Organic wine fraud alleged in Italy, over €520 000 in assets have been seized. Bonterra Organic Estates argues for a standard definition of regenerative agriculture and for certification as a consumer safeguard against greenwashing. Under EU draft rules that follow the “polluter pays principle”, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater. A UK Consorzio Tutela Prosecco DOC’s marketing campaign This is not Prosecco which seemed to deride alternative packaging – particularly kegs has sparked debate around tradition verse sustainable packaging innovation.
Viticulture
At issue is a company operating in the wine sector, whose legal representatives attested that it had carried out the conversion to organic methods of cultivation, in order to receive funds co-financed by the EU.
However, during checks carried out by Italy’s Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification (ICEA – Istituto per la Certificazione Etica ed Ambientale), chemicals that are not allowed in organic farming were detected in the soil.
Sonoma Valley, California: John Deere Company will be joining Sonoma County Winegrowers’ Farm of the Future program, a lab of sorts where Sonoma County winegrowers and companies can pilot concepts that could advance farming practices with an eye toward sustainability. Wine Business
As part of the collaboration tech/resources will be available that they will work with a subset of growers to integrate.
These items include JDLink, the John Deere Operations Center, SmartApply—a precision spraying equipment company—and the John Deere rewards program (which will be open to Sonoma County Winegrower members).
Other companies who have joined the Farm of the Future include Ford Pro, Wilbur Ellis, Pellenc and Agrology.
US: Jess Baum Senior Director of Regenerative Impact at Bonterra Organic Estates argues for a universal definition of regenerative agriculture and standards as well as certification. The Drinks Business
Agreeing with Baum, Marybeth Bentwood, who is Bonterra’s senior director for public relations, stressed that it’s necessary to provide proof you are employing regenerative approaches through an audit process, while commenting that certification is not prohibitively pricy.
“Certifying is not that expensive… and I think, when you are a large-scale producer, and you’re distributed globally, and you’re using regenerative as an adjective, but not certified, then I would simply ask, ‘why not certify?’”
Carbon Sequestration
US: A research study published in Frontiers concluded that all seven regenerative agriculture practices examined through literature review effectively increased the carbon sequestration rate.
The soil carbon sequestration potential of seven regenerative farming practices—agroforestry, cover cropping, legume cover cropping, animal integration, non-chemical fertilizer, non-chemical pest management, and no tillage—for both arable and woody perennial land were compared.
Although generally small sample sizes hindered detecting any statistically significant differences in soil organic carbon sequestration between the various regenerative practices, results indicated that all seven practices contribute to below-ground carbon sequestration on average.
Pesticide Use
Pennsylvania, US: Bayer was ordered to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the company's Roundup weedkiller, the man's attorneys said. Reuters
A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas found that John McKivison's non-Hodgkins lymphoma was the result of using Roundup for yard work at his house for a period of several years.
The verdict includes $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.
Around 165,000 claims have been made in the U.S. against the company for personal injuries allegedly caused by Roundup, which Bayer acquired as part of its $63 billion purchase of U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018. Most plaintiffs, allege that the product caused them to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Packaging
UK: The Drinks Business reports on the Consorzio Tutela Prosecco DOC’s marketing campaign This is not Prosecco which seemed to deride alternative packaging – particularly kegs.
One poster depicted a steel keg with the text: “This is not Prosecco. Do not call it Prosecco. It is a common effervescent wine”. Others showed aluminum cans and taps, reinforcing the message that Prosecco DOC wine can only be packaged in and served from a bottle.
The two week campaign, launched on 18 December 2023, cost in excess of £250,000 and saw posters across the London Underground, as well as adverts in The Times and advertorials in various food magazines – it was the largest ad campaign to date in the UK.
Backlash included comments from Barclay Webster, vice president of business development and trade for US-based keg wine company Free Flow Wines, who of course has a commercial interest in the topic. He suggested that the “stigma” of sparkling wine on tap being low quality is “outdated”, but he suggested that the Prosecco DOC campaign has helped to “raise awareness” of it.
He also argued that being overly-protective of tradition puts the wine industry at greater risk of losing consumers. “I am definitely open to discussing how we can make Prosecco DOC available on tap in our reusable steel kegs,” Webster suggested. “We constantly receive requests for Prosecco from our on-trade partners.
Consorzio director Luca Giavi responded “Prosecco on draught doesn’t exist” “This idea comes from a lack of knowledge and awareness by both professionals and consumers. The sale of sparkling wine on tap is allowed but it cannot be called Prosecco. Our Prosecco DOC is called such because it respects a specification that determines a series of parameters that make it unique and certified, and for this reason choosing the original is always better than a banal imitation.”
Governments will pay the rest, members of the bloc said, in an effort to prevent vital products from becoming too expensive or scarce.
By 2035 EU member states will have to remove organic matter from urban wastewater before releasing it into the environment in all communities with more than 1,000 people.
By 2045 they will have to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in all treatment plants covering more than 10,000 people, if there is a risk to the environment or health. They will also have to add an extra step to remove a “broad spectrum” of micropollutants, according to the European parliament.
Governments will also have to monitor sewage for microplastics, “forever chemical” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and key health indicators like antimicrobial resistance.
Global: While originally published in August 2023, we missed this feature in The Spirits Business magazine on the feasibility of paper spirits in packaging and found some good insight on the branding and quality issues related to alternative packaging.
“Paper, just like glass, is a very versatile material. It can be seen as cheap or very exclusive,” noted Elin Furelid, director of future packaging for The Absolut Company.
As the vodka producer is trialing its paper bottle rollout in 29 Tesco stores around Manchester, UK, it could be a permanent step in the cardboard direction.
For the on-trade, EcoSpirits, a major player in the sustainable packaging space, using circular packaging technology to allow spirits to be transported in bulk to local markets.
The spirits are processed into a reusable 4.5-litre ‘ecotote’ for delivery to on-trade venues, yet the company maintains it protects the brand because bar staff can refill and reuse branded bottles, therefore also sustaining the premium look of the bottles too.
Diversity & Equity
US: Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) has integrated Diverse Powered Brands™, the centralized B2B global digital catalog connecting diverse suppliers, buyers, supplier diversity managers, wholesalers, and investors across the entire beverage alcohol and hospitality industry, into its ecom platform. Press Release via Wine Business
US: Naked Wines, a direct-to-consumer supplier announced the recipients of the Montoya Opportunity Fund. Press Release
The grants were awarded to twelve Latino wine professionals seeking career and brand advancement opportunities in the wine industry.
Driven by winemaker Macario Montoya, the Montoya Opportunity Fund is a grant program with a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in an industry where Latino brands and leadership roles are vastly underrepresented.
The winners will receive a total of $80,000 in grant funding. This funding will support activities including, but not limited to, continued wine education, vineyard and winemaking equipment, grape and production costs, brand development, and permitting and legal costs.