Sustainable Wine

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...

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?...

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 an...

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...

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 organi...

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...

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...

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 pra...

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 f...

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...

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...

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 retail...

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, alte...

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 consi...

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 i...

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. Magdalen...

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 Beauca...

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 200...

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...

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 ). ...

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 initiati...

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...

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, em...

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...

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 j...