Wine's Carbon Footprint Case Study: Shipping By Rail, Road, and Sea

A UK importer that works with over 200 wineries from nearly 20 countries, Liberty Wines, tells The Drinks Business that it is now carbon neutral. What is really interesting are the results, related by Managing Director David Gleave MW, of their investigation into the carbon footprint of wines coming from continental Europe to Britain versus from much more far-flung locals. And how that can be impacted by the method of transit.

Take the example of a wine from Italy and one from New Zealand. Gleave reveals, "We found that shipping a bottle by sea from Marlborough emitted about 20% of the carbon that shipping by road from Italy did.”

And how can the carbon footprint of those bottles from Italy be reduced? "By moving more of our stock to rail, the carbon emissions are about a quarter of what they are by road," explains Gleave.

Are you interested in the carbon footprint of your wines? Would having that information readily available impact your purchasing decisions?