Water footprint assessment in the winemaking industry: a case study for a Romanian medium size production plant

Abstract The sustainable use of water resources bring nowadays challenges related to the production and consumption phases of water intensive related goods such as food and beverages, not only in terms of technological improvements, but also of management practices considered at the level of the water use cycle. This study focuses on the water footprint assessment of one 750 mL bottle of wine produced in a medium-size wine production plant in Romania, evaluated for a 4-year period with different precipitation regimes. The assessment is based on the production-chain diagram, presenting the relevant process stages from the source to the final product, as well as the current emissions and environmental impacts, considering the existent equipments and actual water related practices. The wine trade-offs socio-economic potential, and the evaluation of the national water footprint scheme related to Romanian wine production and consumption were assessed. The findings of this study indicated that almost 99% of the total water footprint is related to the supply-chain water use, out of which 82% green , 3% blue and 15% grey . In addition, suggestions of sustainable practices for the winemaking industry have been selected and briefly discussed based on international relevant cases. Such practices may contribute to savings in water, energy, raw materials, diminished emissions and waste generation and a more efficient use of personnel time, with benefits for the decrease of business costs, the increase of profit and competitiveness. At the level of the studied Romanian company, due to the current economic and environmental issues, only few of these practices have been applied for the last three years, e.g. : waste monitoring and treatment, soil, plant and pest management, waste minimization, water resources efficiency program, integrated management programmes.