Several retailers have signed an accord to reduce the average weight of 75cl still wine bottles in their ranges.

Retailers including Lidl, Naked Wines, Waitrose and The Wine Society have signed up to global industry body the Sustainable Wine Roundtable’s (SWR) Bottle Weight Accord to stock lighter bottles.

The average 75cl still wine bottle weight today is approximately 550 grams, the SWR said. The pledge will see the companies involved reduce their average bottle to weigh less than 420 grams, by the end of 2026.  

Retailers already signed up to the accord collectively sell around 250 million bottles of wine a year, according to SWR. The 25% drop in bottle weight should deliver carbon savings of around 23 million kilos per year.

Jancis Robinson, who for many years has advocated the need for lighter bottles welcomed the move: “I’ve been talking about this for so long. Lighter bottles is an easy win for the wine sector to reduce its carbon emissions. It is very exciting that the SWR has produced an evidence base to demonstrate how change can happen, and for this Accord to push that forward in practice.”

The SWR Bottle Weight Accord is the result of research undertaken by the SWR in 2023. This research was co-funded by a group of retailers including Alko Oy (Finland), Systembolaget (Sweden), The Wine Society (UK) and Whole Foods Market (US).