The SW Summary: On overhyped organics, Australia’s decarbonisation roadmap, communicating sustainability and more

Italy falls behind France in wine production

2023 has been a challenging year for grape growers. Hot and wet weather has enabled downy mildew to wreak havoc across many major European wine regions this year, including Italy. In the drinks business Patrick Schmitt reports on the country’s recent harvest, noting how the fungus has had a significant impact on quantities.

Italy saw 70% more rain than last year during the first eight months of 2023. The harvest forecasts of Assoenologi Observatory, ISMEA and the Italian Wine Union predicted that the 2023 harvest could be the lightest in six years due to the “now chronic effects of climate change.” Overall, “the volumes of wine set to be made from 2023 are down 12% for Italy,” dropping from 52mhl to 44m. This means that France, with 45mhl, overtakes Italy as the largest wine producer worldwide in 2023.

The impact of mildew varies throughout the country. Regions less familiar with dealing with the fungus, especially in southern Italy, have been hit the hardest, as well as areas with naturally wetter soils. Abruzzo, Molise and parts of Sicily saw 50-70% of their harvest compromised. On the flipside, some parts of Italy such as Veneto, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta saw no effects at all and enjoyed steady harvests.

Read the article here.

Is organic overhyped?

In Harpers James Lawrence considers the overhyping of organic viticulture. Leading Chianti Classico producer Francesco Ricasoli recently spoke to Harpers, stressing that organics is not the “definitive panacea for sustainability.” Whilst the benefits of organic viticulture are aplenty, the methods aren’t without fault. For example, referring to the damaging mildew attacks throughout Italian wine regions, Ricasoli notes how “it is far better to have the option of applying limited chemical sprays to control this problem. However, organic growers, under the auspices of their own rules, are forced to repeatedly spray their vineyards with copper sulphate, which is hardly ideal for the soil or environment.”

Organic vineyards have also been found to have a higher carbon footprint than traditional vineyards. According to Miguel A. Torres of Familia Torres, “the key difference between sustainable and organic viticulture is that organics do not sufficiently take climate change into consideration; in general organic vineyards need more treatments with sulphur or bouillie bordelaise which means more CO2 emissions.” Read the article here.

Wine Australia publishes decarbonisation roadmap

Meininger’s reports on the Australian wine industry’s new decarbonisation roadmap. The Australian grape and wine sector aims to reduce emissions by more than 40% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels, an amount equivalent to the emissions of a “fully-loaded jet plane circling the Earth 609 times in a year.” Wine Australia recently published an “Emissions Reduction Roadmap” developed with input from over 200 industry members. With a focus on reducing both costs and emissions, the roadmap details eleven initiatives including lightweighting glass bottles, reducing transportation emissions, and transitioning to renewable energy. 

“Backed by science, our Roadmap identifies the current footprint of the Australian grape and wine sector, the key areas where emissions reduction can be achieved, and provides practical steps for growers, winemakers, and other members of the value chain to start or further reduce emissions from today,” says Dr Sharon Harvey, head of the research and innovation program at Wine Australia.

Read the article here and view the detailed guide here.

Brands need to do more to communicate sustainability

New research by Kantar finds that beer, wine and spirit (BWS) brands are behind the curve when it comes to communicating sustainability to consumers. Writing for Harpers, Jo Gilbert reports on the Sustainability Sector Index (SSI) 2023 study which asked 26,000 consumers “about their perceptions of various sectors in 33 global markets in all facets of sustainability, alongside their buying behaviours.” The BWS sector ranked within the bottom 10 sectors in sustainability perceptions overall, scoring an index of 7 (100 as the highest, -100 as the lowest).

The study also found a significant value-action gap of 62% in the BWS sector, demonstrating the discrepancy between consumer intentions and actual buying behaviour. Although alcohol brands have made significant progress in sustainability initiatives, they could do much more to help consumers make the right decisions, says Karine Trinquetel, global head of offer for the Kantar Sustainable Transformation Practice and SSI lead. The “lack of clarity, understanding and knowledge” in communicating sustainability isn’t exclusive to alcohol, as the study showed a large value-action gap across sectors.

As for perceptions of greenwashing,  BWS scored (46%) lower than the average across all sectors (52%). However, the figure still indicates a red flag, as “one out of two people think brands greenwash in the sector, which can lead to mistrust and rejection,” says Trinquetel. Read the full article here.