How much carbon is in your glass of wine?

The global wine industry is poised to launch a new greenhouse gas protocol and carbon calculator for vineyards and wineries in a move that could pave the way for carbon labels on bottles of wine.

The International Wine Industry Greenhouse Gas Accounting Protocol has been developed by the Wine Institute of California, New Zealand Winegrowers, South Africa's Integrated Production of Wine program and the Winemakers' Federation of Australia, and will be launched next month.

The protocol and accompanying Excel-based carbon calculator will initially be made available to members of the Wine Institute of California with broader distribution expected to follow later this year. The group said it was also working on a web-based version of the calculator and was planning a series of workshops across California to promote the tool.

The consortium of trade groups said that the initiative would help firms prepare for new environmental regulations that may require carbon accounting; gain access to retailers increasingly interested in including carbon footprint information on products; provide data for the purchase of carbon offset credits; and identify areas where they can reduce emissions.

Carbon emissions from the entire wine lifecycle will be accounted for the group said, including emissions associated with purchased energy and the manufacture of fertilisers and packaging material.

Despite the wine industry having a relatively small footprint compared to other sectors wine companies have taken a considerable interest in climate change with vineyards in Australia in particular already being badly affected by droughts that have been linked to global warming. Pressure is also mounting on all food and drink providers to provide retailers with information on their products' carbon footprint with several carbo n footprint labelling schemes being trialled worldwide.

Bob Calvin, co-chair of the Wine Institute Technical Committee's environmental working group, said that the new footprinting tools would also be welcomed by the growing numbers of vineyards embracing sustainable and organic practices. "The Greenhouse Gas tool will further help the wine community understand how and which operations impact air quality and help managers develop strategies for reducing emissions," he explained.

In related news, the Bordeaux Wine Board said yesterday it was launching a research project to measure the industry's carbon footprint. The six month study is being undertaken in partnership with the French Environment Agency and aims to assess the carbon impact of the 756m bottles of wine produced in Bordeaux each year.

"We intend to find out the carbon emissions for making different styles of wine," Laurent Charlier of the Bordeaux Wine Board, told AFP. "And at what stages we need to concentrate our efforts to mitigate the emissions."