‘Anyone who is passionate about wine or enjoys drinking wine should be aware that climate change is having a big impact on wine regions and the style of wines produced,’ says Masters, a buyer at UK wine retailer Majestic with a background in winemaking and biochemistry.

‘It is not a given that Bordeaux will be able to make wine that is recognisable as Bordeaux even in 20 years, certainly not 50 years – and that’s shocking,’ says Neather, a former political speechwriter and the London Evening Standard’s wine critic for 11 years. This seems to me to be as good a reason as any to start thinking about how we can all drink wine more sustainably.

Neather had been thinking about writing a book about wine and climate change due to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events affecting vineyards worldwide. For Masters, a self-proclaimed nerd, ‘the idea started from a desire to understand all of the different aspects of sustainability and how they interact with one another, and to simplify some of the language and the science behind it’.

Together, the pair have set out to paint a holistic and comprehensive picture of the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by the wine industry, the effectiveness of the solutions and good practices being trialled – and the role we wine drinkers can play.

Pros, cons and trade-offs

Their book isn’t a manifesto. It doesn’t declare that there’s a single solution to the myriad challenges, and it’s not sensationalist. Rather, it’s informative, factual and realistic.

‘Anyone can pick it up,’ says Masters. ‘If you’re interested in wine, if you work in the wine trade, even if you’re not a wine drinker, the lessons that you can learn around how grapes are grown, around packaging and distribution, are all relevant to food and other products.’

Masters and Neather looked at case studies of wine businesses making sustainability-led decisions in their operations – be that around carbon emissions, packaging, circularity or social responsibility – weighing up the pros and cons, and acknowledging the trade-offs.

‘It’s quite easy to come up with examples of good practice – on renewable energy, biodiversity, alternative packaging – but the majority of the industry isn’t actually doing those things,’ says Neather. ‘Because sustainability decisions do have a financial impact.’

That’s where Masters’ expertise comes in: with her buying and retail background, she understands the challenges of running a business, so the book hones in on economic sustainability, too.

Writing about climate change comes with its own challenges. ‘Honestly, I feel quite depressed every morning,’ says Masters, ‘when I hear about the latest things that are going on. On the other hand, you have a choice. Am I going to try to affect something in my own area of influence, where I work and what I do, and what is that going to be?’

‘It’s pretty terrifying really,’ says Neather, ‘but we do what we can where we are.’

This book encourages us to be challenging, to ask questions, to not make assumptions and to be curious – and above all, to keep enjoying wine.

Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine By Jane Masters MW and Andrew Neather Published by Académie du Vin Library, £20 

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Thirty years on, its influence has been profound, shaping New Zealand wine’s internal identity while helping to establish its international reputation for quality and integrity. A recent ambitious commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century marks a shift from sustainability to climate action, one that could again see New Zealand blazing a global trail.

From its outset, SWNZ was to be more than just a marketing tool – it was an industry-led, science-backed initiative. Initially focused on vineyard practices, SWNZ expanded in 2002 to include winery operations, enabling producers to assess and manage their entire production footprint.

NZ sustainability snapshot

Data from New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainability Report 2025

98% of all vineyard area is certified by SWNZ

More than 90% of wine is processed in SWNZ-certified facilities

68% of wineries and 56% of vineyards are actively minimising their carbon footprint

40% of wineries have energy efficiency initiatives and 15% have installed solar energy sources

127 vineyards and 30 wineries are measuring GHG emissions via verified certification programmes – of which 30 vineyards and 12 wineries through Toitu Carbon Zero

81% of wineries have waste reduction initiatives

100% of wineries and 92% of vineyards are optimising water use through conservation and reduction

99% of vineyards use non-chemical methods for managing pests and diseases

63% of wineries use lightweight glass bottles

NZ-produced glass has a 75% recovery rate, the highest globally

2,267ha of land has been contributed to biodiversity protection initiatives

‘A shared baseline’

Rosie Finn of Nelson’s Neudorf Vineyards, one of the founding wineries, says that it ‘helped build a system that gave structure to the values many of New Zealand’s early wine-growers already held. It created a shared baseline – something practical, measurable, and genuinely world-leading.’

Today, more than 98% of New Zealand’s vineyard area is covered and around 90% of its wine is produced in SWNZ-certified facilities. As SWNZ programme manager Meagan Littlejohn comments, ‘The buy-in from the New Zealand wine industry definitely exceeded expectations. Our large membership base has allowed key sustainability practices and initiatives to be implemented throughout the industry.’

SWNZ’s development has brought together growers, winemakers, researchers and government and community partners. Independent audits assess compliance across a wide spectrum: from soil and water management to pest control, biodiversity and energy use. The standards are updated regularly to reflect emerging science, and benchmarking tools now allow wineries to compare performance with their peers, an effective nudge toward continual improvement.

With almost 90% of New Zealand wine exported, in a climate where environmental credentials increasingly influence buying decisions, SWNZ has strengthened the country’s global standing, especially in markets such as Scandinavia, the UK and North America. For many New Zealand producers though, sustainability has evolved into something deeper than compliance – it’s become a matter of identity.

David Peabody, executive director of Craggy Range says, ‘SWNZ was far ahead of its time… and more importantly, it embedded sustainability in practice. When Craggy Range began in 1998, the SWNZ programme was already operational. That has meant it’s been part of our DNA from the beginning.’ Craggy Range is currently transitioning its vineyards to organic, regenerative and biodynamic practices. ‘We are a family-owned business that wants our land to be in a better place for future generations… Farming in this way also forms a deep relationship with land.’

Supporting wineries

SWNZ also provides a foundation for further sustainability programmes. Marlborough’s Lawson’s Dry Hills joined in 2008, and is now one of New Zealand’s growing number of certified B-Corp wineries.

Sales and marketing manager Belinda Jackson says, ‘SWNZ was a brilliant starting place for us. We knew we could do more, and ISO 14001 was perfect – an internationally recognised system focused on a holistic, whole-business approach as well as continuous improvement.

‘Having achieved so much with 14001, we became ISO 14064 Toitu Net Carbon Zero-certified in record time.’

General manager Sion Barnsley agrees. ‘Our own internal sustainability journey started with the belief we could do a whole lot better than what was required by SWNZ at the time,’ he says. ‘But forward to today and that thinking no longer applies. SWNZ in a relatively short timeframe has made huge and necessary strides in creating a robust and meaningful sustainability programme.’

Jackson adds: ‘They provide an amazing resource for wineries to develop their own sustainability journeys.’

A matter of balance

Still, the programme isn’t without critics. With such widespread adoption, some worry that it risks becoming a minimum standard rather than a mark of excellence. Others argue that while SWNZ encourages reductions in synthetic inputs, it stops short of advocating for organic, regenerative or biodynamic farming – approaches that are gaining traction globally (16% of New Zealand’s wineries hold organic certification, according to SWNZ). Others point to social equity metrics, an area of comparatively slow evolution.

Littlejohn acknowledges the challenge of balancing ambition with inclusivity. ‘Having such a large membership base means that SWNZ members are very diverse – from small family-owned operations to larger multi-national wine corporations. That means we can’t move as quickly as some niche programmes, because we need to bring everyone along with us.’ But she sees this as a reflection of the wider process, stating, ‘The goal is to be better than you were yesterday. Year by year, bit by bit, multiple positive actions across our industry ensure our industry, our world and our wine are better for it.’

Roadmap to Net Zero 2050

Despite New Zealand’s distance from major markets, SWNZ helped demonstrate that a small, export-focused country can have a low-impact wine footprint. But until recently, there was no unified plan for decarbonisation. That changed in 2024 when New Zealand

Winegrowers launched the Roadmap to Net Zero 2050, committing the industry to net-zero carbon emissions. It sets concrete targets: halving Scope 1 emissions by 2040, scaling up renewable energy, transitioning to low-emission transport, and boosting carbon sequestration through vineyard and native plantings. Data gathered through SWNZ enables certified vineyards and wineries to receive personalised annual greenhouse has (GHG) emissions benchmarking reports, essential for tracking progress.

