Implementing sustainability in wineries: issues from an Italian case study

This paper aims to investigate sustainability issues in wineries by analysing the drivers that suggest the consideration of this concept in the day-to-day activities and main barriers to the process of improving sustainable practices in the winery sector. A literature review on the topic and a qualitative, in-depth explorative case study are presented. The choice of the case, Ripasso, was driven by its nature as a cooperative winery and its participation in Magis, an Italian project on sustainability. The article presents levers and problems to consider in the introduction of a protocol that aims to improve the quality of the grapes harvested and environmental biodiversity, reducing the production’s impacts in terms of several aspects, such as water consumption and fertilizer use. A future research agenda is outlined, based on the literature gap and the main points provided by this study.