New Zealand wine first in world to come with carbon footprint label

A New Zealand wine has become the first in the world to display the carbon footprint of each individual glass serving on its label – laying bare to the shopper or drinker the full environmental impact of making and transporting it.

Each bottle of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc – which takes its name from the highest peak of the range of hills above the town – will display its carbon emissions for a typical 125ml glass.

On the new label the relevant emissions, which are calculated to reflect the environmental impact of factors such as transportation and refrigeration, will be measured separately for every export market. So bottles sold in New Zealand, for example, will carry a figure of 140g CO2, whereas bottles shipped to Australia will display 190g.

A higher figure is due to be calculated for the UK market which will reflect the huge distance involved in shipping the wines here. Experts estimate that a 750ml bottle of wine at 190g CO2 per glass equates roughly to the carbon emissions released by a three-mile car journey. UK drinkers consume £7.6bn worth of wine imports every year, making the country the world's largest importer of wine.

You can read the full UK Guardian article here.