Implementation will be the real test. Many wineries face steep barriers, from limited capital to lack of technical expertise. Bridging that gap will require coordinated investment, policy alignment and supply chain support, all while navigating evolving international carbon accounting standards. But as Littlejohn notes, ‘Sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have” for many retailers and consumers – it has become a critical element of the wine industry’s social licence to operate.

‘Our producers’ commitment to sustainable practices over the last three decades means that consumers can trust that their bottle of New Zealand wine has been made with respect for our natural world and for our people.’

In a wine world increasingly shaped by climate uncertainty and consumer scrutiny, SWNZ is more than a success story – it’s a case study in what’s possible when an industry takes ownership of its impact.

Sustainability expert Dr Irina Santiago-Brown once remarked: ‘Being sustainable is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that continually recedes from us the closer we get to it.’ For New Zealand wine, the pursuit itself has become the point – and the payoff.

Central Otago reaches 30% organics

Central Otago recently celebrated a milestone, with 30% of its vineyard area now certified organic – and has an ambitious target of 50% by 2030 in its sights. Carolyn Murray, general manager of Central Otago Winegrowers (COWA), says, ‘Central Otago has earned its international reputation for consistently delivering beyond what you’d expect from a region of our size… this is a true testament to the passion and dedication of our growers.’

Having exceeded its target of 20% by 2020 (reaching 23%), COWA partnered with Lincoln University to explore how to reach its next goal. The study highlighted the region’s innovative spirit, strong peer network and international appeal as key drivers. Rippon’s Nick Mills, whose family estate was an early adopter of organic farming in the mid-1990s, thinks that high-profile producers ‘who went early’ helped lead the way. He also believes the region’s focus on Pinot Noir and its expression of place fosters a conducive mindset, commenting, ‘Enough people in the region have thought, “how do I get my wine to taste like my place?” That question alone led many to organics.’

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Topics of discussion covered viticulture, packaging, sales and social responsibility.

‘Climate change is and will continue to modify wine production conditions and requires adaptation from growers,’ said Dr Steve Ostoja, the director of the California Climate Hub.

The forecast for growers includes more heat waves, spring starting earlier, a shift in growing degree days, tree loss due to drought, and natural water reservoirs in decline. These changes will influence pest, disease and pathogen dynamics, with technology developments already playing a key role in management and early detection.

While significant changes must happen from the top down concerning national and international energy resource management, there is little question that agricultural industries – including wine – must look for ways to mitigate their impact on the environment and develop strategies to minimise the changing climate’s impact on their brand’s qualitative and quantitative production.

Dr John Heckman, a wine sustainability expert and consultant, added that the supply chain is a responsibility that producers must take on. ‘For a long time, we thought about (the climate risk world) as the future, but it’s less and less so; it’s happening as we speak; this is scary. We’ve been working on sustainability for a long time; it’s an incredibly hard problem to solve. None of this change is possible individually; this is how we work together, and it is a team spot. There may be no more important team in business than your supply chain.’

Consumers want to purchase products with environmental credentials, but it can be a maze to navigate the facts from fiction, greenwashing and marketing gloss from reality, and to seek out those wine brands that walk the talk. Certifications are encouraged as a valuable tool to point consumers in the right direction, but with a plethora of environmental and sustainable wine certifications and programmes globally, it’s understandable that consumers want more information from brands.

‘We did the (2023 Purpose Priorities Report) after the white-hot summer last year, and we saw the numbers tick up. The heat, the weather chaos, everyone understands something is profoundly different… In many ways, they (consumers) trust brands more. 76% of consumers agree that companies should have programmes that address environmental sustainability,’ said Sandy Skees, author and EVP, global purpose and impact practice lead, at Porter Novelli.

She implored producers to develop their storytelling and education pieces surrounding sustainability and environmental and social impact. ‘The people who drink your wine want you to save the planet,’ she added. Consumers are ready and primed to choose products with a positive environmental and social impact.

Looking at hashtags on social media can give a good understanding of where consumer education and awareness sit on these different certifications. Richard Morley, the director of UK-based marketing agency First Pour, said: ‘Wine hashtags on social media give us a litmus test of general interest levels. #wine has 77 million posts, #organicwine has 929k , #biodynamicwine has 272k and #sustainablewine sits at 64.9k. These stats show us that organic wine is established and understood as it has got its message right. The main challenge in communicating sustainable winemaking is that sustainability is a broad and wide-ranging concept. It’s hard for consumers to visualise what it means and why it matters to them.’

Of course, time has a role in this scenario of consumer understanding. The terms organic and biodynamic agriculture have been in the lexicon since the early 1990s, while sustainable certifications have risen in visibility and importance over the past two decades.

It costs money, time and resources for a winery to become certified. And for some businesses, that cost is just not feasible. Sustainability is about financial resilience, too, after all. However, certification is the only way for consumers to purchase a product without taking the research into their own hands. Selecting a wine with a regulated and respected certification qualification on a bottle’s label indicates third-party verification via a strict process of regulation and auditing.

International certifications: An overview

While international certifications vary from country to country, here is a breakdown of the major global certification terms and what they mean on the label.

Organic: Organic produce must be grown and produced without synthetic chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Most international programmes have a degree of similarity, the main differences concerning which materials and methods are approved for use. Organic certification does not take into account business practices beyond these regulations. International certifications include USDA Organic (United States), EU Organic (European Union), Organic JAS (Japan), NASAA Certified Organic (Australia), India Organic (India), Bio Suisse (Switzerland), Soil Association (United Kingdom), Ecocert (France).

Biodynamic: Once a business practices organically, it can also practice biodynamically. Based on the work of Dr Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, biodynamics considers the larger ecosystem’s resilience holistically, including soil health, land regeneration and ethics. To maintain certification, the lunar cycle is observed, and strict regulations must be adhered to. Demeter is the leading international programme.

Sustainable: Sustainability is a broader term covering much more than soil health and environmental credentials. To practice sustainability, goalposts can differ for each business, but the focus is on best practices surrounding environmental stewardship, resource management, continual improvement in the vineyard and the winery, social responsibility and financial resilience. Across the globe, there are national and regional certifications, each with different auditing systems and regulations. Some of the major international sustainable certifications to look for include California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, SIP Certified, LIVE certified, Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, Napa Green, Equalitas, Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, Certified Sustainable Wine of Chile, Sustainable Austria, Vignerons Engagés, Bodegas de Argentina, Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE).

For further certification information, see our article on sustainability in wine.

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The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) has launched a new tool for the global wine industry designed to achieve a more consistent and robust approach to sustainability.

Dr Peter Stanbury of the SWR has identified as many as 70 sustainability standards for wine around the world – often developed, like appellation systems, to address particular regional conditions. That makes it harder for producers and retailers to agree on what robust standards of sustainability look like, confuses consumers and raises concerns about ‘greenwashing’.

After reviewing a range of these sustainability standards, building on knowledge from outside the wine sector and identifying areas of missing information, the SWR launched its Global Reference Framework (GRF) on 8 November. The GRF sets out current best practice on what sustainability in wine looks like, covering six broad areas from governance and practices in the vineyard and winery to human and social issues, packaging and distribution.

The new framework is intended as a benchmarking tool, so that ‘sustainability’ – which can be a nebulous term – is more rigorously defined and therefore clearer to consumers. The SWR hopes the GRF will help producers to assess the credibility of certification schemes; allow retailers to compare the claims of different standards, so they can communicate sustainability more clearly to their customers; and help certification bodies to agree on best practice.

‘The ultimate aim is to make it easier for consumers to recognise a sustainably-produced bottle of wine,’ said Richard Bampfield MW. ‘At the moment, there are so many wine sustainability schemes that they are diluting each other. The idea is to create a single standard that all parts of the wine value chain can measures themselves against.’

