Sustainability

Our approach to sustainability

Vinealto is, first and foremost, a digital business. Most of what we make — the Restaurant Guide, the Pairing Library, the Wine Coach, our writing and our podcast — reaches you as words, sound and pictures over the internet, not as objects shipped to your door. That keeps our direct footprint modest, and we intend to keep it that way.

We would rather tell you the honest truth about a small footprint than dress it up as something grander.

Our digital footprint

Running a website and an app uses energy — in data centres and on your own device. We keep our pages light and quick to load, store only the information we genuinely need, and consider sustainability when choosing service providers. A faster, leaner site is better for you and uses less energy; the two goals pull the same way.

The few things we make in the physical world

From time to time we produce physical items such as printed books, window stickers and plaques for member venues, framed certificates, and business cards. Where we do, we prefer recycled or responsibly sourced paper and materials, and work with our print and fulfilment suppliers to minimise environmental impact. We make what is needed, not more.

Choosing who we work with

When we choose the companies behind Vinealto — the people who host our site, print our materials and fulfil our orders — sustainability is one of the things we weigh, alongside quality, reliability and cost. Where a more responsible supplier can do the job well, we would rather work with them.

Wine, food and the natural world

Many of the producers we write about farm organically or biodynamically. We note that plainly, because it is part of how a wine is made and can shape what ends up in your glass. In the same spirit, where climate affects a region, a vintage or a grape, we report it because it is part of the story, never as a campaign.

What we will not do

We will not claim to be greener than we are. We will not buy our way out of our footprint and call the job done. And we will not lecture you. If we make a sustainability claim, we will be able to back it up.