Does sustainability sell wine?

“One major restaurant wine buyer said no customers have asked about carbon footprint in the last three years."

There’s always a moment when visiting a wine producer when they launch into their ‘sustainability’ talk. This could be just a few words about reducing herbicide use or it might involve a trip to visit an anaerobic digester. I think of it as the equivalent of the drum solo at a gig: a good moment to go to the loo

While it is imperative that wine producers adapt to the changing climate, what remains unclear is whether ‘sustainability’ genuinely interests customers. PWC’s Voice of the Consumer Survey 2024, covering 20,000 consumers across 31 countries, found that 46% claimed they are buying more sustainable products to reduce their environmental impact.

But Andrew Neather, co-author of Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine, commented: “The reality in terms of purchasing patterns is much less clear... I suspect far fewer are prepared to pay more for sustainable wine, though I’ve only heard anecdotal evidence.” According to the 2022 Kantar World Panel report, people defined as ‘eco-dismissers’ increased by 7% from 2021 to 44% of the global population, while ‘eco-actives’ dropped by 4% to around 22% of the global population. W. Blake Gray, writing for Wine Searcher after visiting a bulk wine show, observed:

“sustainability only comes up as a topic that the trade cares about but is disappointed to learn that their consumers do not. One major restaurant wine buyer said no customers have asked about carbon footprint in the last three years.”

Even more engaged wine drinkers aren’t voting with their wallets when it comes to environmental matters. Tom Ashworth at Yapp Bros, which won the France Specialists award at the 2025 International Wine Challenge, found the uptake on bag-in-box format disappointing despite being “much more energy efficient than the equivalent in bottles.” As he put it: “It was a slow sell—they would rather buy Gigondas in a bottle.” In contrast, Domaine Bousquet, an Argentine organic producer, reports:

“strong sales, with consistent growth year-on-year even as the total global wine category has declined in volume, with consumers now actively seeking out wines which are sustainable…”

Michael Kennedy, CEO of Roebuck Estates in Sussex agrees: “More and more, customers are seeking out wines that reflect their values and they’re willing to invest in producers who put sustainability at the heart of what they do.” He added: “it’s important for us to communicate what sustainability means in the right way to our customers, as it can still be a vague concept.”

Roebuck Estate. Photo credit: Sussex Modern

Part of the challenge lies in the bewildering array of terms: “sustainable,” “organic,” “biodynamic,” “natural wines,” and “clean wines” all mean different things to different people. Sustainability also, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, encompasses economic and social factors such as workers’ rights, diversity etc., though I suspect most customers remain unaware of this broader definition.

Ashworth confirms this confusion: “From a customer point of view, they are much more switched on to organic.” He continued: “People who care about it, care a lot about it. 85% are not interested, they buy for other reasons.” More tellingly, he adds: “I am not aware of anyone asking about our carbon footprint.”

Charles Palmer, owner of a Sussex sparkling wine producer, argues that sustainability is a “buzzword that everyone is hanging onto”. He questions the value of such claims when standing in front of wine shelves: “One bottle professes to be sustainable and one next door makes no claims. Which one are you going to choose? Are you not being hoodwinked?”

There’s even evidence that sustainability might actually put people off. Henry Laithwaite from Harrow & Hope in Buckinghamshire told me that some customers think an organic wine isn’t going to be as good as a conventional one.

While The Bunch, a group of independent merchants that Yapp is a member of, has a code of ethics for its members, Ashworth doesn’t monitor his suppliers’ sustainable credentials. In contrast, The Wine Society has gone all out, hiring a director of sustainability, Dom de Ville, in 2022. He commented:

“We are increasingly asking our suppliers to meet various criteria, such as lightweighting glass bottles, ensuring minimum environmental and social standards, and obtaining third-party sustainability certifications.”

While de Ville insisted this doesn’t make wines more expensive, certification does have costs. Caro Feely, who farms biodynamically near Bergerac, has parted ways with the regulatory body, explaining: “The Demeter certification fee was a percentage of sales across everything, including the renting of holiday accommodation...” At a time when people are thinking with their wallets above all, does it make sense to add the extra costs of environmental credentials? The British Government is making things even more expensive with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) adding extra burdens on an already beleaguered drinks industry. And there’s more to come with the dreaded Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) due next year 2027 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland¹. It’s the end customer will pay.

As well as Demeter and the Soil Association, there are various other certification schemes to provide structure to sustainability claims, such as B-Corp. However, its consumer recognition remains limited. I’m always slightly baffled when I get emails from PRs telling me that the company they represent is B-Corp accredited. Ashworth notes that B-Corp “works better at a B-to-B level. I’m not sure consumers have great recognition.” Henry Boyes, sales director at MCDV, owner of Silverhand in Kent whose operation is carbon negative from vineyard to warehouse, agrees: “I don’t think it means anything to general consumers.” Part of the use of B-Corp and other accreditation is in obtaining funding from ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) focused funds.

Palmer thinks that rather than signing up to schemes, sustainability “works best on a local level—people buy wines from producers and merchants that they trust. When this is scaled up to supermarkets, it can become a box-ticking exercise that ultimately doesn’t mean anything.” This suggests that sustainability may be more about relationship-building and storytelling than about specific certifications or claims.

Despite growth in sustainable wine sales, the numbers remain tiny. The organic wine market was valued at around $12 billion in 2024, which sounds substantial but represents only a small fraction of the global wine market valued at approximately $500 billion. Palmer thinks it would be better for wine producers to stick together whatever their environmental credentials: “The global market is shrinking. Shouldn’t we say our product is safer or better for the planet than yours?”

The evidence suggests that while consumers express support for sustainability in surveys, their willingness to pay more for sustainable wine remains limited in practice. De Ville argued, however: “I think the question we really should be asking is, are customers happy to pay less knowing that it is only that price because someone or something has been exploited.” The answer may well be yes, sadly.

That of course doesn’t mean that producers and merchants shouldn’t pursue sustainable practices for the right reasons: environmental stewardship and long-term viability. It’s just not a selling point for most customers. People generally want wine that tastes nice with a good story and label so don’t be surprised when visitors stifle a yawn when you tell them about your carbon footprint.

A slightly different version of this appeared on the IWC (International Wine Challenge) website.

1. The Welsh have come up with their own scheme, according to one merchant, which involves every bottle, not every line, every separate bottle having its own barcode. If it comes in, he is going to have to close his warehouse in Wales and move it across the border to England.