Unpacking Wine. A guide by The Porto Protocol Foundation

Since it was founded in 2018, I have been very close to the Porto Protocol and its protagonists Marta Mendonça and Cristina Crava. In 2019, I was at their sustainability wine conference Climate Change Leadership in Porto, they struck a nerve and since then I have been involved on the sidelines as their DACH representative. That's why I was able to follow the development of the ‘Unpacking Wine’ packaging guide up close and also play a small part in shaping it.

Das Porto Protocol versteht sich als Plattform für die Vernetzung von Akteuren und Akteurinnen der Weinbranche, um gemeinsam Lösungen gegen die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels zu suchen und zur Verfügung zu stellen. Mittlerweile sind über 250 Mitglieder dabei, aus Weinbau, Handel, Forschung, Kommunikation und allen Feldern, die mit der Weinwirtschaft auf Du sind. Dieser Tage haben Marta, Cristina und ihr CEO Adrian Bridge „Unpacking Wine: A Practical Resource to Rethink (wine) Packaging“ präsentiert. Einen umfassenden 240-seitigen Online-Leitfaden mit dem Ziel, Weinproduzenten und Interessensvertreter zu ermutigen, ihre Verpackungskonzepte zu überdenken.

The Porto Protocol sees itself as a platform for networking players in the wine industry in order to jointly seek and provide solutions to combat the effects of climate change. There are now over 250 members from viticulture, trade, research, communication and all fields related to the wine industry. These days, Marta, Cristina and their CEO Adrian Bridge have published ‘Unpacking Wine: A Practical Resource to Rethink (wine) Packaging’. A comprehensive 240-page online guide with the aim of encouraging wine producers and stakeholders to rethink their packaging concepts.

Unpacking Wine Guide – the content in detail

Beyond Carbon: Outlines key environmental factors like water usage, biodiversity, and circularity.
Beyond Containers: Examines packaging at all levels-primary, secondary, and tertiary, from bottles to shrink wrap.
Beyond Packaging: Looks at raw materials, assessing everything from sourcing to end-of-life in a zero-waste hierarchy.
Actionable Steps: Provides readers with clear, actionable steps for every option explored.
Real Insights from Producers: Features real-life testimonials balanced with data-driven insights, offering practical perspectives.
No Perfect Solutions: Equips readers with the tools to weigh trade-offs and choose what works best for their unique needs.
Permission to Innovate: Offers practical advice and creative ideas to empower producers to break the mold.
Calls to Action – Invites its readers to commit to change to several of the options explored and share them with the Porto Protocol community
Consumers, market, packaging, and legislation trends

It is a living document that will be regularly updated with new technologies and solutions and, if necessary, corrected here and there.
There is no blueprint for everyone. As always, the factors discussed in the book depend on the respective situation of the stakeholders. For example, it makes a big difference whether a winemaker exports to a country with a high glass recycling rate or one with a low one. If he or she delivers to a country that is open to bag-in-box, she can save huge amounts of resources and CO2 or not. What no winemaker will be able to avoid in the medium term, however, are lighter bottles with removable labels. Because that's where the big rub lies.

May as many people in the wine industry as possible read this guide! You can find out where to obtain it in the left-hand column.

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