
This session takes a look at how three different wine producers are tackling protecting and enhancing biodiversity. Our panelists discuss their approaches to encouraging and promoting biodiversity in their vineyards, how to collaborate effectively with partners to make progress happen and how to measure it, the value of certification in encouraging biodiversity (Haute Valeur Environmentale, for example), and more.
Speakers:
- Belén Iacono, chief agronomist, Adrianna Vineyard, Catena Zapata
- Matias Rios, chief winemaker, Cono Sur
- Romain Ott, production director & head winemaker, Château Léoube
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
So what should a circular economy approach in a sustainable winery look like? How do you define circular and what does it look like in practice? Some wineries are capturing Co2 from fermentation and turning it into potassium bicarbonate. This is an important innovation, but what else constitutes circular approaches in the vineyard? Florence Cathiard and Fabien Teitgen from Smith Haut Lafitte discuss.
Speakers:
- Florence Cathiard, president, Smith Haut Lafitte
- Fabien Teitgen, winemaker, Smith Haut Lafitte
Moderator:
- Anna Chilton, wine and sustainable supply chains expert
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Bubbles and silos exist everywhere in business. Ask a palm oil expert about cotton, and they most likely won’t know much. Wine is no exception and much can be learned from other industries. Many of these have been heavily exposed to negative campaigning, consumer pressure, and legal and regulatory pressures, often as a result. So which lessons can the wine sector learn about sustainability from other industries? Our panel of non wine but very much sustainability experts, debate.
Speakers:
- Dr. Simon Lord, independent palm oil and sustainability expert
- Anna Turrell, head of environment, Tesco
- Gordon Muir, head of sales, Gordon and Macphail Whisky & Premium Spirit Merchants
- Ignacio Gavilan, director, environmental sustainability, Consumer Goods Forum
- Bastien Sachet, CEO, Earthworm Foundation
Moderator:
- Ian Welsh, editorial director, Innovation Forum
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
In this plenary session our panelists discuss what big wine producers can do to have a material impact on climate change beyond the significant task of bottle weight reduction. Is the biggest and most urgent climate issue in the sector helping grape growers cope? Or is it changing how packaging works for retailers and pushing for better recycling and circular economy approaches?
Speakers:
- Adrian Bridge, CEO, Taylors Port & Fladgate Partnership, Porto Protocol
- Miguel A. Torres, 4th generation and President Familia Torres
- Joanna Griffiths, global food community director, BSI
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Regenerative agriculture is all the rage across a wide variety of different crops, but what actually is it? With no common definition, many say it simply re-badges sustainable agriculture with a new, trendier name. However, proponents argue its primary focus on soil health focuses efforts on what is below ground, and that has major benefits for both carbon fixation, soil health, yield and ultimately all aspects of grape farming sustainability. Our panelists discuss how they define regenerative agriculture, whether it should replace other approaches (organic, biodynamic, etc.), what results they have seen so far from it, and more.
Speakers:
- Neil Collins, winemaker and vineyard manager, Tablas Creek
- Franco Costantini, managing director, Control Union UK
- Gabriel Bloise, winemaker, Chakana Winery, Mendoza, Argentina
- Facundo Bonamaizon, agronomist, Chakana Winery, Mendoza, Argentina
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Sustainablewine.co.uk has interviewed more than a hundred winemakers in the last five years. All of them say climate change has, at the very least, increased weather volatility in vineyards. This is well known to be dangerous for quality of harvests, yields and indeed economic viability for smaller vineyards. Technology can, and is, playing an increasing role in climate change adaptation, with more and more data, tools and early warning systems available. In this breakout session our panelists talk about their approaches to sustainability and climate change.
Speakers:
- Marta Terrado, science communication specialist & postdoc researcher at the Earth Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
- Joan Esteve Julià, director, Celler Raimat (Catalonia, Spain)
- Albert Hereu, general manager, Catalan Cork Institute Foundation
Moderator:
- Miquel Ros, independent consultant and writer
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
In this breakout session Elena Carretero Gomez, corporate affairs and sustainability director at Vina Santa Rita, discusses how large and small wine businesses can get better at community engagement and youth empowerment, vitally important issues in the communities surrounding wine businesses. Elena shares the initiatives at Vina Santa Rita, how these work, what they cost, and the business and social benefits.
Speakers:
- Elena Carretero Gomez, corporate affairs and sustainability director, Vina Santa Rita
Moderator:
- Anna Chilton, wine and sustainable supply chains expert
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Low carbon innovation can help wine businesses reach and keep loyal, a whole new group of customers. Similarly a technology enabled business that features and promotes sustainable producers at low cost can prove both economically and socially/environmentally viable. In this session two entrepreneurs with disruptive business models discuss the future of wine delivery, in an interactive dialogue, with audience participation.
Speakers:
- Anton Mann, owner, Xisto Wines
- Richard Ellison, founder and buyer, Wanderlust Wine
Moderator:
- Richard Bampfield MW
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
Are social issues in the vineyard an “Elephant in the room” for the wine industry? Well not so much any more given recent news, from modern slavery in Europe to labour challenges in South Africa and across Italy. In this session our panelists discuss how a wine business can consider supply chain social issues, from grape pickers to other vineyard workers, to contract labour and other areas.
