Climate change and bottled wine

The wine industry is now having a finger pointed at it over carbon emissions. There is now criticism coming in from many directions about the carbon footprint of transporting wine in bottles and by road. Some winemakers are bottling their wine in lighter bottles to reduce the carbon footprint of transporting wine.

I am all in favour of innovation regarding the production and use of lighter wine bottles. But some environmentalists want the wine industry to go further to transport wine in bulk and "bottle" the wine in boxes and cans.

I already use "bag in the bottle" wine for drinking at home with a meal. I had a glass last night with my wife. But, at the weekend my wife and I enjoyed a bottle of Bersan Irancy Red; bottled in 2012 and left on its side to mature for 8 years. The bottle lasted us two evenings as we don't drink that much. The wine was fantastic and improved in the bottle.The bottle cost us about 8 Eur in a French supermarket. If we suddenly change "bottling" techniques so that all reasonably priced wine is sold in bulk in "bag in the box" containers filled locally, then we will lose the opportunity to buy and store wine for it to improve in the bottle.

The market for "glass bottled" wine will be reserved exclusively for the top priced brands. Wines which are reasonably priced and which have been produced and bottled on the wine estate will probably disappear.

Hopefully, I will be long dead before climate change fundamentalists kill off the majority of estate bottle wines.Only the very rich will be able to enjoy a rib of beef with a bottle of Bordeaux. Climate change must be controlled but wine producers are not the biggest generators of CO2.

Wine lovers, in the main, are fully aware of the problems associated with climate change. Climate change could easily destroy wine production and this is why we approve of innovation to reduce the carbon footprint of wine production and consumption. We are all prepared to make our contribution to reduce carbon emissions from all our activities.  However, please do not deprive wine lovers of their estate bottled wine and the wholesome food which goes with it.

https://harpers.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/25501/Trade_should_stop_bottling_it_on_carbon_emissions.html