One more year EcoSostenibleWine has been the forum where key issues for the evolution of viticulture considering the new climatic scenario and the conservation of the environment have been discussed.
This year’s edition has verified that the current organic regulation needs to evolve at the same time that the current climate reality. The wine sector asks for more coherence in this sense in order to be proactive in reducing CO2 emissions. Talking about organic viticulture must go hand in hand with considering the CO2 equivalent impact derived from the application of certain phytosanitary products. Moreover, the use of copper must be revised to find less toxic alternatives or to reduce its doses.
Conventional and organic agriculture have also been discussed, comparing both production systems in terms of CO2 emissions. A part from that, different talks highlighted some of the investments that wineries could implement to improve their carbon footprint.
On the other hand, the use of copper in vineyards has been questioned; some of the presentations explored how to reduce its doses and the use of products which could replace it.
Specific conclusions in ESW2016:
- One of the main challenges of organic farming is to eliminate or to reduce the use of copper
- The best results in terms of environmental impact and CO2 emissions are obtained combining the best practices of conventional and organic farming
- It is important to look for alternatives to the application of phytosanitary products in organic vineyards to reduce CO2 emissions
- To combat climate change wineries should perform Life Cycle Analysis models to reduce its CO2 impact
- Investments in wineries to reduce carbon footprint are economically viable
At this point, it has been discussed how a new legal framework could be created to incorporate such important aspects as CO2 emissions and limitations in the use of copper, since the current legislation does not consider them; moreover, how the wine sector must take up the challenge of leading these changes.
EcoSostenibleWine 2016 has been organised by VIMAC (Vineyard, Environment and Consumer Foundation) and the trade associations Associació Vinícola Catalana (Catalan Wine Association) and the Institut del Cava (Cava Institute) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Food and Environment of the Generalitat de Catalunya INCAVI (Catalan Wine and Vine Institute).