A cross-national comparison of sustainability in the wine industry

This cross-national study investigates different aspects of sustainability from the wine producers' point of view. A qualitative study conducted with fifty-five wine producers in the USA, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Hungary and Greece was undertaken to analyse the producers' definition, evaluation and practice of sustainability in the wine industry. Results show that the interviewed producers mainly associated the term sustainability solely with the environmental dimension; whereas some wineries applied a more complete approach of sustainability including not only the environmental, but also the economic as well as the social dimensions. Regarding the production management systems, there is some ambiguity since many of the interviewees confuse the terms organic, biodynamic and sustainable. The majority of the wineries participating in this study complain about the lack of information among relevant organizations, producers and consumers concerning sustainability. The barriers to this flow of information might be the great challenge the sustainable wine industry will face in future. All these findings indicate the necessity of closer cooperation of national organizations on an international level in order to provide the information needed by the wine producers and consumers.