Although I enjoy drinking fine frugal wines, I’ve never considered the carbon footprint of wine – until now. According to Dr. Vino, National Geographic just published a diagram that illustrates the carbon footprint of wine by region.
The results are a bit surprising – it shows that it is actually far better for a New Yorker to drink wine produced in France, Chili, or even Australia than in California. Why? Because wine produced in the US is shipped by truck or plane, instead of boat. The minute your wine gets onto a truck or a plane, the carbon emissions escalate. As a recent article in the NY times explains, glass is the main culprit, adding mass. Wine stored in tetra-packs can be packed much more efficiently. However, as Josh pointed out to me, tetra-packs require more energy to recycle than glass.
The best solution is to drink local wines. Living in Guelph means that my lowest carbon emitting wines would come from the Niagara region, Pelee Island, and the small wine producing region surrounding Port Perry. I’m guessing that the next best solution would be to buy from New York State. For international wines, France is probably the best choice.
Where does your wine come from? What is your preferable low-carbon emitting, frugal wine?
I’ll admit that the carbon footprint of my wine has not exactly been on my top 5 list of considerations. Maybe I’ll spend some more time on that one…
I’m partial to South African white wines, for a number of reasons: 1) I just prefer white wines, 2) having lived there, I can reliably choose a good one, and 3) I prefer to support an economy that is much weaker than ours (or our neighbour’s).
I’m dying to get my hands on a box of wine from a place in Richmond, BC. I forget the place name unfortunately but they make a killer berry wine. Hmm..I think it’s Sanduz Wines. And their other non-grape-base wines are fantastic too. *drool*
Well, I no longer drink (alas!), but I’d always wanted to try making my own wine… especially the ones that would be truly local, like berry wines and mead and such. I never got around to the experiment, but it strikes me as being ecologically and financially for the best, especially if you’re a regular drinker.
Mmmm… merlot… *ahem* Anyway…
Wow! Food for thought – pun intended. I don’t drink wine, but we like to entertain, so I am a purchaser of wine. I try to buy local, not because of the carbon footprint, but to support local growers and industry.
When wine is imported, is it imported to one central distribution centre and then dispatched by truck/plane? That could have a big impact on the carbon footprint as well.
Since moving to the Niagara Region, I have to admit that I am undeniably biased and completely unashamed to drink only Niagara Wines.
I buy all of of my wine straight from the winery, because knowing the winemaker and the visiting the winery has become part of my experience drinking wine. On the rare occasion I buy retail, I still head straight to the Canadian wines! We have such phenomenal wines here. I VQA, do you?
Peller Estates – Niagara-on-the-Lake
My favorite on the planet! Trust me I have looked.
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