Wine with Leslie: Let’s talk about wine and sustainability

"In conventional viticulture, sensitive vines mean spraying regularly, whether the vines need it or not - in organic viticulture, vines need to be sprayed even more often, which leads to increased use of diesel and other potential damage to soils"

Sustainability will be a watchword for wine in the future.

In keeping with Weekend’s theme this week let’s talk about Wine and Sustainability. As wine lovers we imagine that growing grapes is less damaging to the environment than industrial agriculture - the truth is more complicated.

Remember that grapes are a monoculture and that the vine is a highly sensitive plant that is very susceptible to disease and needs constant interventions. In conventional viticulture, this often means spraying regularly, whether the vines need it or not. In organic viticulture, vines need to be sprayed even more often, which leads to increased use of diesel and other potential damage to soils - e.g. copper damage from Copper-Sulphate to prevent mildew. France’s vineyards make up 3% of land use but they use 20% of pesticides, few established wine regions fare much better.