Speakers:
- Anna Chilton, wine and sustainable supply chains expert
- Zachary Kiarie, Fairtrade Africa Southern Africa Network
- Sue Daniels, winemaker, Marks & Spencer
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
In this breakout session our panelists, three very different vineyard managers, discuss different perspectives on sustainable vineyard management.
Speakers:
- Sally Evans, owner and winemaker, Château George 7
- Will Davenport, owner and winemaker, Davenport Vineyards
- Diana Snowden Seysses, owner and winemaker, Snowden Vineyards, winemaker, Domaine Dujac
Moderator:
- Jasper Morris MW
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020
If certification is really about claims being made, assurance is vital to support them. The wine industry, which has a long history of guarding terms and appellations, now has a confusing array of claims all over the market. It should welcome a Gold Standard with rigorous auditing and certification. Our panelists discuss how certification should evolve to tackle consumer label confusion, what we want to encourage with certification, how it can be used to create the right incentives and business case for producers, and more.
Speakers:
- Kim Forsberg, sustainability manager, Vingruppen i Norden (wine importer)
- Marcus Ihre, sustainability manager, Systembolaget AB (Sweden's alcohol monopoly)
- Sue Daniels, winemaker, Marks & Spencer
- Stefano Stefanucci, director, Equalitas s.r.l.
- Francesco Ricasoli, owner and CEO, Castello di Brolio
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020.
A global process of defining sustainability in wine would have multiple benefits. It would help – not threaten – existing programs, and would be a godsend to vineyard managers, winemakers and wine marketers. Our panelists discuss how to define sustainability in wine, the need for a global standard, or series of them, in the industry, how this could happen, pros and cons, and more.
Speakers:
- David Horlock, managing director, global food and retail supply chain, British Standards Institution
- Anne Jones, partner & category manager, drinks, wines, beers and spirits buying, Waitrose & Partners
- Laura Varpasuo, sustainability manager, Alko Inc (Finland’s Alcohol Monopoly)
- Karin Kreider, executive director, ISEAL Alliance
Moderator:
- Toby Webb, co-founder, Sustainable Wine
The Future of Wine Forum, 26-27 November 2020.
The virtual conference was kicked off with a discussion on the impacts of Covid-19 in the wine industry, with panelists discussing the opportunities, challenges, long term impacts and more.
Speakers:
- Jancis Robinson MW
- Sam Linter, managing director and chief winemaker, Bolney Estates
- Simon Doyle, general manager, Concha y Toro UK
- Joan Esteve Julià, director, Celler Raimat
Moderator:
- Richard Bampfield MW
Hervé Berland talks with Toby Webb about the sustainability journey which Château Montrose has been on for some years, and why and how, capturing CO2 from fermentation is important.
Author of ‘Greener Marketing’ John Grant speaks to Toby Webb about how green marketing and sustainable wine might, or might not, suit each other.
Originally published on March 27, 2018.
Dave Powell, Torbreck founder, on starting again, and making great sustainable Shiraz with his new label, Powell & Son, in Barossa and Eden Valley in S Australia. This is a 20 minute podcast interview looking at the wines he makes, and his views on what is sustainable, natural, and biodynamic wine.
Originally published on May 24, 2019.
I recently met with the delightful and charming Morgane Fleury in London. We spent half an hour or so discussing sustainable champagne. How you define it, how you make it, and how you can sell it at 22-25 Euros a bottle and still make a living. She and her family are biodynamic and sustainable pioneers in Champagne and the 20 minute podcast is packed with insight (from her, not me) Enjoy.
Originally published on December 4, 2018.
Interview with Martins Barkans, owner of Abavas in Latvia. Martins makes fruit wines and Rhubarb sparkling, but also has five hectares of wine grapes, at one point with 40 varietals planted, to try and make wine at 57 degrees north (In UK terms that's Aberdeen). In this interview we talk about what he's trying to do, the varietals, the weather, burying vines, and how he's managed to make good white wine in Latvia, about as far North as you can get in wine making.
Originally published on June 13, 2019.
In early June 2019 I sat down in the wine library at 67 Pall Mall in London with Wilco. We talked about how he ended up in New Zealand, the wines he makes at Dry River, reductiveness in wine making, low oxygenation and phenolic compounds, his views on what sustainability means in the vineyard and winery, and on New Zealand and sustainability in wine, in general. Enjoy.
Originally published on December 10, 2018.
Here's a recent interview I did with Anna Chilton, who is studying to be a master of wine, and works for a company which owns a winery (Linton Park) in South Africa. In the podcast we discuss what sustainability means in wine today, soil health and better practices, and what other industries, particularly in agriculture, might learn from the studies and practices in the wine sector, particularly around sustainability.
Originally published on January 5, 2019.