Stanbury insists the GRF is not intended to be another system for certifying wine sustainability. ‘Our aim is not to call people out or try to define detailed practices in the wine industry such as water management, which are often determined by local conditions. We want the GRF to become an inclusive reference, a shared understanding of what sustainability looks like.’

While there is a fair bit of knowledge about sustainability in vineyards and wineries, much less is known about the rest of the supply chain: issues such as packaging, glass bottle weight, air freight and bulk shipping.

‘Producers may think that being organic, biodynamic or regenerative makes them sustainable, but vineyard practices are a relatively small part of wine’s carbon footprint,’ said Bampfield. ‘Hence the need for a universal standard that covers the whole wine value chain. The SWR is well placed to do this as it brings together all the parts of that chain, from producers and packagers to transporters and retailers.’

Stanbury feels it is important to recognise that sustainability is a journey. ‘There are so many things we understand now that we didn’t understand 10 years ago. Sustainability evolves over time. What looks like a sustainable standard one year might not look the same one year later.’

The GRF will be reviewed and updated annually.

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When most people think of sustainability, protecting the environment comes immediately to mind. However, another part of sustainability – the social side focusing on employees and the community – is often overlooked. Yet, at a recent Napa Rise seminar, speakers emphasised that this aspect of sustainability is the most essential.

‘It is an uncomfortable topic to discuss,’ stated keynote speaker Maryam Ahmed, CEO of Maryam + Company and co-founder of the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum. ‘However, this aspect of sustainability, which focuses on social justice, diversity and inclusion, is the most important.’

Napa Rise co-founder and seminar speaker Martin Reyes MW, added: ‘No other pillar in RISE (water, energy, soil health, packaging, climate action) has justice or fairness as such an overt part of its essential tenets. When we consider social sustainability, we deal with people, and with that come the eggshells.

‘Most of us are still learning. It’s not perfect, But that shouldn’t stop us from trying and admitting we have a long way to go.’

Ahmed and Reyes led a session that highlighted five steps that wineries and wine-related businesses could take towards a more inclusive Napa wine industry. And even though some people are nervous about making mistakes, most speakers urged that wine businesses just get started.

Active leadership engaged in DEI

The beginning of the seminar addressed the need for wine executives to step forward and address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues in their companies. Tod Mostero, director of viticulture and winemaking at Dominus Estate in Napa Valley, compared the need to promote diversity in the workforce to that of promoting biodiversity in the vineyard. He explained how leaders could set justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) goals in their wine businesses.

C. Mondavi & Family CEO David Brown described how DEI infuses the culture at Charles Krug winery. ‘From recruiting practices to pay and benefits, promotions, and all other aspects of employment at Charles Krug winery, an environment of equity is of the utmost importance,’ said Brown. He also described how the winery is a majority women-owned business and that he was promoted to the CEO position internally.

Diversity training and certifications

More and more wine businesses are incorporating diversity training into their strategy. For example, Charles Krug offers inclusive leadership and unconscious bias training. Both empower employees to act and lead in uncomfortable situations with expanded confidence and empathy.

Training tasting room employees on how to handle ‘micro-aggressions’ from customers, as well as not to deliver ‘micro-aggressions’ to customers, is also becoming increasingly important. Stevie Stacionis, the owner of Bay Grape Wine shops, described how she trains and mentors her employees on dealing with these subtle slights that are often delivered unintentionally but negatively impact those who hold marginalised identities.

Nufo Solorio, vice president of operations for Silverado Farming, explained how important it is to provide vineyard workers with all types of training, including soil health, mathematics, computer literacy, leadership and English.

Scholarships for wine education and immersion opportunities

Another great way to promote more diversity in the wine industry is to support scholarship efforts for under-represented populations to go on a wine immersion experience or to take part in wine education. This exposes elements of the wine industry to those who have not historically had access to opportunities and can lead to longer term diversity in the industry.

The Roots Fund is a non-profit organisation that sends scholarship recipients to visit wine regions in France and California. It also offers other educational scholarships. Its mission is ‘to nourish and enrich the lives of communities of colour in the wine industry’.

Field Blends, operated by Maryam + Company, is another wine tour business that offers scholarships for diverse candidates and, to date, has conducted tours to New York and Washington wine regions.

Wine apprenticeships

Some wine businesses are establishing apprenticeship programmes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) candidates to encourage more workforce diversity. One example is Silver Oak, which partnered with the Veraison Project to recruit for the programme.

After reviewing a pool of applicants, Tahlia Suggs and Courtney Guntz-Summers were selected to complete a year-long apprenticeship. They worked in all aspects of the winery, including customer relations, tasting room and cellar operations, as well as the vineyard.

Silver Oak apprenticeship co-creator, Veronica Jauregui, stated: ‘Tahlia and Courtney have made a profound impact at Silver Oak. We hope they are the first of many to go forth and make the wine industry a more inclusive and diverse space.’

After the apprenticeship, Guntz-Summers summarised: ‘I have fallen in love with the challenge and camaraderie of the industry.’ Suggs reported that the experience ‘has allowed barriers to be broken down within the wine industry to allow access to the BIPOC community’.

Hiring, mentoring and retention metrics

Progressive wine businesses are also actively recruiting under-represented employees and ensuring they have a mentor – whether another employee or a manager – to help them feel comfortable within the company culture. Likewise, these businesses use metrics to track the percentage of diverse new hires, maintain retention metrics and conduct exit interviews.

‘During orientation, we provide optional reporting on gender, and identity to track diversity,’ reported Stacionis of Bay Grape Wine. ‘In this way, we can track our DEI progress and have seen increases in all categories.’

Stacionis concluded her presentation with an encouraging statement. ‘It’s really easy to talk about DEI, but walking the walk is much more difficult and terrifying. By being here today, I hope to encourage someone else to start their own walk or even a quiet crawl.’

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As we head into yet another year of unknown circumstances, one thing is for sure: the wine will continue to flow. After speaking with numerous industry figures across the US and elsewhere on the key wine trends set to appear and disappear in 2022, we reveal what the new year has in store for wine lovers.

Wine trends 2022

Looking to other regions

Of all predicted wine trends for 2022, seeking out under-the-radar regions was the unanimous response. Lewis Kopman, co-founder of New York-based Portuguese wine importer Grossberg/Kopman Selections, attributes the recent inability of the average consumer to afford the ‘classics’ (Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne specifically). ‘Consumers have been forced to be more creative about the great wine that they consume and, as a result, you’ve seen the growth of other categories like Santa Barbara in California or the Canary Islands and Gredos in Spain, for example,’ he says, noting that as prices for classics fast become even less attainable, the traditional collector will start looking into these other regions as well.

Robin Wright, beverage director of Italian restaurant Ci Siamo in New York, agrees. ‘I think people will continue venturing out of their comfort zone in 2022, moving away from the traditional French and American labels, and drinking more esoteric wines from lesser-known regions throughout Italy and the rest of Europe,’ she says, citing Corsica, Slovenia and Switzerland as examples.

Jason Sorrell, sales manager at national wine importer Vineyard Brands, agrees. He attributes the shift from classics to overall supply chain shortages. ‘Consumers are going to have to go outside their normal boxes and explore wines from alternative locations,’ he says, suggesting Sancerre lovers look to South African Sauvignon Blanc as a logical wine swap. Sorrell adds that Champagne shortages will likely cause an increased demand for Cava, crémants and other sparkling wines). His colleague, Chris Birnie-Visscher, agrees. ‘With the severe shortage of Burgundy, markets will to have to look at other alternatives, whether from Chile or South Africa. And as prices go up dramatically, consumers are going to start looking for new wines to try.’

Value-driven wines and wines with a story

In addition to lesser-known regions, Wright also foresees an increasing desire for wines with a backstory – and which don’t break the bank. ‘I expect we’ll see more of a renewed focus on value-driven wines with a compelling narrative,’ she says, citing that Ci Siamo’s diners are more interested than ever in learning about the winemakers behind each bottle. ‘Consumers are also focusing on a sense of place and responsible farming practices,’ she adds.

