Growing Greener

10 ways to enjoy wine while being kind to the earth

A llama grazes in a Tablas Creek vineyard — Tablas Creek Vineyard’s regenerative farming approach includes a flock of sheep, plus a llama, some alpacas and a donkey to protect the herd from predators. (Brittany App)

Dana Nigro

From the Apr 30, 2024, issue

The world’s environmental problems can seem overwhelming. Can the actions of individual wine consumers make a difference?

“Yes, absolutely,” says Kimberly Nicholas, a leading global sustainability scientist with a specialty in wine and the author of Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World. “Wine drinkers are a really powerful group because they have this love and connection to a time and a place and a product and the people who made it, which is being affected now by climate change. We have skin in the game. There’s something we really care about at stake.”

Wine lovers can drive progress on better practices across the industry, says Nicholas. “Our consumption is globally significant,” she notes. “And because of the other roles we play—as role models, citizens, professionals and investors—we have a lot of power that can help to change systems.”

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