SWR Member Interview: How to work with nature, not against it

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.  

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.

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.    

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

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.

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 Estate Wastewater – Cape Mentelle & Stormflower Energy Savings – Xanadu Winery

In this podcast Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, and marketing consultant Joe Fattorini have a candid conversation about communicating sustainability to consumers. Toby, representing his personal views and not those of the SWR, takes a deliberately provocative stance. He kicks off the conversation by suggesting that communicating sustainability in today's wine industry "is a waste of time." Trying to communicate sustainability is too difficult at the moment, he says, and it instead distracts us from the real business of sustainability in wine.  Joe, with his background as a tv presenter, marketing consultant, and wine merchant, brings in a different perspective, having typically worked closely with the customer as the starting point. Listen to the discussion to find out what points they agree on, and where they disagree.  

In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast Hanna Halmari speaks with Luke Landers, senior sustainability manager at online wine retailer Naked Wines UK. Luke explains how Naked Wines effectively cuts out the middleman and facilitates a direct connection between customers and winemakers. They discuss the key sustainability priorities for the retailer, how their unique model enables them to support winemakers and growers in sustainable production, and how they educate and engage consumers on sustainable wine.

The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is delighted to present an in-depth exploration of labour standards and human rights in the wine industry in our three-part workshop series. This workshop series aims to shed light on these pressing issues and initiate a collective effort towards their resolution. This final workshop from 21st November provides attendees with actionable insights to address labor rights challenges within their own businesses or functions. It aims to equip participants with the tools needed to assess and mitigate such risks.  Our esteemed panelists include: Linda Lipparoni, CEO, WIETA Jason Glaser, CEO, La Isla Network Silvia Bianco, Italy Programme Manager, Stronger Together