From Field to Bottle: Water Footprint Estimation in the Winery Industry

The Water Footprint (WF) concept allows the quantification of the impact of the production of a wide range of consumer products on local water resources. Each stage in the manufacturing and distribution process adds complexity and variability in the WF estimation. It is, therefore, critical to clearly define the scope of the footprint assessment and any underlying assumptions made. The wine-making process is a complex mix of agricultural, chemical, sanitizing, bottling and distribution processes, each exerting unique demands on local water resources. While wine production is recognized as a water-intensive process, clear guidelines for determining the blue, green and grey WF are essential to allowing the benchmarking and comparison of WF values from location to location. Factors affecting the WF can include local climate conditions, vineyard irrigation practices, pesticide and fertilizer use, soil quality, proximity to surface and groundwater resources, manufacturing process efficiency, water reuse practices, and wastewater handling and treatment methods and performance. Case studies quantifying the WF of wine manufacturing are available in the published literature; however, the lack of a standardized industry-wide WF assessment approach makes benchmarking and comparing the performance of winery operations difficult. A framework for the assessment of the WF specific to wine-making is necessary to accurately quantify water resource impacts, benchmark performance and prioritize the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce environmental impacts.