It takes a lot of water to make a bottle of wine. Even if you do not irrigate your vineyard, you use water, mainly for cleaning during the entire production process. It is difficult to say exactly how much water a normal winery uses. It depends on the volume produced, type of tanks (large or small) etc. At best, it is two litres of water per litre of wine or less, but the figure can go up to 10-12 litres.
Studies carried out by L’Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin, a research institute, show that the average water use is between 0.5 and 1 litre for a vineyard that produces more than 100,000 hl of wine and between 2 and 4 litres for those who makes less than 4,000 hl. In addition to this water use you have irrigation, if used.
But water is in short supply in many wine regions. Parts of France, northern Italy and California, to name just a few, suffer from severe drought.
Managing the use of water is high on the sustainability agenda. Things that are discussed are e.g. more accurate measurements of the moisture in the vineyard to know exactly the vines’ need for water, reuse of wastewater, sewage treatment plants in the vineyards, the new technology with UV rays to wash and disinfect the tanks without water, a more efficient way of collecting the rainwater when it arrives.
Read more (pdf): vignevin
