Sustainable Wines of Great Britain announces first accredited wines

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 16 August, 2021

The first wines carrying the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB) Trade Mark are now ready to reach the shelves, marking a major step forward for the UK’s commitment to making wines within an environment-friendly framework.

The SWGB Scheme was set up in 2019 as sub-group of WineGB to promote and encourage the sale of sustainable wine. It has since been backed by a range of leading industry suppliers and supporters, including Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

Now, ten wines from four producers have become the first tranche of labels to receive SWGB certification.

They are Gusbourne Guinevere Chardonnay 2019, Pinot Noir 2019 and Pinot Noir Rosé 2020; Henners Vineyard Gardner Street Rosé 2020; Three Choirs canned wine range, Sparkling, White, Rosé and Red; and Yotes Court On the Nod Bacchus 2020 and Best Turned-Out Pinot Meunier Rosé 2020.

“I am thrilled to see the first wines bearing the SWGB logo hit the shelves,” Chris Foss, chair of SWGB, said. “This is a highly significant event for the British wine industry, as it demonstrates that we now have a fully functioning national scheme that enables our wine producers to clearly demonstrate their commitment to the environment, biodiversity and climate change mitigation. The SWGB Trade Mark on a bottle of wine is a clear indication that producers are striving for environmental sustainability by implementing the SWGB Scheme guidelines.”

CEO of WineGB Simon Thorpe MW, added: “WineGB recognises the importance of sustainability to the British wine industry and that is why we have included it as one of our five strategic pillars. Through SWGB, we aspire to ensure environmental sustainability is at the heart of the English and Welsh wine industry.”

The accreditation of the wines is the latest significant move by the sub-group following the announcement of its founder members last year.

A total of 61 members are now part of the SWGB Scheme, accounting for 33% of the area under vine in the UK. They consist of major wine producers through to growers and boutique vineyards as well as contract winemakers.

A total of 23 vineyards and eight wineries have now achieved SWGB certification, with hopes that more wines bearing the SWGB Trade Mark will reach consumers soon.

The rules state that the wines must be made from grapes harvested in the same years from which vineyards and wineries sourced their audit data.

The certification process also entails an annual self-evaluation to monitor progress against guidelines set out to fulfil the SWGB objectives. All certified members must measure their carbon footprint every year using the WineGB Carbon Calculator, a tool specifically designed for the British wine industry that measures carbon sequestration as well as emissions.

Currently all of the accredited wines are still wines due to the longer ageing requirements for the majority of sparkling wines produced in Great Britain.

“Having worked on the scheme alongside Chris Foss and some top UK producers over the last three years, it has been fantastic how the industry has embraced the scheme and for so many quality producers to have signed up,” Beth Kelly MW, wine buyer at Majestic and vice-chair of SWGB, said.

“I look forward to trying the first releases (especially the wines from Three Choirs, a supplier to Majestic) and hope to see even more wines with the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain logo on them in the future.”

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