Palate expansion and consumer curiosity

Because of the above issues, Heini Zachariassen, founder of online wine platform Vivino, believes that a rise in diversity will come into play. ‘With the supply challenges of 2021 likely being realised in early 2022, I believe we will see the industry continue to push a more diverse range of wines,’ he says. ‘While discovery becomes crucial out of necessity, wine drinkers who are naturally curious will embrace the opportunity to branch out.’

Prioritising innovation

Zachariassen also feels that brands will become more innovative. ‘My hunch tells me we will see more of the industry innovating to reach a younger demographic, especially as wine loses market share to spirits and non-alcoholic alternatives.’ He believes that wine producers will refresh their approach to reach the younger wine drinker, and do so via delivery options, online platforms, marketing and beyond.

Natural wine

New York-based Denise Barker of Denise Barker Wine, noticed that while hosting virtual tastings during the pandemic, many consumers were having conversations around natural wine. ‘It’s definitely gaining popularity among wine crowds in the Midwest and Central US, beyond just urban markets,’ she says. ‘The intrigue around what natural wine is and how to get it seems to be growing beyond big cities and will continue to gain popularity in my opinion.’

Ryan Tate of New York merchant Windmill Wine & Spirits agrees: ‘People will continue to realise that natural wine has been around forever, and that even the storied houses and labels have been [making wine in this style] from the outset.’

Non-alcoholic and low-alcohol wines

David Bruno, founder of Massachusetts retailer Départ Wine, is already seeing a shift towards non-alcoholic alternatives. ‘From botanical apéritifs like Figlia, Proteau and Ghia to tea-based kombuchas by Yes Folk, Unified Ferments and Heirloom, to wine proxies from Acid League and Jukes, the category and quality has never been higher,’ he says.

Matt Kaner, brand ambassador for Wine Proxies, a non-alcoholic wine replacement made by Canadian vinegar company Acid League, agrees. ‘After an extended debauched period fuelled by Covid-19, we will snap to our senses as a community and find a way to moderate our drinking,’ he says, noting that more than 50% of Americans have already reported that they’re seeking to drink less.

Margaux Reaume, co-founder of California-based wine and experience platform Argaux, feels the same. ‘A trend that I’m already seeing picking up traction is low-alcohol wines, particularly among consumers that are trying to cut back but don’t want to give up their evening ritual,’ she says.

Supply chain issues

Sadly, supply chain issues will be a serious reality in 2022. However, Lexi Jones, co-founder of California’s Amlière Imports, feels that this will lead to a focus on quality. ‘2022 will be the year of sustainability. As the supply chain continues to impact our industry globally, it will be more important than ever to support small-production wines and those who are ecologically friendly,’ she says.

Vanessa Conlin MW, head of wine at US-based online platform Wine Access, predicts that shipping delays will last beyond September 2022, which will cause disruption for consistent supply – and in turn, cause prices to rise. ‘Additionally, the tragic frost and hail in Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire Valley will be felt by consumers as wines from these classic regions will be shipped to the US in smaller quantities. The impact of the fires in Napa of 2020 will also begin to be felt,’ she explains. As a result, wines that would have traditionally been released this year will either be released in lower quantities or not released at all.

Rosé year round

Callum Jeffery of New York merchant Le Du Wines, has found that consumers are becoming more and more open to rosé in winter, which he attributes to the popular style of ‘crushable’ and lighter-bodied reds. Angela Oemcke of Australian online wine marketing platform Cellr feels similarly. ‘I think we’ll see more fresh and fruity wines made with carbonic maceration, often seen in the natural wine scene,’ she says.

Red wine decline

However, some feel differently. Vivino’s Zachariassen believes that red wine will continue to see moderate declines in favour of white, sparkling and rosé. ‘Our pandemic behaviours will stick, as wine drinkers have started to notice that sparkling wine tastes just as good in sweatpants as it does in a suit,’ he says, citing that Vivino has seen a strong growth in interest in fizz across a variety of price points. ‘We also see consumers drinking rosé and white all year long, but I think it will be a big year for sparkling rosé in particular.’

Skin-contact wines

Like natural wine, many feel that skin-contact wine will see continued popularity in 2022. ‘I think we’ll see more and more orange styles,’ says Oemcke, who has noticed an abundance of orange still wines being made from Muscat of Alexandria, Riesling and even Zibibbo.

Ci Siamo’s Wright agrees. ‘I’ve been impressed by how much orange wine from Italy and Slovenia we’ve been selling,’ she states, adding that consumers’ curiosity in skin-contact wines is linked to wanting to know the stories behind the wines. ‘With this interest comes a desire to better understand the producers themselves,’ she says. ‘I expect we’ll also continue to see consumer interest in wines from female winemakers and black-owned wineries in 2022.’

Lower-sulphite wines

Similar to a rise in lower-alcohol wines, ​​many feel that consumers will also seek out low- and no-sulphite wines. ‘Customers realise that producers can now make wines without sulphites that are not deviant,’ says Antonin Bonnet, sommelier at New York’s Benoît. ‘The process is way better handled now, and some top-quality producers have embraced it and are leading the way.’

Bonnet says the trend towards lower sulphites first started in Paris, then moved to London and Montréal, and is now gaining traction across urban markets everywhere – particularly in areas like Brooklyn in New York where consumers ‘pay attention to what they drink’.

Traditional-method sparkling beyond Champagne

Allie Nault, of retailer Knead Wine in Virginia, believes that 2022 will be the year for wine consumers to expand their palates and experience sparkling wines that drink like Champagne, though hail from outside of the region. ‘We’re experiencing a shortage of many wines from around the globe, with Champagne being one of the hardest-hit,’ she says, attributing the issue to reduced yields and vintage conditions.

Her tips for interesting Champagne-like discoveries from the US include Westport Rivers from Massachusetts, Argyle from Oregon, Thibaut-Janisson from Virginia and Schramsberg from California. Jansz from Australia and Raventós in Spain are other ‘delicious and great-value’ options.

Sustainability across the board

Matt Crafton, head winemaker at California’s historic Chateau Montelena, notes that a ‘proactive sense of responsibility on the agriculture side’ has taken form in both producers and consumers alike. ‘Now more than ever, we are starting to see that wine drinkers are choosing to support brands that share the same values – from what they wear to what they put in their bodies,’ he says. He believes 2022 will be the year of this ‘collective shift’.

‘Buying wine is becoming more personal,’ Crafton adds, predicting a rise in interest in brands that are environmentally conscious and invest in the wellbeing of their employees. Conlin of Wine Access agrees. ‘When it comes to social issues and sustainability, consumers want to spend in a way that’s consistent with their values. That’s why I think we’ll continue to see more and more questions about the people behind the wines and tremendous interest in supporting female- and BIPOC-owned wineries,’ she says.

Still wines from Champagne

Not all that hails from Champagne need sparkle. Christina Rasmussen, co-founder of England-based online platform Littlewine Co, predicts a rise in still wines from France’s most famously bubbly region. ‘Due to climate change, northerly segments of France are now regularly viable for still wine production, and in Champagne this is particularly evident,’ she says. Rasmussen recommends Le Blanc du Tremble by Dominique Moreau of Marie Courtin, as a stellar example to try.

Hold the glass

In the realm of sustainability, Jeff Harding of New York restaurant Waverly Inn predicts that excessively heavy glass bottles will be a thing of the past. ‘So many vanity bottles are being used to signify high quality, but it’s a trick that lesser wines have adopted so it’s really not a sign of quality anymore,’ he reveals. He says lighter bottles are a ‘no brainer’ for estates looking to make less of an environmental impact. ‘It takes less fuel to ship lighter bottles, which really adds up when you consider freight charge for high-volume wines.’

Concern for harvest workers

Additionally, Harding feels that a rise in concern for vineyard workers will also be prevalent – and necessary – in 2022. ‘In an interview, Max de Zarobe of Avignonesi in Tuscany mentioned that we pay so much attention to treating the flora and fauna of the ecosystem, and we can’t ignore the people who pick these grapes,’ says Harding. ‘More focus needs to be paid to the wellbeing of harvest workers. As wine buyers, we should let the wineries know that we are paying attention,’ he affirms.

