We are one of the only B-Corp certified wine merchants in the UK. We specialise in finding and curating high quality ethical wines which won't leave a hangover for the planet.

B-Corp certification recognises companies committed to meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Being a B-Corp means we prioritise more than just making a profit; we are committed to making a positive difference in the world. This certification reinforces our mission to provide high-quality, sustainable wines made by producers who are responsible stewards of the environment and active contributors to social good.

All the vineyards in our collective use sustainable farming practices, many of our featured wines are organic and naturally low in sulphites, and we ensure that our bottles are delivered to you with net zero carbon impact through the entire supply chain. Better for you, better for the planet.

Read on to learn more about Wine&Earth's approach to sustainability.

Transparency - a guide to our icons

We believe in complete transparency, so we aim to provide as much information about the wines in our portfolio as we can. We also use the following icons so you can gather key information at a glance.

A guide to Wine&Earth's sustainability ratings

We aim to visit all of the vineyards and wineries featured in our portfolio so that we can really get to know the producers and understand their ethos, while seeing first-hand how this is put into action on their estate. As well as a deep qualitiative discussion, all of our vineyards are assessed based on a quantitative survey. We take a tailored approach to each vineyard (as a good practice in one area may not be the right thing to do in another). We then rate the producers based on three tiers:

Tier 1: Up and Coming (1*)

Becoming sustainable is a journey which can take many years; so this tier is for our vineyards who have great ethos and have started their commitment towards becoming a more sustainable. Many in this tier will be practicing organic or regenerative viticulture in many respects, but aren't yet certified, or occasionally choose to use some interventions when they feel they need to in order to protect their crop that mean they'll not be able to get certified. This tier is all about accountability and intent, and rewarding those who are doing more than the majority to drive positive change. These vineyards are a mix of those with good practices and those who are well on the path from industrial viticulture to low-intervention wine.

Tier 2: Moving on Up (2*)

Tier two vineyards have gone a step further and have a more structured approach towards improving the sustainability of their estate and business. For example, many of these vineyards will be practising organic, though they may not yet have a certification. They will likely be thinking about how to improve biodversity, and using some of their land for woodland. Tier 2 vineyards will be focused on soil health. They may be seeking to minimise the use of sulphur and the addition of sulphites to their wines. They will be able to clearly articulate their approach to sustainability, and may have some specific measurements and targets in place.

Tier 3: Pioneer (3*)

To get into our top tier, producers need to be pioneering. The will have thought holistically about their vineyard within its wider landscape, about biodiversity, about the soils, ground cover and nature-based solutions across their entire vineyard and beyond. These vineyards will also be working to become nature positive and regenerative. They will also likely be leading the way in community engagement and they will have good employee and seasonal worker policies in place as well. They will likely be taking steps to quantify and reduce their carbon footprint. They will be seeking to minimise or eradicate the use of animal products. And they will have robust independent certifications for organic and or biodynamic farming practices, with periodic independent auditing. These are true pioneers, leading the way and showing how it can be done.

Our Logistics

We're working with our supply chain to achieve minimal footprint logistics. This begins with efficiency, but we want to move it to as low carbon as possible. This starts in our distribution to customers - where we use carbon neutral delivery (from bicycle couriers in central London to national couriers using electric vehicles, and carbon offsetting everything else). In the logistics from winery to our warehouse in Surrey, we favour short haulage distances by truck, and sea wherever possible for longer distances. We track how everything is moved and then offset this with Gold Standard offsets to mitigate and compensate for the carbon emissions that we can't avoid.

Packaging

Perhaps one of the trickiest areas of wine is the bottle and the packaging that goes with it. Whilst we are working with our own packaging to make it as sustainable as possible - for example we ship your wine to you in recycled and recyclable boxes and use paper (rather than plastic) tape to seal them. We did try reusing the packaging the wine arrived to us in, but it simply couldn't cope with the UK distribution network and breakages ran too high (which in itself is not sustainable at all!). So we settle for using recycled and recyclable packaging to get your wine safely delivered to you. Alongside that, we're working with our wineries to minimise plastics, investigate reuse of bottles and to find a way to get cork recycling up and running in the UK.

Trading Fairly

Our core ethos is to encourage more sustainable wine production, and enable small holder, artisanal and ethical vineyards and wineries to make a decent living from producing amazing wines in the right ways. We pay a fair price for the gift of their approach and their conscientious skills. So we'll never be forcing prices low or squeezing suppliers in the way some others do (we won't name names...).

What about wine miles?

One of the first things that people think about when we say "Sustainable Wine" is that it's like food miles but for wine. I.e. buy as locally as possible.

Although the English wine scene is going through a great period of growth, and we certainly encourage people to enjoy them, to enjoy the breadth of the wine experience we know that people want to be able to choose wines from around the world. So we ran some analysis of wine miles and their impact. We were surprised by reaching a somewhat counterintuitive conclusion. From a life-cycle assessment approach, wine transport does have an impact, but freighting by sea is not as impactful as you might expect.

We calculate the greenhouse gas impacts of all of the wines we import and distribute, and we off-set the unavoidable and residual carbon impacts through certified Gold Standard Carbon Offset schemes in the UK and worldwide.