Sustainability Evaluation of a Portuguese “Terroir” Wine

Abstract

This work performed a sustainability evaluation of a Portuguese “terroir” wine, produced in a vineyard inside the Douro Wine Region, based on a Life Cycle Thinking perspective, considering the life cycle stages from viticulture to winemaking, bottling and packaging. Primary data from the company was used as far as possible, complemented with secondary data from life cycle inventory databases, scientific publications and/or reports, and even from tools developed specifically for application in the wine sector. The sustainability evaluation was performed using several indicators, selected based on their relevance to the wine industry, but also considering the existing consensus in the area, including: carbon footprint, water consumption, energy intensity, material intensity, solid wastes and wastewater. Indicators values were calculated relatively to a functional unit of 0.75 L that represents the capacity of most wine bottles available in the market. Results show that bottling and storage have the highest contribution to carbon footprint, material intensity, solid wastes and wastewater. Viticulture is the life cycle stage with the largest contribution to water consumption mainly due to irrigation of vines. Results also show that winemaking is the life cycle stage with the largest contribution to energy intensity, mainly due to the transportation of grapes to the winery and of wine to the bottling facility, accounting for 94 % of this indicator value. Results can be used to identify hotspots in the production process where improvements are necessary or to compare the performance of different wines.