Wine, Glass, and Scope 3: Inside Spottswoode Estate's Carbon Journey

Molly Sheppard is VP of Winery Strategies at Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery in Napa Valley — a 37-acre, 20-person estate with one of the most rigorous sustainability programs in American wine. In her role, Molly oversees everything from winemaking to hospitality, direct sales, and sustainability — including six years of IWCA-verified Scopes 1–3 greenhouse gas inventories. In this episode, Molly takes us inside what carbon accounting looks like at a small but serious operation: how a first inventory can reveal a Scope 3 hotspot you can actually do something about, why "don't let perfect be the enemy of good" is the most important advice for practitioners struggling with Scope 3 data, and what it really takes to run a credible GHG program without a dedicated sustainability team. Topics include: The glass lightweighting journey that took Spottswoode's estate Cabernet bottle from ~790g to 495g — driven directly by what the numbers revealed Managing the cultural challenge of lightweighting in a luxury wine market where bottle weight equals perceived quality Tools, timing, and practical strategies for running a Scope 3 inventory at a small business Engaging your supply chain: why Scope 3 is hard now and what the future could look like when "your Scope 3 is somebody's Scope 1" Regenerative organic farming, soil carbon sequestration, and what carbon neutrality could eventually mean for an estate like Spottswoode The business case for environmental leadership — from operational cost savings to next-generation consumer loyalty Resources mentioned: International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA): iwcawine.org The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann North Star Carbon & Impact: northstarcarbon.com Connect with Molly Sheppard: Instagram: @mkshep | @spottswoode Website: spottswoode.com This podcast is brought to you by North Star Carbon & Impact, the carbon and sustainability management platform built by sustainability professionals, for sustainability professionals. North Star helps companies simplify GHG accounting, improve data quality, and stay audit ready across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions so teams can spend less time reporting and more time driving real impact.