Portuguese wine

Anita Musi, fine wine specialist at Connecticut-based importer Evaton, feels Portugal is at its ‘peak popularity’ right now. ‘It’s a fantastic culinary destination to explore and that includes its wines,’ she says, believing that consumers will continue to discover the country’s wealth of great bottles in 2022. ‘They are food friendly, versatile and affordable compared to other regions.’ She also highlighted the versatility of Port in cocktails and predicts this will be a trend.

For the love of Champagne

‘My insight on the 2022 wines trends starts and ends with Champagne,’ says Jen Saxby, of California-based importer Benchmark Wine Group. Saxby notes that despite shortage issues and shipment delays, people have still been been selling, ordering and drinking Champagne. She also predicts that other ‘process-driven wines’ such as Sherry and Madeira will see a rise in popularity.

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Prospective students from around the world can apply for the new MSc course in sustainable wine tourism and gastronomy, beginning in the 2022 academic year, said the School of Wine & Spirits Business.

Based in Dijon, a short distance from the heart of the Côte d’Or’s famous vineyards, the institution is part of the Burgundy School of Business (BSB).

It said the MSc in sustainable wine tourism and gastronomy will be taught in English and reflects ‘strong demand from companies for managers capable of accompanying them in their transition to sustainable development’.

Wine tourism is still viewed as a major growth area for wineries and wine regions over the long-term, despite the economic impact of Covid-related travel restrictions in the past two years.

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BSB’s wine school said gastronomy is also a major theme for travel. ‘The outlook in these areas is very promising, as many wineries, restaurateurs and accommodation providers are increasingly adopting a CSR [corporate social responsibility] strategy, respectful of the environment, their employees and society.’

It said its new course is open to any French or international student with an existing Bachelor’s degree in any subject.

Laurence Cogan-Marie, professor of marketing at BSB since 2009, will run the sustainable wine tourism and gastronomy MSc.

‘The students of the new MSc will have the opportunity to tackle the concepts of ecological transition, ecotourism, slow tourism, permaculture, sustainable viticulture, soft mobility, sustainable accommodation and catering,’ said Cogan-Marie, who has been responsible for the wine tourism specialisation at Bachelor’s level at BSB since 2017.

‘Numerous trips in France and abroad to wine and gastronomic regions at the forefront of sustainability are planned,’ she added.

‘The aim is to introduce students to the best sustainable practices in wine tourism and gastronomy. They will also carry out concrete case studies.’

She said potential jobs leading on from the course included:

• executives in ecological transition, in sustainable development and CSR;
• managers in sustainable wine tourism;
• consultants in transition towards sustainable development, for accommodation providers, restaurateurs [and] wine estates, as well as for various institutional players in tourism or wine trade boards.

There is growing awareness among tourists in all sectors around ‘climate, environmental and social issues’, said the World Travel & Tourism Council in June 2021.

Research released by the Booking.com website in 2021 found that 83% of travellers thought sustainable travel was vital. Of 29,000 travellers surveyed across 30 countries, 61% said the Covid pandemic had made them want to travel more sustainably in the future, the group said.

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Seeing horses and weed-nibbling sheep in Bordeaux’s vineyards is no longer a surprise. Grass and wildflowers grow between rows of vines where once bare soild reigned and, happily, an ever-increasing number of winemakers no longer spray them with pesticides or herbicides.

Though some wine lovers still think of the world’s largest fine wine region as wedded to a conventional past, I’ve been stunned in the past few years by the dozens of innovative ideas château owners are embracing to reduce their impact on the environment.

Those new architectural statement cellars on the Left and Right Banks are ‘green-designed’ to recycle water, reduce energy use, and even capture CO2, and repurpose it. And as a younger, even more eco-conscious generation takes over, there’s much more to come.

For many in Bordeaux, the 2003 heatwave was a wake-up call to the fact that climate change required a far-reaching plan to help slow global warming, adapt and be sustainable into the future.

The first phase included going organic and biodynamic, with passionate forward-thinking estates, such as Château Pontet-Canet, leading the way. Today the list of wineries with certified organic and/or biodynamic vineyards is longer than many imagine, from Châteaux Climens in Sauternes to Fonplégade in St-Emilion, to Marquis d’Alesme in Margaux.

Official backing

For the past two decades, the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) itself has been an eco-warrior, launching the region’s first carbon footprint assessment in 2008, and in 2010 creating the Système de Management Environnemental du Vin de Bordeaux (SME). It fosters a collective approach and has encouraged 65% of châteaux as of 2019 to obtain some kind of sustainable certification, such as HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) and the international ISO 14001, which is broader.

Since then, the trade organisation has backed research at more than 20 public laboratories, organised dozens of sustainability initiatives and issued an annual guide of good environmental practices that highlights what a couple of hundred châteaux are doing. Small things can make a huge difference. Château Dauzac, for example, uses extra-smooth vats so less water is required to clean them.

The following seven cases illustrate the diversity of Bordeaux estates taking eco-friendly steps beyond organic viticulture – but I could have picked many more.

Daniel & Florence Cathiard

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan

‘Sustainability is a family affair with us,’ says Florence Cathiard, revealing that her father wanted to name her Nature – luckily her mother objected. Florence and her husband Daniel, both former Olympic skiers and sports shop magnates, spent their childhoods in the southern Alps and both were passionate about snow and the mountains. They brought up their two daughters on an isolated farm, where Mathilde tamed hens and Alice loved plants.

After seeing Château Smith Haut Lafitte from a helicopter, the couple bought it and gave up their old life to pour their ambitions into improving the wine and renovating the château. Though it took time to shift the vineyards to organic viticulture, they’re now certified organic and follow a biodynamic philosophy they call ‘bio-precision’.

But they’ve done so much more, becoming a model for others to follow. ‘The planet is damaged to a point where it can no longer heal on its own,’ Florence says. ‘It’s time to take care of it as much as we can.’

The estate is fully committed to phytotherapy (using natural extracts for medicinal purposes), collects rainwater, keeps bees and has planted 8.5km of hedgerows to foster biodiversity. Their daughters are fully involved: Mathilde and her husband Bertrand Thomas founded Sources de Caudalie, which recycles grape seeds and vine cuttings into expensive beauty products and is a member of 1% for the Planet – a global organisation whose members contribute at least 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes – where their contributions will have helped plant 8 million trees by 2021.

Alice, who now manages Caudalie with her husband Jérôme Tourbier, represented the family when the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat invited them to make a presentation at the 2015 Paris COP 21 conference (the Conference of the Parties – those countries that signed up to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change).

The eco-friendly underground ‘stealth cellar’ for Château Smith Haut Lafitte’s second wines has no need for electric cooling systems, and photovoltaic panels generate energy. Most intriguing is the system to capture the CO2 released in fermentation and recycle it into eco-friendly baking soda via a device on each fermentation vat – an innovation that has inspired others.

Kees van Leeuwen

University of Bordeaux

Scientist and viticulture professor at ISVV (Bordeaux Sciences Agro and Bordeaux University’s Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin), Cornelis (Kees) van Leeuwen describes his keen interest in the environment as ‘a long journey that started with falling in love with wine at an early age’.

We met in Bordeaux, and caught up at Vinexpo Paris, where he was speaking on what the wine world has to do to adapt to climate change. Born in the Netherlands in 1963, he’s an avid jogger who has run the Médoc marathon and talks with careful precision not just about his world of scientific research but also about winemaking.

His initial goal was to write about wine, then shifted to becoming a winemaker, so he piled up degree after degree – oenology in Champagne and Bordeaux, viticulture in Burgundy to understand terroir and, back in Bordeaux, a Masters degree in biology and eventually a PhD in soil science. He applied all this research to Château Cheval Blanc as vineyard manager and technical director, and remains a consultant for the château.

