We know that we are no longer facing climate change but a climate emergency that is threatening the future of wine as we know it.

Without a dramatic change in our habits average temperatures on Earth will be up to 4 degrees Celsius hotter by 2100. This may well wipe whole regions, already dealing with drought and fire, off the world wine map, and throw currently cool-climate regions into uncertainty.

We must act now, otherwise there may not be an industry left.

The production and transportation of glass bottles makes by far the greatest contribution to wine's carbon footprint. The industry needs to face this head on and do what it can to reduce this burden.

As such we, the undersigned, are calling for the following.

1.     That all tech sheets include bottle weight. Declaring these figures should encourage producers to eliminate unnecessarily heavy bottles.

2.     Commentators should include bottle weight in their reviews. Bottle weight would then become a standard part of the conversation, and enable consumers to make an informed choice.

3.     All of us involved with wine should campaign for truly effective glass recycling programmes. According to the most recent accredited statistics, the proportion of glass that was recycled in the UK actually fell between 2016 and 2018, to just 62%, and the proportion in the US was a shameful 25%.