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Last week, I wrote about the LCBO’s new standard for lightweight bottles that they will implement in 2013.
But do you know there’s something that you can do now to encourage suppliers to use lightweight bottles? It’s easy…buy wines in lightweight bottles!
Now I know what you’re thinking…do I really expect you to stand in the aisle of the LCBO, weighing different bottles, trying to figure out which one weighs the least?
If only there was a list of available wines in lightweight bottles…
There is! Tucked away in the sustainability section on its website, the LCBO has a list of wines that are in lightweight bottles: click here to access the list. It's pretty much up to date, according to the LCBO.
Not sure why the LCBO doesn’t blow its own horn more on its sustainability efforts. It should feature this list more prominently…or highlight that a wine comes in a lightweight bottle on its website’s “Product Search” feature…but now you know.
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Occasionally I give the LCBO, our provincial liquor monopoly, a kick in the pants. Any government-owned monopoly gets many advantages and we should expect it to show leadership across the “Board”.
Last year, I asked what the LCBO was doing to encourage its suppliers to use lighter-weight bottles. Such a move would lower our collective carbon footprint.
When you’re the largest buyer of wine and spirits in the world, you can push suppliers in the right direction. For several years now, Britain’s Tesco (the world’s third largest retailer) has been pushing its wine suppliers to use lighter-weight bottles. Suppliers listen to big retailers. Wal Mart is well-known for “persuading” suppliers to do its bidding, which can work wonders when used in socially responsible causes.
Fair is fair, though. When the LCBO does something right, they deserve a pat on the back.
The good news?
Earlier this month, the LCBO wrote to trade associations to inform them that the LCBO will implement a new lightweight glass bottle standard on January 1, 2013. After that date, all wine bottles priced at less than $15 must weigh no more than 420 grams. Sparkling wines are exempt. The LCBO has also given a partial exemption to “Hock” bottles, those tall bottles that the Germans and Alsatians use. These bottles are limited to 450 grams.
Suppliers of wines sold at more than $15 should expect the standard would affect them eventually. The LCBO says it will give preference to those “premium” suppliers who use lighter-weight bottles.
Although it’s easy to quibble that the implementation period is too long, or that the weight limit should be even lower, let’s give the LCBO a pat on the back for showing leadership in sustainability practices.
Bravo!
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Interesting news out of Santiago. Concha y Toro has bought Mendocino County’s Fetzer Winery. What makes it interesting is that both Concha y Toro and Fetzer have significant organic and (partially) Biodynamic vineyards: Concha y Toro has Emiliana and Fetzer has Bonterra. Bonterra has been organic since 1987 and with sales of 300,000 cases annually; it’s more than three times the size of its nearest organic competitor. For my posts about Emiliana, click here.
With its purchase of Fetzer, Concha y Toro brings together 2 strong players among organic wines. My bet is that Concha y Toro believes that, someday, all wines will be organic wines.
Fetzer itself is also a leader in sustainable practices and is recognized as an environmental leader, which I’ve written about before.
As a fan of organic and Biodynamic wines, I anticipate that Fetzer and Concha y Toro will learn much from each other. It's a big vote of confidence in organic wines and a boost to sustainability.
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A few weeks ago, I posted about sustainability initiatives in two wine regions (California and Bordeaux) and about lightweight bottles. Now here are examples of what two individual winemakers are up to.
In Marlborough (New Zealand), Landcare Research New Zealand certifies Grove Mill under its carboNZero programme. To achieve CarboNZero certification, Grove Mill buys carbon credits, through a local forest regeneration program, to offset CO2 emissions that they cannot otherwise reduce. (Carbon credits are generated from projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere or prevent the emission of CO2.)
Fetzer Winery in Mendocino County (California) has reduced the amount of its waste that goes to landfill, from 1724 tons in 1990 to 58.8 tons in 2008. It now recycles over 968 tons of glass, cardboard, paper, plastics, metal, pallets, and barrels annually. Fetzer also produces approximately 2,500 tons of compost and mulch from leftover grape seeds, skins, and stems and uses it in the vineyards and landscaping at the winery.
Ever notice how often fine winemakers combine their pursuit of better winemaking with doing the right thing environmentally? Somehow, making better wine and respecting the environment seems to go hand-in-hand. Sustainability isn’t a constraint for these winemakers, it’s an enabler: helping wines to express their true nature, without additives, undue adjustments, or “enhancements”.
I’ve posted about how biodynamic winemaking is better for the environment. But there are other substantial ways in which individual winemakers are seeking sustainability. And what about initiatives that go beyond individual winemakers, that span an entire region? Two of the world’s pre-eminent wine growing regions recently launched initiatives in sustainability.
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Program, started in 2001, now offers a certification program, Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW-Certified). The goals of the certification program are to “advance the entire California wine industry toward best practices in environmental stewardship, conservation of natural resources and socially equitable business practices.”
To help allay the appearance of greenwashing, independent auditors review the sustainability practices of these winemakers. 17 companies, listed below, have received certification for some or all of their vineyard and winery operations:
- Clos LaChance Wines (Santa Clara County)
- Concannon Vineyard/Concannon Winery (Livermore)
- Constellation Wines U.S. (Multiple Counties)
- Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards (Santa Cruz Mountains)
- Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (Napa County)
- E. & J. Gallo Winery (Sonoma County)
- Fetzer Vineyards / Bonterra Vineyards (Mendocino County)
- Goldeneye Winery (Mendocino County)
- Honig Vineyard & Winery (Napa County)
- J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines (San Luis Obispo County)
- Kunde Family Estate (Sonoma County)
- Meridian Vineyards (San Luis Obispo County)
- Monterey Pacific Inc. (Monterey County)
- Roberts Vineyard Services (San Luis Obispo County)
- Rodney Strong Wine Estates (Sonoma County)
- The Hess Collection (Napa County)
- Vino Farms, Inc. (San Joaquin County)
To date, another 1,500 California vintners and growers – representing approximately 60% of the state’s wine production and vineyard acreage – have self-assessed their operations, an intermediate step towards certification.
Meanwhile, Decanter reports that, “Bordeaux is aiming to be 'world leader in winemaking sustainability' with the launch of an Environmental Management System.” The goal of Le Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) is to reduce the 200,000 tonnes of carbon produced annually by the Bordeaux wine industry by 25% by 2020 and by 75% by 2050. Similar to California, the CIVB will provide training and conduct audits, starting with a pilot study with 20 companies. The intention is for them all to achieve an internationally-recognised standard, ISO 14001.
These regions are trying to do the right thing. We can all do the right thing by keeping an eye out for environmentally-responsible winemakers when we're shopping!
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