Sustainability Articles - Wine Industry Digest

Historic Santorini vineyards struggle against climate change and tourism

🇪🇺Europe Decanter UK Dec 12, 2025 Sustainability

Santorini's wine industry is facing what Decanter's calling an extinction-level crisis – vineyard acreage has collapsed from 3,000-4,000 hectares to just 1,000 over recent decades, with climate change and tourism development now squeezing what's left. The island's famous Assyrtiko is being pushed out by drought, heat, and developers converting vineyards into hotels and villas, forcing harvests earlier each year and production to record lows. It's a cautionary tale about what happens when a historic wine region gets caught between climate stress and tourism pressure.

Read full article From Digest #5

Galicia on path to recovery from ‘Australia-like’ wildfires

🇪🇺Europe The Drinks Business Dec 9, 2025 Sustainability

Galicia's wine region got absolutely hammered by wildfires last August – the worst in years – with producers like Trasdovento losing entire vineyard blocks and others having to abandon harvests. The real issue is that climate change is making a traditionally wet region dangerously hot and dry in summer, and rural depopulation means less managed land to act as firebreaks, so it's looking like a growing headache for Spanish winemakers going forward.

Read full article From Digest #4

Why regenerative viticulture is the soil story winemakers need to tell

🇬🇧UK The Buyer Dec 4, 2025 Sustainability

The Buyer dives into regenerative viticulture and why winemakers should be talking more about soil health as part of their story. It's a solid piece on how soil management practices are becoming a key differentiator for producers across the UK and EU who want to appeal to increasingly conscious consumers.

Read full article From Digest #3

‘A mountain of dirt and trees’, podcast rallies support for devastated Friuli winery

🇪🇺Europe The Drinks Business Dec 2, 2025 Sustainability

A devastating landslide has destroyed Borgo del Tiglio, a respected family winery in Friuli, Italy, killing two people and burying much of the estate under mud and debris. The disaster—triggered by over 300mm of rain in just a few hours—has sparked conversations about climate resilience in the wine industry, with the winery's owner using the tragedy to highlight how extreme weather will increasingly affect small traditional producers across Europe.

Read full article From Digest #3

‘It just makes sense’: Why in-market bottling is winning the sustainability battle

🇬🇧UK The Drinks Business Dec 2, 2025 Sustainability

UK in-market bottlers are seeing a real surge in demand for bulk wine shipments, with sustainability benefits that're hard to ignore. Kingsland Drinks reckons they're moving nearly 72% more wine per container when it comes in bulk rather than bottled, plus they're keeping the glass manufacturing local to Manchester—which cuts down massively on transport emissions. It's becoming the default approach for long-haul exports now, and retailers are actively pushing for it.

Read full article From Digest #3

Solar energy protects German vineyards from climate change

🇪🇺Europe DW Nov 30, 2025 Sustainability

German vineyards are installing solar panels as a climate adaptation strategy, which is a pretty clever solution to killing two birds with one stone. DW's reporting on how the wine industry is tackling environmental challenges through renewable energy is definitely worth covering—it shows how European producers are getting innovative with sustainability rather than just talking about it.

Read full article From Digest #3

Beer Vs Wine: How The Carbon Footprint Powers Sustainable Progress

🌍Other Hypro Nov 19, 2025 Sustainability

Here's a solid data-driven breakdown comparing beer and wine's carbon footprints across production—turns out the sustainability story's more nuanced than you'd think. The piece digs into energy use and CO₂ recovery during fermentation, which matters given how much pressure wine producers are facing to clean up their act. Worth a read if you're tracking where the industry's heading on environmental credentials.

Read full article From Digest #2