A guide to sustainability heroes

Team JR

Tuesday 4 August 2020 • 4 min read

Wild flowers in vineyard (Wolfgang Hasselmann - Unsplash)

Below are links to the entries in this year's writing competition that have so far been published. Most recently published at the top.

26 September 2020 Final contribution to the whole caboodle? An overview of sustainability and wine also published in the Financial Times.

24 September 2020 The winners! Two equal winning entries but three winning authors, along with five runners-up, announced today in 2020 writing competition – who won?

23 September 2020 Published today, a thoughtful survey of the entries in this year's competition by external judge Dr Irina Santiago-Brown.

22 September 2020 Details of the 18 shortlisted entries are published here.

17 September 2020 Correction: we will be publishing the last pair of entries not this Saturday but this Sunday 20 September. Then the shortlist on Tuesday 22 September, a long and appreciative article about the entries by external judge, sustainability expert Dr Irina Santiago-Brown, on Wednesday and then we will reveal the final result on Thursday 24 September.

7 September 2020 We very much hope you agree with us that the standard of entries has been exceptionally high this year, and that the subject matter is both heartening and thought-provoking. But if, by any chance, you are feeling rather overwhelmed by all these articles about sustainability, I can assure you that the end is in sight. We plan to continue to publish two a day until Saturday 19 September. Then, we intend to publish a shortlist of the best early the following week and to announce the winner later that week. Drum roll, please …

25 August 2020 Two external judges have been appointed to help us find a winner of this year's competition.

23 August 2020 We have been overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of submissions in this year's competition, particularly in view of the amount of work each entry required. Because so many of them are worth reading, and because we have promised to announce the winner next month, from tomorrow we will be publishing two entries every day. We hope you find them as interesting as we do.

4 August 2020 The competition – deadline 15 August, with a prize worth £380 – is designed to encourage articles about the producers who are making wine in such a way that leaves the smallest possible footprint on the planet and invests in the future.

As Tim Smit, co-founder of The Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, says:

'It is my belief that we stand on the brink of a new agricultural revolution and the answers to the question of local resilience lie at the very heart of our existence and should no longer been seen as no more than a lifestyle choice or political positioning. The ability to change and benefit from this experience is down to us, not some higher body, and perhaps this is about growing up as a species and realising that the future still remains ours to make.'

The competition entries that we have chosen to publish are listed below, the most recent at the top. Note that we have not edited these entries – they have been published, free for everyone to view, as they were sent to us.

Aloïs Lageder, Alto Adige by Jessica Weatherbee 20 September 2020

Ursa Major, Okanagan Valley by Katie Truscott 20 September 2020

Kindeli, Nelson by Chris Howard 19 September 2020

Ch Feely, Bergerac by Caro Feely 19 September 2020

McCall, Long Island by Anna-Lisa Campos 18 September 2020

Ver Sacrum, Mendoza by Lisse Garnett 18 September 2020

Franz Weninger, Burgenland and Sopron II by Katalin Kiszel-Kohari 17 September 2020

Corison, Napa Valley by Chris Struck 17 September 2020

Rodica, Slovenia by Sami-Jo Adelman 16 September 2020

Matthiasson, Napa Valley by Chris Struck 16 September 2020

San Donato, Tuscany by Nicoletta Dicova 15 September 2020

Hirsch, Sonoma Coast by Nicholas Daddona 15 September 2020