In line with World Environment Day, importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines has released its yearly sustainability findings.
In its Hallgarten Eco Standard report, the importer has analysed all aspects of sustainability associated with its supplier base.
The analysis is split into four categories: Environment, Energy Management, Water & Waste Management and Social Responsibility.
Analysing the results, New Zealand was named the most sustainable producer country, averaging a score of 77% across all categories.
In terms of individual wineries, Hallgarten revealed that Domaine Villa Noria from the Languedoc, France, scored the highest across all sustainability categories, achieving an average score of 95%.
Elsewhere, in more general results, Hallgarten reported that 92% of its suppliers actively minimise the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides and insecticides in the vineyards and 86% use cartons, bottles, dry goods and printed matter made from recycled or sustainably sourced materials.
Further, 76% actively engage in local community, charitable or environmental initiatives and 61% actively use renewable energy sources.
Compared to the 2022 results, the average amount of recycled glass used increased from 40% to 47%. Likewise, the average bottle weight dropped from 542g in 2022 to 487g in 2025.
In particular, Hallgarten praised New Zealand, where average empty bottle weights have dropped by 19% to 446g.
Jim Wilson, Hallgarten Portfolio Director, said: “We are extremely excited to unveil the third iteration of the Hallgarten Eco Standard, recognising our supplier partners for their sustainable successes in the vineyard and winery.
“To ensure we are staying on top of the game and reflecting the increased urgency of improving our environmental stewardship, this year we have tightened the parameters of the survey to suppliers and made it harder to achieve top marks, as a result this year we have seen fewer gold medals across our supplier base but some incredibly strong, stand-out results across each of the four pillars of sustainability. The most impressive of all was our partners at Villa Noria who are pushing the boundaries each and every day in the pursuit of a more sustainable winemaking world.”