Over three days in early June, SWBC was invited to participate at The Future of Wine Americas 2021. Hundreds of wine and grape practitioners from around the world, with a focus on the Americas, gathered to discuss 'How the wine industry can build resilience and turn sustainability into opportunity'.

Two SWBC associates presented as part of the discussion:
Felix Egerer; How realistic is a chemical free vineyard, does it matter? and
Katie Pease; Community engagement and license to operate: How to listen and respond, effectively.

Topics of note, across two days and many conversations, included:

• Toward sustainable packaging and trade: innovative complements and alternatives to new glass production and shipping.
• The difficulty and opportunity of communicating about sustainability without a shared global definition.
• Discussing grape production practices; sustainable, organic, biodynamic, chemical free, carbon neutral, etc.
• Learning from other commodities about implementing sustainability in the wine industry.

Sustainable Wine is hosting the development of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable: A roundtable that will lead to an international wine business that sits alongside other product sectors - coffee, chocolate, palm oil, timber, biofuels, etc - in having a global sustainability standard. SWBC is pleased to participate as a stakeholder. The first meeting is scheduled for Fall 2021.