The Business of Sustainable Wine

Modern agriculture is the largest single contributor to global greenhouse gas production, deforestation, and water consumption. Biodiversity, climate change, energy, soil degradation, and water scarcity are critical issues. Consumers are increasingly and justifiably concerned about where their food and beverages come from and whether they are produced in a responsible way, often without an understanding of how to determine the provenance of the products they consume. Wine is no exception. In World of Sustainable Wine, internationally recognized expert in environmental sustainability, Sandra Taylor, offers a new view of how the industry can be an important actor in sustainable agriculture and provides a unique insight for the consumer on what to look for on supermarket shelves. World of Sustainable Wine analyzes sustainability trends in wine regions around the world. Drawing on case studies from a multitude of commodity industries, Taylor gives producers the tools to integrate sustainability into their winegrowing and marketing, and retailers’ procurement managers will learn how to assess sustainable attributes of wines on offer. Like fair trade cocoa and shade grown coffee, wine must, sooner or later, meet the powerful demands of social activists and a growing consumer contigent for ethical and organic products.

Sandra Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on environmental sustainability, social responsibility, agricultural supply chains and public relations. As a corporate executive for 22 years, including Starbucks Coffee Company, she designed innovative codes of conduct for sustainable procurement of coffee, cocoa, and tea. A Wine MBA graduate and Juris Doctorate (JD) recipient, she has written articles about supply chain management, marketing sustainability, and motivations for environmental and social responsibility in wine value chains. She is a wine educator and founder of Fine Wine Divas. She currently resides in Washington, DC.