Wine and Climate Change

A study has just been published that examines the carbon emissions of the wine industry, specifically in the US.

Some of the conclusions are fairly obvious, for example:

• Tetra Paks and boxed wine have lower carbon intensity due to lower weight
• When glass bottles are used, bigger containers are less carbon intense (since the glass-to-wine ratio is lower)
• When oaking, using oak chips is better than oak barrels (especially when said barrels are shipped to the vineyard assembled and empty)

Some of the other findings are a lot more interesting. Especially this one:

There’s a “green line” that runs down the middle of Ohio. For points to the West of that line, it is more carbon efficient to consume wine trucked from California. To the East of that line, it’s more efficient to consume the same sized bottle of wine from Bordeaux, which has had benefited from the efficiencies of container shipping, followed by a shorter truck trip.

Here's the "greenline" described. People to the west are better off drinking Californian wine, people to the east are better with European wines (from a carbon standpoint, ignoring locally grown wines).



I'm always blown away by how much more efficient container shipping is when compared to trucks. The difference is something like a factor of 25 (!). As a side note, the implied conclusion that we eastern North American residents should drink more french wine is one of the best academic findings I've read all year.