Each step was led by a desire to discover what was key for the quality of wine – grapes, soil, climate. He’s been highly involved with VitAdapt, a research initiative with an experimental vineyard planted in 2009. His primary research interest now is the effect of climate change. Topics such as which grape varieties are drought resistant and how higher temperatures affect aromas fascinate him.

‘I see sustainability as totally broad,’ he says. ‘Châteaux have to be economically sustainable as well as agronomically sustainable – the question is whether we can grow grapes for wines for the next couple of thousand years.’

He’s published about 200 research papers and believes free open access to ongoing wine research is essential. That’s why he founded and edits open access journal OENO One for scientists and has just launched online journal IVES Technical Reviews in six languages to get the latest information to wine viticulturists and winemakers.

Chris Wilmers

Château Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Léognan

Chris Wilmers is the new generation at this famous château in Pessac-Léognan, which his father Robert bought in 1998. When Robert died at the end of 2017, Chris moved from a board role to become more involved. Now, along with managing director Véronique Sanders, he’s deep into the construction of Haut-Bailly’s new cellar and other renovations, designed with the environment in mind.

His day job is professor of environmental studies at University of California Santa Cruz, where he heads a lab group focused on understanding how global change influences the behaviour of large predators such as pumas and mountain lions. ‘Ecologists are used to thinking about complex systems,’ he says, ‘and I’m convinced that ecological thinking is key to successful winemaking.’

Wilmers grew up in New York City and developed his love of the natural world in childhood, building tree forts and fishing in the summer in western Massachusetts. As a teenager he became fascinated by science.

A month-long backpacking trip shifted him to ecology, so gaining a PhD focused on the environment was a no-brainer. His research into the way climate change impacts terrestrial ecosystems has deeply influenced his ideas about viticulture. ‘I’m especially concerned about land use,’ he says. Converting natural habitats to vineyards, he observes, brings ‘a cost for future generations’.

Haut-Bailly’s new cellar, buried 10m deep so less energy is consumed, will have a roof covered with vegetation to create habitats and integrate with the landscape.

Martin Bouygues

Château Montrose, St-Estèphe

Slim, energetic, 67-year-old Bouygues is chairman and CEO of the Paris-based Bouygues group, a giant construction, real estate development and telecommunications company, and owner with his brother of second growth Château Montrose in St-Estèphe. He exudes confidence, a can-do enthusiasm and the determination to see what needs to change, plus the fortune to get it done quickly and on a grand scale.

‘We know now it is possible to produce without polluting but also to combine economic growth with preservation of the environment,’ he says. That’s why sustainable development has been a key strategy of the Bouygues group, which is, among other things, designing urban eco-neighbourhoods for the future. And Bouygues’ belief in its importance is why he joined the UN Global Compact – a voluntary initiative encouraging businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible practices to fight climate change.

Since purchasing Montrose in 2006, he’s invested tens of millions of euros to turn it into a model of sustainability.

Think of it as a microcosm of the many bio-design solutions the Bouygues group has undertaken in other areas of its business. He once told me, blithely, that the château might make a profit in 50 years.

The estate’s energy cost is already zero, thanks to 3,000m2 of solar panels, geothermic heating and cooling systems with pipes buried in the earth, and hidden extra insulation.

Bouygues has invested in a wastewater treatment plant and, copying Smith Haut Lafitte, even a project capturing CO2 during fermentation, turning it into a detergent to clean tanks and barrels. CEO Hervé Berland is almost giddy with excitement when he outlines what’s been accomplished and what’s next: light electric tractors, boosting natural areas to increase biodiversity, and developing more ergonomic tools for workers.

Nathalie & Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier

Château Anthonic, Moulis-en-Médoc

‘I have been passionate about wildlife and nature since my childhood,’ says the tall, bespectacled Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier. He studied agro-engineering in Belgium, focusing on water and forests, has worked on rural agricultural development in the Congo, and since 1993 has run this estate purchased by his family in 1977, with the help of wife Nathalie.

‘I think we have to build an integral ecology that includes environmental respect, happiness for people we work with and profitable business,’ he explains.

Cordonnier calls farming organically – his 30ha of vineyards are certified organic – ‘the entrance door’ to implementing that approach, adding there’s no way to make a compromise between ecology and conventional farming.

He’s especially wedded to the potential of agro-forestry, which involves planting trees among the vines, as was done in the past. The trees give protection to the vines against climate extremes and also remove CO2 from the air, thus helping to slow global warming.

Most importantly, Cordonnier has helped to spread this way of thinking by founding the Vignerons du Vivant association in 2018 with 12 estates, among them Châteaux Latour, Lafon-Rochet and Paloumey. It recruits young people without jobs or training and teaches them basic vineyard skills, focusing on the agro-ecology point of view.

Xavier & Luc Planty

Château Guiraud, Sauternes

Environmental leadership isn’t just about doing, it’s also about showing and convincing. The well-known and forward-thinking Château Guiraud has created ‘green tours’, welcoming visitors to explain how important eco-friendly practices are.

A decade ago, co-owner Xavier Planty introduced me to his ‘insect hotels’, designed to attract bugs that are helpful in the vineyard. With a degree in biology and plant genetics, he’s long been on the side of nature, and after a friend died from cancer following a career spent working with chemicals in the vineyards he began running things organically and restoring biodiversity. Château Guiraud’s hedgerows are now home to some 635 species of insect and spider.

His son Luc, the winemaker, sees 2020 as the year of permaculture, a more global approach to ecosystems. The estate is open seven days a week for tours.

Marion Merker

Château de La Dauphine, Fronsac

When the Labrune family bought Château La Dauphine in Fronsac in 2015, family patriarch Jean-Claude, raised on a farm, began expanding the green practices that already existed there, such as biodynamics. But he expanded into biodiversity projects and much more.

Marion Merker, the château’s wine tourism manager who creates all the tours, says: ‘It seemed natural to educate people about what châteaux can do. I’m a citizen of the earth, too. Today we’re all concerned about chemicals, global warming and pollution.’

Much like at Château Guiraud in Sauternes, the highly popular tour here highlights not just the work in La Dauphine’s vineyards, but also the role of beehives, aquaponics and a permaculture vegetable garden.

As the human population increases, changes in land use are destroying the world’s natural habitats. Widespread spraying of pesticides has been blamed for collapsing insect and bird numbers, while intensive use of herbicides and fungicides contaminates groundwater and degrades the soil, making it dependent on fertilisers.

With mounting evidence that agriculture is contributing to unprecedented biodiversity loss, concepts of environment stewardship and ‘regenerative agriculture’ are gaining ground. Research shows that beneficial insects such as bees and spiders, and birds and bats that feed on insects, are more numerous and diverse on untreated land than on land sprayed with chemicals, and that soils managed sustainably have more organic matter rich in microbiology.

Wine lovers might be forgiven for assuming that, in contrast to large-scale intensive agriculture, wine production has little impact on the natural world. The reality is rather different. Most vineyards are monocultures that rely heavily on preventive spraying of herbicides, fungicides and pesticides to keep disease and pests at bay.

‘In the old days,’ explains Professor Steve Wratten of New Zealand’s Lincoln University, ‘most wine-growers went out into their vineyards more to see what their vines needed and when. Now there is a tendency to spray prophylactically, creating resistance in vines and impacting on both human health and the environment.’

Going green

Awareness of the damage that overuse of chemical treatments in viticulture can do has spread since French soil biologist Claude Bourguignon famously declared in 1988 that the soil of Burgundy’s vineyards was ‘dead’. Growing numbers of wine producers now claim to follow organic or biodynamic practices. It is rare today to find a French vigneron who does not espouse lutte raisonnée (literally ‘the reasoned fight’, meaning the measured use of sprays).

Much of this is of course about promoting a green image. Quite apart from the moral and health arguments for a sustainable approach, there are marketing incentives for producers to portray their wines as pure products of the soil, unsullied by chemicals. ‘Millennials tend to be more interested than their parents in authenticity,’ says Liam Steevenson MW of Global Wine Solutions. ‘Consumers increasingly want to know how wines are produced.’ According to Ed Robinson, the Co-op’s Fairtrade wine buyer: ‘People who buy wine from us expect it to be ethically sourced, fairly traded and kind to the environment.’