Here's a recent interview I taped with Richard, where we discussed sustainability in wine. From attitudes and work of major retailers, to sustainability standards and definitions in wine, to why radical transparency might have unforeseen risks, it was a wide ranging and fascinating chat. Enjoy.
Originally published on March 17, 2019.
Albert Soret Miravet and Marta Terrado from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center recently discussed with me, how computer-based climate and weather modelling and predictions can help agriculture tackle volatile weather patterns and manage against climate change.
Originally published on October 30, 2018.
Thomas Duroux, CEO, Chateau Palmer, on making Bordeaux sustainable.
Originally published on July 31, 2018.
Raymonds Thomsons, manager at Vincents, Riga's most famous restaurant, is also European Sommelier of the year 2017. In this interview we discuss his views on sustainable wine, consumer trends, demands and a few other issues. Listen and enjoy.
Originally published on May 13, 2018.
David Morris, winemaker at the Ancre Hill, talks about sustainable winemaking in Wales, the wines they make, and how easy it is - or otherwise - to avoid using chemicals and pesticides in UK agricultural conditions.
Originally published on February 8, 2018.
Podcast interview with Stella Di Campalto, biodynamic winemaker based near Montalcino in Tuscany. In the interview, I ask Stella about the wines she makes, how she makes them and how biodynamic winemaking works in Tuscany.
Originally published on January 20, 2018.
Interview with Andrea Felluga, a leading winemaker in north east Italy, on his views on what sustainable wine actually means, the wines he makes, and his views on sustainability more generally.
Originally published on January 18, 2018.
Interview with Saša Radikon about his views on what sustainable wine actually is, the debate about "natural" wines and the wines he makes in northern Italy.
Originally published on October 29, 2017.
Podcast interview with Chris Scott from Thirty Fifty, the wine-tasting company and host of the UK Wine Show podcast. In the interview we discussed wine sustainability trends, climate change and New Zealand wines and the environment.
Originally published on October 10, 2017.
Interview with Beth Lopez, Vineyard Team and SIP Certified, on sustainable wine in California
Originally published on November 25, 2017.
Forgotten grapes and sustainable winemaking at Gravner, Friuli
Originally published on October 2, 2017.
In this podcast with Clay Thompson and Fredericka Churchill Thompson of Claiborne & Churchill, we discuss their approach and focus on Alsace grapes, and their experience with SIP Certified / Vineyard Team, who have helped them become a more sustainable vineyard.
Originally published on April 15, 2017.
Interview with winemaker and general manager at Domaine Tempier in Bandol, Provence, on the latest thinking on sustainable practices and their new acquisition and what it means for the wines of Tempier.
Originally published on November 6, 2016.
In this discussion we discussed how Richard got started making wine in the Santa Rita area in the early 1970s and how things have changed since then. Richard was the first to plant Pinot Noir west of Buellton in 1971. Since then he founded Alma Rosa vineyards and has been added to the winemaker Hall of Fame. We had a fascinating conversation about the history of wine in California since then, sustainability issues, climate change and organics. I learned a huge amount from this interview and I hope other listeners might too. Enjoy.
Originally published on May 5, 2017.
In this podcast I interview Eric de Saint-Victor from Château de Pibarnon, in Bandol.
Originally published on September 14, 2017.
Jérôme Héranval of Durfort-Vivens took some time to talk with Sustainable Wine about their wines, their history and their approach to sustainable wine making in Bordeaux.
Originally published on May 14, 2017.
Interview with Phillipe Bru at Chateau Vignelaure in Provence, where he is directeur oenologue and general manager. We discussed the history of Vignelaure, it's roots in Bordeaux, and how cabernet sauvignon works in Provence. We also discussed the work they do in the vineyard around sustainability. Enjoy.
Originally published on February 22, 2017.
Interview with Jean-François Ott at Domaines Ott, on Provence and Bandol winemaking and sustainability.
Originally published on April 11, 2017.
During a recent visit to Château Vannières I asked owner Eric Boisseaux to tell me a little about the wines he makes, his organic winemaking practices and his views on ageing Bandol wines in Provence.
Originally published on December 14, 2016.
Audio chat with Peter Work, wine maker and owner at Ampelos Cellars in Lompoc, California, about sustainable wine making in the region. We focused specifically on bio-dynamic wine making techniques.
Originally published on October 10, 2016.
Interview with one of California's leading winemakers, Bob Lindquist, about the wines he makes, the history of wine in the region and how he uses organic and biodynamic principles in his winemaking.
Originally published on August 13, 2016.
Interview with Ostiense Icard at Domaine de Trévallon.
Originally published on June 15, 2016.
Podcast interview with Cedric Gravier, winemaker at Domaine La Suffrene, on sustainability in Bandol and the wines he makes in the area.
Originally published on May 15, 2016.
In-depth podcast interview with Daniel Ravier, winemaker and director at Domaine Tempier in Bandol, France. In the interview we discussed the history of Bandol as a region, the grapes used, winemaking techniques, climate change, organics, biodynamics, rose, red and white wine making and much more.