Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Analysis: Future-proofing the world’s vineyards

Published: 05 August, 2024

Jo Gilbert reports on the results of a fascinating carbon-enrichment project that aims to predict and offset the effects of a climate-impacted future.

Carbon enrichment project maps impact of CO2 increases by 2050

Published: 15 July, 2024

The results of a fascinating carbon enrichment project have been revealed in the Rheingau area of Germany, where vineyards are being tested with levels of CO2 which are 20% higher than the current global average – and mimic where global atmospheric concentration will be by the middle of the century.

Avallen Solutions launches sustainability consultancy

Published: 28 June, 2024

The founders of Avallen Spirits, Stephanie Jordan-Balmforth and Tim Etherington-Judge, have announced the launch of Avallen Solutions, a new sustainability consultancy for the drinks and hospitality industries.

Logistics: Distribution all at sea

Published: 05 February, 2024

Last year’s globally scant harvest and (more) trouble around the Suez Canal could spell disruption for shipping globally in 2024, writes Jo Gilbert.

Tech: Alt formats the future

Published: 22 December, 2023

Jo Gilbert reports from November’s World Bulk Wine Exhibition, where the leaders of the alternative packaging movement were on the hunt for world domination.

Leading Chianti estate slams ‘overhyped organic viticulture’

Published: 25 September, 2023

Chianti Classico producer Ricasoli has criticised growers who regard organics as the “definitive panacea for sustainability,” arguing that their methods are not without significant drawbacks.

Wine Society outlines bold new sustainable initiatives

Published: 21 September, 2023

The Wine Society is to further its sustainable credentials with both a producer-focused insetting fund and a drive to 100% lighter weight glass across its portfolio.

Naked Wines to reduce weight of 3.5 million bottles

Published: 24 February, 2022

For Naked Wines, lighter bottles are greener bottles as the online retailer looks to reduce its carbon footprint.

Joint Harpers-NZ webinar to examine myths and facts around sea-shipping emissions

Published: 07 December, 2020

With food miles increasingly under scrutiny, Harpers is partnering with New Zealand Winegrowers to host a webinar looking into misconceptions surrounding the sustainability or otherwise of transporting wines across the world’s oceans.

Hatch Mansfield claims trio of eco firsts by becoming carbon neutral

Published: 01 July, 2020

Hatch Mansfield has revealed it has managed to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero for 2019, making it the first in the industry to achieve a trio of recognised sustainability accreditations.

Bulk savings

Published: 02 September, 2019

Importing wine into the UK in bulk used to be all about saving money. Now it’s about saving the planet, too, as Simon Jack reports.

Trade should stop bottling it on carbon emissions

Published: 28 June, 2019

Bottling and packaging play by far the largest role in the green house gas (GHG) emissions generated by the production and distribution of a wine, contributing 42% of the total carbon footprint, delivering a clear ‘innovation challenge’ for the trade if it is to fully join the march towards greater sustainability.

Green logistics

Published: 03 September, 2018

As Kermit the Frog famously noted in song, it’s not easy being green. For the wine trade the sentiment translates into the problem of how to be environmentally friendly in a business that involves moving vast quantities of product around the globe. In the UK off-trade, where the New World has the upper hand, for example, around 60% of all the wine consumed comes from the deep-sea shipping sources of Australia, the US, Chile, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand.

Climate change: The greatest threat to humanity

Published: 06 November, 2017

Extreme weather has wreaked havoc on the winemaking world this year. Jo Gilbert traces these events back to the effects of climate change and the global impact of an increasingly CO2-laden planet