Wine producers tend to describe their philosophy as ‘non-interventionist’. But it is an open secret that, given the sensitivity of Vitis vinifera to disease, growing healthy grapes requires intervention.

France is one of Europe’s biggest pesticide users. Its vineyards cover about 3% of agricultural land, but account for as much as 20% of pesticide use. French growers are far from alone in this. Thousands of tons of pesticides and fungicides are used in Californian vineyards every year, more than in any other agricultural sector. Concerns have grown in both regions that use of pesticides and herbicides such as glyphosate, which has been linked to cancer, are exposing not only vineyard workers but also children in schools near vineyards to health risks.

Whether you believe in conventional, organic or biodynamic methods – and it is often argued that ‘organic’ treatments such as copper or sulphur damage the environment more than synthetic sprays – there is a growing pressure around the world to make wine-growing more sustainable. In France, Laurent Brault of Vignerons Indépendants de France explains that: ‘Ecological organisations like Greenpeace and France Nature Environnement have successfully got across the message that unless we act today we will have to repay the debt of our degraded environment tomorrow.’

Faced with concerns about the impact of chemical sprays, the French government is pushing for urgent action and has introduced a new stringent level of environmental certification: Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE). The target is for 50% of wine-growers to be certified HVE by 2025, with a 50% reduction in chemical sprays. The Conseil des Vins de St-Emilion recently decided that all producers wishing to use the region’s AOP must be certified HVE by 2023.

See also: Animals in vineyards – unlikely helpers

Sustainable initiatives

Change is afoot elsewhere too. Richard Leask from South Australia, who has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to research regenerative wine production, says: ‘Increasingly, we are seeing a shift towards more sustainable and less chemically reliant systems in Australia and internationally.’

According to Allison Jordan, executive director of California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), most Californian wine-growers are adopting nature-friendly strategies. ‘Sustainability is the new normal,’ she adds. Almost a quarter of the state’s vineyards are certified sustainable. Sonoma is committed to becoming the first 100% sustainable wine region in the US in 2019. Oregon also has its own Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW) scheme.

In New Zealand, almost every wine producer now has Sustainable Winegrowing NZ certification, which requires adherence to standards in biodiversity, soil health, water usage, air quality, energy and chemical use. Tohu Wines in Marlborough spreads crushed mussel shells in the vineyard to reduce herbicides and has planted native shrubs to encourage the return of native birds such as Scaup diving ducks. ‘As a Māori-owned family business, we are here for the long term, which means taking care of our land and water,’ says chief winemaker Bruce Taylor.

According to Professor Yerko Moreno of Talca University, who created the National Sustainability Code of the Chilean Wine Industry, 75% of Chile’s producers are certified sustainable. Producers have to meet requirements in terms of vineyard management, the wine production process and social responsibility. ‘People are crucial to this,’ says Moreno. ‘As a consultant, I encourage producers to train their workers properly, so they embrace new ideas and understand why sustainability matters.’

Ecosystems

Around the world, producers are increasingly taking a more holistic approach that considers the whole environment in which their vineyards exist. The objective is to re-establish natural equilibrium by supporting biodiversity and limiting chemical intervention. Measures include setting aside special areas as natural habitats and creating ‘wildlife corridors’, sowing ‘cover crops’ to reduce need for herbicides, using organic mulches to limit fungicide use; introducing ‘biocontrol’ plants that attract beneficial predatory insects to eat vine pests; or replacing pesticides with natural pheromone traps that sexually confuse, but do not kill, certain pests such as moths whose larvae attack vines.

Duorum’s vineyards in the Douro region of Portugal are located in a Special Protection Area (SPA) designated under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. They offer habitat for birds including the critically endangered black wheatear, once such a common sight in the Douro’s vineyards that it was nicknamed the ‘Port wine bird’. Duorum has created a conservation plan for the black wheatear and minimises use of chemicals. ‘By conserving natural plantations of olive and almond trees and cereals between vineyards, we promote habitats for hundreds of insect species, including some predators of vine pests,’ says João Perry Vidal, one of the three winemakers leading the project, along with João Portugal Ramos and José Maria Soares Franco.

Carlos de Jesus of Amorim, the world’s largest producer of cork stoppers, stresses that cork also plays a conservation role, supporting the ecosystem of Portugal’s cork forests. ‘There are few other examples of products where the balance of people, planet and profit is so strong,’ he comments.

Anson: Pesticides and the rise of the resistants

Collaborative viticulture

In reality, a more sustainable approach means reducing chemical sprays rather than eradicating them altogether. As Dr Jamie Goode, co-author of the book Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking, puts it: ‘You need to spray grapes with chemicals whatever your approach, even organics and biodynamics.’ But precision viticulture helps reduce fungicides, while ‘field scouting’, biocontrols and pheromone traps limit the need for pesticides. Some French growers are trialling experimental grape varieties such as Artaban that are resistant to mildew and oidium.

‘The systems we are dealing with in vineyards are much more intricate than we tend to realise,’ says Goode.’ If we make chemical interventions, they may have knock-on effects that are unpredictable. We have to see vineyards as entire agrosystems.’ Brault agrees: ‘We need a paradigm shift. Rather than fighting nature all the time, we must focus on collaborative viticulture – surrounding the vine with an ecosystem that keeps it healthy. That doesn’t mean you won’t use sprays from time to time, but if your vineyard is sustainably managed you might not use them at all in a good year.’

Making the transition to more sustainable methods is hard. There are no ‘one size fits all’ solutions: biocontrols that attract beneficial insects in one place may attract pests in another; vineyards in humid regions depend more on fungicides than dry regions. Moreno says sustainable methods tend to be more labour-intensive and yields lower than for conventional viticulture, so wine prices are higher. ‘Economic sustainability is a crucial aspect of sustainable viticulture. Every sustainable grower who goes out of business is one less environmental protector,’ he notes.

Some argue that it is more cost-effective to produce wine sustainably. ‘We are swiftly moving towards a situation where being environmentally friendly isn’t just sound practice, it’s also better financially,’ says Paul Donaldson of Pegasus Bay in New Zealand. Brault agrees: ‘It is more expensive to spray and work soil intensively than to manage cover crops.’ Ultimately we have little choice. Miguel Torres, who owns vineyards in Spain, Chile and California, feels that, ‘if we don’t take immediate measures, the world and viticulture will be heading for big problems’ as soils become increasingly sterile and viticulture less viable.

Donaldson’s Māori heritage includes the tradition of ‘kaitiakitanga’ or guardianship of the natural world. His tribe’s philosophy is ‘Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei’ (‘For us and our children after us’). He feels that guardianship of the natural world is just common sense. ‘There is no point in having a mono-generational viewpoint,’ he says.

As Goode puts it: ‘If your vineyard practices are not sustainable, then you are expecting the next generation to pick up your tab – and that’s not okay.’

Greening Waipara

In 2005, Steve Wratten, Professor of Ecology at New Zealand’s Lincoln University, started working with four wine producers in the Waipara Valley on the Greening Waipara project. This pioneering biocontrol initiative looks for ways to restore ‘functional biodiversity’ in a region that had lost much of its natural habitat. Trees, shrubs and cover crops were planted in vineyards to attract beneficial insects and suppress weeds; wetlands were created, using plants to filter run-off water from the vineyards. More than 50 vineyards are now involved in the project, some with biodiversity trails for visitors.

The programme shows that enhancing biodiversity in vineyards improves natural pest control and soil fertility. Boosting biocontrols and reducing reliance on herbicides and pesticides enables growers to regenerate natural habitats, save money, improve the marketability of their wines and increase tourism.

‘By cultivating plants like buckwheat between vine rows, which attracts parasitic wasps that kill leafroller caterpillars, growers find that spraying pesticides is no longer economic,’ explains Wratten.

