Leading producers call for greater industry action over climate change

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 04 November, 2021

Twenty-two CEOs and senior leaders of International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) have written an open letter to all CEO’s in the wine industry calling on them to begin working towards net zero emissions by 2050.

The letter includes the signatures of high profile wineries such as Symington Family Estates, Constellation Brands and Familia Torres.

In the letter, sent in the week that COP26 is taking place in Glasgow, it said that the climate emergency is by far the “most severe threat” for grape growers and wine producers.

It highlights that this is a “critical moment” for the wine community and voiced its support for the commitments to reduce global warming.

The letter said: “Without rapid and decisive emissions reductions, our future will be defined by almost unimaginable levels of disruption – with devastating consequences for the wine-producing regions that we love and the wines we produce for people all around the world.”

It said that the wine trade has a key role to play in the decarbonisation efforts and that businesses need to bring sustainability into the heart of their operations.

“We are faced with the unavoidable imperative that business leadership today is inseparable from climate leadership,” the letter added.

Each of the companies has joined IWCA because they believe it has established the gold standard for how a winery should measure and reduce its carbon footprint. IWCA also acts as a unified voice, which can push for faster action throughout the wine supply chain and a support network for sharing best practices.

IWCA has joined the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, a global initiative to rally leadership and support from more than 6,200 non-state actors who are committed to halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, at the very latest.

The wineries, which signed the open letter:

• Amy Prosenjak – CEO, A to Z Wineworks 

• Pedro Ruiz Aragoneses – CEO, Alma Carraovejas 

• Mike Jaeger – President and CEO, Cakebread Cellars Aymeric de Gironde – CEO, Château Troplong Mondot Sam Glaetzer – SVP, global operations and international sales, Constellation Brands 

• Jen Locke – CEO, Crimson Wine Group Ltd. 

• Vanya Cullen – MD and owner, Cullen Wines 

• D. Carlos Moro – President, Emina Ribera 

• Miguel A. Torres – President and 4th generation, Familia Torres 

• Mayacamas S. Olds – GM, Gloria Ferrer Winery 

• Rafael De Haan – Owner, Herència Altés 

• Suzanne Hunt – Co-owner, Hunt Country Vineyards 

• Katie Jackson – SVP, corporate social responsibility and 2nd generation proprietor, Jackson Family Wines

• Julie Rothberg – President, Medlock Ames 

• David J. Amadia – President, Ridge Vineyards 

• David R. Duncan – Proprietor and CEO, Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars 

• Beth Novak Milliken – President and CEO, Spottswoode Estate Vineyard and Winery 