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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.
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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.
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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 useHow 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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 the reduction 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.
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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.
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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 SocietyEmily Revell, Purpose & Sustainability Manager, Virgin WinesNicolas Daspres, Technical Director, Terra VitisModerator: Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director, Sustainable Wine Roundtable
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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 EstateWastewater – Cape Mentelle & StormflowerEnergy Savings – Xanadu Winery - Vis mere