‘In the same way, organic mulches both increase biological activity in the soil and limit botrytis infection in the vineyard, making fungicides unnecessary.’

Rupert Joy is a former diplomat, international consultant and occasional wine writer

Environmental issues are a concern for Californian wineries, so Cathy Huyghe takes a look at the measures being taken to produce wines sustainably...

This article first appeared in Decanter magazine’s California supplement 2017. It is currently featured on Decanter.com as part of a sponsored campaign with the California Wine Institute.

Three steps to sustainable wine

According to research published by the National Academy of Sciences, 73% of today’s viable wine-growing land will be lost to climate change by 2050. While that statistic is alarming, it also doubles as a rallying cry for Californian wineries and growers, who are already responding to climate change.

Efforts are two-fold: while reducing their own impact on the environment, producers must also find ways to combat the daily effects of climate change in their vineyards.

The question on everyone’s lips is: how green is my vineyard?

Water use

Although the agricultural industry (and the water table itself) have seen some relief from drought conditions in the past year, it’s important to recognise that water is in high demand throughout the lifecycle of a bottle of wine. Viticultural practices may be the most obvious use of water, but water is also needed to clean and sanitise equipment inside the winery – including barrels, tanks, presses and crushers.

High water usage from cleaning, as well as the costs and regulations around that water, are now motivating more wineries to reduce in-facility demand. Some are capturing rinse water for reuse, for example; while others have shifted from a heavy reliance on barrels to using stainless steel tanks, which are less demanding in terms of water usage.

Using less water, however, is just one way producers can reduce their environmental impact. Others include assessing where vines are planted and deciding which varieties to plant.

Increasingly, vineyards are being established in what used to be known as marginal areas, using grapes that are better-suited to dry-farming methods. Think more Carignan and Valdiguié, less Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Site selection

Winemaker Chris Brockway from Broc Cellars, a Berkeley-based urban winery, uses organic or biodynamic grapes grown mainly in areas that are considered marginal. These include the Solano County Green Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) located southeast of Napa Valley close to San Pablo Bay, which has a maritime climate, and the inland areas of Mendocino County.

According to Brockway, when people think of Mendocino, they think of places like the Anderson Valley, which is located closer to the coast with a cooler climate. But ‘marginal’ doesn’t always mean ‘cooler’. He points out that Mendocino County is very large and the majority of it is inland – where it’s very hot.

‘One of the grapes we make the most of there is Counoise,’ he explains. This Rhône grape is one of the newer varieties that Brockway is working with.

‘It loves heat. You can have temperatures of 32°C and the sugar slowly rises as it retains acid. Counoise is one of the last varieties we’ll pick at harvest, maybe at 22° Brix [around 13% potential alcohol]. It produces a very balanced wine that ages beautifully,’ he adds.

Similarly, Brockway sources lesser-known, late-ripening Picpoul grapes from the small, windswept Luna Matta Vineyard in the western hills of Paso Robles.

It’s a grape variety that he believes ‘makes sense in California’. He explains: ‘Picpoul is a self-regulating grape in a sense, that doesn’t spike sugar-wise.’

Greener grapes

Brockway also has his eye on ‘more offshoot areas’ where dry-farming is still viable, and where he can offer support to growers, encouraging them to retain older vines. He confesses that old-vine vineyards, planted with grapes such as Carignan, Valdiguié and Zinfandel were what originally drew him to California. The fact that those vineyards are also non-irrigated has been a plus.

‘A lot of the old-vine stuff is dry-farmed,’ he says. ‘The roots go so deep, they’re not even on the surface, so they performed better at the start of the recent drought.’ Many of these vineyards have been dry-farmed since the day they were planted – that’s 50 years ago for Valdiguié and around 140 years for Carignan.

Nonetheless it can certainly be a challenge to find a home for these more historical and lesser-known grape varieties. Brockway’s goal is to pay the growers a fair price for their grapes to ‘convince them not to replant with Cab’ (or indeed other Bordeaux and Burgundy varieties that need to be irrigated), while also keeping the end price of the wine low enough for most people to afford.

It’s easier to convince growers to keep a lesser-known grape in the ground in smaller areas like Green Valley, which many people bypass. Working with something like Valdiguié in, say, Calistoga, is a tougher battle, Brockway admits – but he is persevering.

Seeing old vines thriving or noticing sheep grazing between rows in the vineyards and falcons flying overhead to keep pests to a minimum, are obvious and visible signs of a healthy ecosystem in a vineyard. There are also less obvious signs; micro-organisms in the soil that can’t be seen by the naked eye, permanent cover crops or stream setbacks planted with buffer crops.

Such indicators are yet another measure of how green a vineyard is. Within California, as the wine industry matures in response to climate change, that list is bound to grow longer and longer.

Cathy Huyghe is author of Hungry for Wine and writes for various US titles including Forbes.com

Building work has begun at a winery on England's South Downs which aims to set a 'new global standard' for sustainable wine production.

‘High-tech and environmentally friendly’: Rathfinny

The winery at Rathfinny Estate in East Sussex will be the largest and most environmentally friendly in England, according to owner Mark Driver, who gave up a career as a hedge fund manager in the City to pursue the project.

The first 20 hectares of vines – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for sparkling wine and Riesling for still wine – were planted in March this year at the 240ha estate near Alfriston.

The £10m project aims to release its first Sussex Origin Sparkling wines in 2016, and some still wines in 2014, with sparkling production targeted to reach 1m bottles a year within a decade.

Rathfinny’s winery will employ sustainable design techniques and low carbon technologies, including the use of photo-voltaic cells to generate solar energy, a roof planted with wild flowers to aid heat insulation and shading on two sides to reduce the need for air conditioning.

Ground water will be sourced from the estate’s own bore hole, while waste water will be treated and released back onto the surrounding land.

Local materials are being used in building the gravity-fed winery, and Rathfinny is working with Natural England and the National Trust to create ‘wildlife corridors’ to improve biodiversity.

‘Every aspect of the construction of the winery has been designed to produce the highest-quality sparkling wine,’ said Driver.

‘We have taken an uncompromising approach to ensure that it will be one of the most high-tech and environmentally friendly wineries in the world.’

Rupert Seldon, partner and project manager at construction company Buro Four, described Rathfinny as a ‘unique project’ and said it aimed ‘to set a new global standard for sustainable wine production’.

Written by Richard Woodard

Jackson Family Wines has pledged $3 million to University of California at Davis for the construction of the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building.

The building will showcase technology that demonstrates how a winery can capture, filters, and reuse rainwater.

It will also house equipment that holds carbon dioxide captured from the winery’s fermentation system, resulting in a net zero carbon footprint.

Jackson Family Wines co-proprietors Jess Jackson and Barbara R. Banke announced the donation on Friday at the opening of the University of California at Davis’ new environmentally-progressive winery, brewery, and food-processing complex.

‘We are helping to advance the science of sustainable viticulture specifically, and agriculture generally, while contributing to the education of our next generation of winemakers,’ said Ms. Banke through a spokesperson.

‘Wine made at the facility is and will be strictly for education and research purposes,’ she added.

The building is expected to be completed in 2013.

Written by David Furer

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance has just been awarded California’s most prestigious environmental honour.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger named the CSWA recipient of the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards (GEELA) in Sacramento earlier this week.

The award recognises individuals and institutions that have made notable contributions in conserving the state’s natural resources, protecting the environment and in building public-private partnerships.

CSWA was established by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers to support the widespread adoption of sustainable winegrowing practices.

A major part of the CSWA programme is encouraging the active participation of vintners, growers, trade associations and any organisation connected with winemaking.

The organisation has set up sustainable winegrowing workshops in 24 different counties of the winegrowing regions of California.

‘The GEELA recognition continues the momentum of our sustainable programme, which has had a positive response from vintners and growers around the state,’ CSWA vice president Jim Unti said. He added, ‘However, our work is just beginning.’

Written by Adam Lechmere