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Jim Gordon | Wine Enthusiast
Earlier this year at a dinner with many witnesses, I pledged to do something more to help fightย climate change. I blame theย Napa RISEย organizers and the dinner hosts, JeanCharles Boisset and Gina Gallo, for this moment of clarity.
What I did afterward was start a personal research project. Itโs on an aspect of wine production that has been identified as the biggest target wineries can aim at to reduce their carbon footprints and thus reduce the amount of climate-changing gases their operations are responsible for releasing into our ever-warmer atmosphere.
I began weighing all the 750 ml. bottles of wine thatย Napaย andย Sonomaย wineries sent me to review in blind tastings once they were empty. What Iโve found so far is dramatic. Having weighed 709 wines since May, my data show the average weight is 660 grams or 1 lb. 7 ounces. That is not bad, compared to the heaviest bottles, which weighed almost twice that: more than 1,200 grams or nearing 2 lbs. 11 ounces.
But 660 grams is still a lot heavier than it needs to be. An impressive 102 bottles came in under 500 grams, showing that itโs feasible to use lightweight, climate-friendly bottles and not go out of business.
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The featherweight champs included familiar names like Bouchaine, Gundlach Bundschu, Grgich Hills, Charles Krug, La Crema and Silverado, as well as boutique outfits like Joseph Jewell and Complant. Patent Sauvignon Blanc was the only bottle so far that clocked in under 400 grams.
The lightest bottles tended to carry the lightest types of wineโSauvignon Blanc,ย rosรฉ, oneย Vermentino. All the heaviest bottles, those over 1,000 grams, housedโ no surpriseโfull-bodied and tannicย Cabernet Sauvignonsย andย Bordeaux-style red blends.
Those heavy bottles cost more for wineries to buy, more to ship out, put more physical demands on winery workers who schlep cases from the bottling line to stack on pallets, more effort for delivery drivers, sommeliers and store clerks, plus they donโt fit on many store shelves and wine racks.
Adding in the weight of the wine itself, a case of the heaviest Cabernet in my study weighs 51 lbs., while a case of lighter-weight bottles of Cabernet by a brand like Elizabeth Spencer or Greg Norman only weighs 32 lbs. The difference is vast.
And the difference represents vastly more fossil fuels to produce the heavier bottles, to ship the bottles to wineries and then from wineries to distributors when full. It makes a significant difference in a wineryโs carbon footprint to go to lighter glass. This in turn means less carbon dioxide is being sent up into the sky, which goes toward slowing global warming and all the catastrophes it is already causing.
So why donโt more wineries go there? Are lighter bottles not available?
โDozens of choices are available,โ says Rich Bouwer, CEO ofย Free Flow Winesย in Sonoma, a speaker at Napa RISE and a former winery and wine bottle company exec. โIf youโre above 800 grams per bottle you are not trying. What itโs about is that brand position is more important than the carbon footprint.โ
Take a Deeper Dive:ย Wineries Strive for Carbon Neutrality. Is It Enough?
A deep-seated misperception exists that a heavier bottle means a higher quality wine that deserves a higher price. Or does it? Marketing experts say that younger consumers value transparency, low-intervention practices, organic and sustainability credentials. Hefty glass would seem anathema to that.
โWeโre going to teach the consumers that lighter weight is a good thing,โ says Katie Leonardini atย Whitehall Lane Wineryย in Napa Valley. โTo be sustainable means having a smaller carbon footprint and thatโs good for everyone.โ
Of course, you donโt have to wait. I hope that the next time you pick up an especially heavy bottle in a wine shop or liquor store, your decision to buy or not to buy is carefully weighed.
This article originally appeared in theย November 2023ย issue ofย Wine Enthusiastย magazine. Clickย hereย to subscribe today!
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About Napa Green: The Napa Green 501c3 is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates whole system soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the expertise, boots-on-the-ground support, and resources to continually improve. Learn more atย https://napagreen.org/participating-members/.
Anna Brittain
Napa Green
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Tag us in your posts when you visit our amazing Napa Green Certified wineries so we can share your Green adventures!
Team Green is thoroughly enjoying visiting a few of our Napa Green Certified wineries today! ๐ฑ
Pictured here are the STUNNING new Sky Lofts at @rutherfordhillwinery. We strongly recommend a visit, itโs spectacular!
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Thank you all for making RISE Climate & Wine Symposium a success! We 70 powerful speakers and 650 guests across the six events, dozens of commitments to action, and a flood of positive, heartfelt feedback.
Letโs keep the momentum going!
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Congratulations to Napa Green Certified @cliffamily for winning the RISE Leadership Award for Supply Chain & Waste Management Excellence!
Clif Family attended our first conference & committed to reducing their bottle weight and waste. They set upon an inspiring journey to change their packaging based on their outdoors loving and mountaineering inspired founders. They were able to..
โข lighten the weight of a case of their wine by almost 8 lbs!
โข reduce their carbon output by 42 metric tons!
โข institute fully recyclable, bio based shippers that keep wine cool!
โข eliminate all foils!
โข eliminate all plastic & metal moving fully to renewable cork enclosures!
Their customers responded with absolute enthusiasm.
โThis story is not just about wine packaging or supply chain decisions. Itโs about how we do business. Itโs leading with values. Itโs about remembering that the best way to climb higher.. is to carry less.โ - Sarah Richmond, Clif Family Winery.
Take action this Earth Month with Napa Green. Our team of experts is ready to assist you in achieving your climate action goals for both your vineyard and winery, no matter where you are in your sustainability journey.
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Uniquely, Napa Green isnโt just a roadmap of leading practices. Napa Green provides an expert, boots-on-the-ground consulting team that develops:
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Regenerative Carbon Farm Plans (to enhance soil health, biodiversity, resilience, and carbon storage)
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Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with โ21 Days, 21 Waysโ counting down to Earth Day.
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Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with โ21 Days, 21 Waysโ counting down to Earth Day.
๐ท @briana_marie
๐ @dominusestatewinery
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Forests are not only our largest terrestrial carbon sink, they are also home to 80% of the worldโs on-land diversity. We need healthy forests, which means a balanced density of native trees and plants. Healthy forests experience lower intensity fires with less tree mortality, meaning higher carbon retention and ecosystem function.
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๐ @seaveyvineyard
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Napa Green Certified Wineries benefit from an on-site Integrated Resource Assessment (IRA) led by our experienced engineers and winemakers. This IRA evaluates resource metrics, monitors progress, and identifies areas for improvement to increase efficiency and save $$$.
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Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with โ21 Days, 21 Waysโ counting down to Earth Day.
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All of our members are committed to using at least 60% renewable energy, whether through on-site solar and other renewable sources or by working with @mcecleanenergy to access clean power through the grid. The impact? Over 1.2 million pounds of CO2e saved by wineries and vineyards in just one year. To put that into perspective itโs the equivalent to offsetting the emissions from driving over 1.5 million miles in a typical gas-powered car!
โ
Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with โ21 Days, 21 Waysโ counting down to Earth Day.
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