Washington State Wine Commission: Washington Sustainable - The Future of Wine

Demand for sustainable products has never been higher. But today’s marketplace also demands credibility and proof. Although Washington wine is sustainable by nature and in practice, the state’s wine industry is taking collective steps to formally add a certification to its sustainability program.

Marketplace Perceptions

In 2019, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance engaged Full Glass Research, a well-known research and industry analysis firm, to conduct a large-scale survey of 4,700 off-and on-premise businesses, distributors and brokers, importers and others in the wine industry. The research included input from Wine Opinions, a trusted industry firm that offers quantitative and qualitative research services.

Insights on wine trade perceptions included:

▪  Sustainable practices are frequently (32%) or occasionally (50%) a factor when choosing wine to market or sell to consumers.

▪  75% in the wine trade believe demand for sustainable wines has increased the past 10 years; the same number believe demand will continue to increase over the next 10 years.

▪  Reasons for considering sustainable practices in wine-buying decisions: personal support (84%), increased consumer demand (71%) and useful selling attribute (68%).

▪  “All things being equal” in terms of product, 71% would purchase a sustainably produced wine over one that is not.

The trade survey came on the heels of a survey of 2,000+ wine consumers conducted by Wine Intelligence, which specializes in consumer research and insights. This survey was funded by a Multi-State Specialty Crop Block Grant, in which the Washington State Wine Commission and Washington Winegrowers Association are partners. The grant provided money to conduct market research, identify unified messaging that resonates with consumers and jointly promote sustainable winegrowing and winemaking within the New York, Oregon, California and Washington wine industries.

Insights on consumer perceptions included:

▪  71% of U.S. wine drinkers would consider buying sustainably-produced wine in the future.

▪  9 out of 10 millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable wine.

▪  Consumers seek easy ways to find and identify sustainable wines, such as visual cues, identified sections in stores and wine labels.

Washington Sustainable

Washington wine is naturally sustainable — the cold winters and hot, dry and windy summers of Eastern Washington are not conducive to many of the pests and diseases that challenge other grape-growing areas. Plus, there is strong industry commitment to research. The Washington State Wine Commission invests about 25 percent of its budget to fund research at Washington State University that helps to develop new tools based on science to improve pest management, improve irrigation practices to conserve water, improve wine quality and reduce pesticide use, to name a few.

Over a span of 20 years, Washington wine grape growers and wineries have used the current Vinewise®\Winerywise™ online platform to improve the sustainability of their management practices through self-assessment.

The program, developed for and by the industry, combines environmentally-sound, socially equitable and economically viable principles and best practices for continual improvement — always using research and science. The platform was intentionally crafted to be scalable for third-party certification but does not currently include certification.

This past year, led by a grassroots effort of more than 40 growers, winemakers, and marketing professionals, and after much discussion, research and review of proposals, the Washington wine industry initiated the development of a statewide certification program. The Washington Winegrowers Association, Washington State Wine Commission, Washington Wine Institute and Washington Wine Industry Foundation are working together to build on the existing Vinewise®\Winerywise™ to create a best-in-class Washington wine grape certification program.

A pilot program will roll out by harvest 2021, and the full program will be up and running in 2022. Soon after, wineries will be able to label their bottles as sustainably farmed, with the Washington-specific sustainability brand that is currently in the works.

Washington wine has always been sustainable by nature — and now, it’s time to make it official.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:24 AM with the headline "Washington State Wine Commission: Washington Sustainable - The Future of Wine."