Abstract
The goal of this study was to evaluate the cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions of Finger Lakes wine using life cycle assessment. It was hypothesized that the carbon footprint of Finger Lakes wines would be lower than that of wines from other regions, based on winery practices and climate conditions. Primary data was collected from three wineries representing a range of production volumes, and sensitivity analyses were also performed. Bottle production contributed the most to the impacts of the wine. Impacts associated with cultivation were highest for the winery with the smallest production volume. The cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions for the three case studies ranged from 0.617 to 1.03 kg CO2eq bottle−1. These results suggest that wines from these three Finger Lakes wineries have among the lowest carbon footprints of wines globally (which range from 0.68 to 2.68 kg CO2eq bottle−1), promoting the need to assess the impacts of other wineries in this wine region.
Highlights
Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a research methodology to determine environmental impacts of consumer products has become increasingly frequent in the scientific community
This study provides the first carbon footprint analysis for wine produced in the Northeastern United States, and the Finger Lakes region of New York State in particular
The life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a bottle of wine produced by the three wineries assessed in the Finger Lakes region of New York are, on average, in the lower end of the impacts of wines produced elsewhere in the world
Summary
Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a research methodology to determine environmental impacts of consumer products has become increasingly frequent in the scientific community. This is due to the ever-growing interest of consumers and business-owners alike in the environmental impacts associated with the products they consume and produce. A match in scope and the functional unit between LCA studies provides researchers and reviewers the benefit of directly comparing environmental impacts associated with products or processes that provide the same function. No LCAs have been published for wine produced in the Northeastern area of the United States, even though New York is the state with the third highest wine production nationally [16]. Seneca Lake has nearly 70 wineries, more than 30 of which are members of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, representing the greatest number of any lake in the Finger Lakes region [17]
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