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International Wineries for Climate Action accepts 12 new applicant members

30 September 2021 By Eloise Feilden

Twelve new applicant winery members, committed to tackling climate change by reducing their carbon emissions, have been welcomed by the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA).

Solar panels in vineyard: International wineries for climate action welcome 12 new applicant members

The organisation, registered as a 501(c)6 nonprofit, now has more than 20 members spanning seven countries across five continents. It is overseen by a seven-person board of directors.

Familia Torres in Spain and Jackson Family Wines in the US founded the organisation in 2019. IWCA sets goals for member wineries to become Net Zero by 2050 across Scopes 1-3, ensuring constant reductions to meet intermediate targets by 2030 in alignment with the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign.

“When Katie Jackson of Jackson Family Wines and I co-founded IWCA in February 2019 as a working group, we wanted to act and move beyond conversation around the urgency of climate change,” said Miguel A. Torres, President of Familia Torres.

“Our goal was to gather the most environmentally committed wineries, and we hoped our initiative would work as a boost for other wineries to accelerate or start their carbon emissions reduction programs. It is therefore great to see that now with 12 new applicant members joining, we are more than 20 wineries worldwide. We are convinced that this will have a multiplier effect, especially in combination with the appointment as Secretariat of the renowned Meridian Institute.”

The new applicant members are: A to Z Wineworks, Cakebread Cellars, Château Troplong Mondot, Constellation Brands, Crimson Wine Group, Gloria Ferrer, Herència Altés, Hunt Country Vineyards, Medlock Ames, Ridge Vineyards, Sula Vineyards and Yalumba Family Winemakers.

New applicant member Ridge’s president, David Amadia, said of the announcement: “Climate change is real. Ridge has suffered through the impact of extended drought and wildfires. In collaboration with our partners at IWCA we look forward to providing leadership and innovation in the critical process of decarbonising the wine industry.”