AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Ca ar@s leitoress, No outros tempo os dizia‐se que q “beber vinho v dá de comer a 1 milhão de Portugueses” P ”. Hoje em dia, d o conteexto mu udou, o mundo aumento ou as suas fro onteiras de ttal modo quee já ninguém m se poderá ssentir “orgulh hosamente ssó”, pois estamos numa vibra ante aldeia global em forma f de essfera. No entanto, o vvinho contin nua a ser uma u importantíssim ma fonte de receitas e um u agregad dor de popullações ruraiis, alem de sse ter torna ado num ‘mu ust’ pa ara os princip pais grupos ffinanceiros ee económico os em Portug gal. E n neste banqueete inquietante de recurrsos naturaiss, erguemos a nossa taçça em honra a daqueles q que mais fazzem pa ara garantir o dia de am manhã. Queeremos saber mais sobree os empreeendedores e promotoress que fazem do nosso brinde u um ‘bem haja a’ à Naturezza, reforcem m os nossos o objectivos dee sustentabillidade e noss dêem o pra azer de viver de boa a saúde, num m planeta eq quilibrado e p próspero. Deedicamos en ntão este #4 da AmBioN News ao tem ma ‘Vinho e Biodiversid dade’, onde, entre outro os, brindamo os à Heerdade do Essporão, o no osso ‘case‐sttudy’ nacion nal em desta aque, à ‘Win ne and Biod diversity Inittiative’ dos Sul‐ S Afrricanos, aos Australianos da Yalumb ba, à nova vaga v de vinh hos de Bordééus, aos progressistas Americanos, aos que se preocup pam com o vinho num cenário c de alterações a cllimáticas, ao os que prefeerem sempree uma rolha a de corrtiça, entre vvários outross. Veenha daí, estta ‘rodada’ p pela Naturezza pagamos n nós! Co ordiais sauda ações, Nu uno Oliveira Dirrector Editoria al ‘AmBioNew ws’
No ovidades Am mBioDiv Acconteceu recentementee... Am mBioDiv estevee presente no 'Biodiversity Hotspots ‐ Evvolution and C Conservation',', realizado en ntre 26 a 28 dee Março, no Na ational Museum of Natural History (Luxem mburgo), ond de Nuno Oliveiira fez uma ap presentação o oral sobre 'Biodiversity Actiion Pla ans in Portuga al’s Agroforesstry Business' Am mBioDiv estevee no XIII ENEB B a 7 de Abril, n na Universida ade de Évora… … em dose dup pla: Nuno Olivveira: 'Businesss & Biodiverssity – D Diferentes Estrratégias, Difeerentes Resulttados' e Susan na Santos sob bre 'Seguindo as Pistas da C Criminalística Bio ológica'.Progrrama
Brrevemente.... A A AmBioDiv em p parceria com a Sativa irá reealizar duas a acção de formação sobre 'M Monitorização o e Planos de G Gestão para a a Con nservação da a Biodiversida ade'. Datas e locais: 16 e 17 de Abril ‐ Herdade do Esporão 18 e 19 de Maio ‐ Parque Naccional da Peneeda‐Gerês ações contactte a Sativa atrravés do e‐ma ail sativa.curso o@gmail.com m Parra inscrições ee mais informa
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Am mBioNews ##3 ‐ Índice Casso de Sucesso ‐ Portugal e do Esporão aderiu ao CounttDown 2010 | B Biodiversidade • Herdade • Estratéggia de Biodiverssidade ‐ Esporãão cria vinha‐m museu • Esporão o: “no Douro ire emos concretizzar um desejo aantigo!” Ca aso de Sucesso IInternacional –– ‘Wine & Biodiiversity Initiativve’, África do SSul • Top `gre een` rating for W Wines of SA • CAPE W WINELANDS MA AKE CONSERVATTION HISTORY ‐ CONSERVATION HECTARAG GE EXCEEDS THEE TOTAL VINEY YARD FOOTPRIN NT • ‘Wine & & Biodiversity’ M Members ‐ Speekulasie • ‘Wine & & Biodiversity’ M Members ‐ Fraansche Hoek Esstate • Wine, Biodiversity and d Business Sensse • Red Nosse wines • Wines o of South Africa close behind O Obama when it comes to goingg green Wine & Biodiversity in n Youtube Casso de Sucesso In nternacional – Bordéus • Buildingg biodiversity b back into the wine business • Caso de Sucesso Intern nacional – Austtrália • Adelaide e Hills' green ggrowers • "Yalumb ba awarded Intternational Gre een Apple Award for Environm mental Best Praactice in an aw wards ceremonyy held in the UK" • FIVE STA ARS to Yalumbaa Organic Viognier 2007 ‐ 'gen nuine poise and d finesse' • EPA Hon nors Conservattion Efforts at A Australia's Yalu umba Wine Com mpany Casso de Sucesso In nternacional – Estados Unido os • Local W Wildlife Diversityy ‐ Biodynamicss® and Biodiversity • WINE IN NDUSTRY DIREC CTLY FEELING IMPACT OF WA ATER, SALAMAN NDER PROTECTTIONS • Vineyards struggle to m meet carbon ne eutral pledge Vin nho, Biodiversid dade e Alteraçõ ões Climáticas • Carbon Sequestration in Vineyard So oils • Peter Scchmidt on Terro oir, Biodiversityy, and Biochar • The clim mate farmer wh ho grows a meaan pinot • WINE ‐ M Meltdown in yo our wineglass?? • Merlot ffrom Yorkshire e, Hampshire to oo hot to make e wine: expert'ss prediction forr 2080 • Viticultu ure may have to shift north, ssays academic. Climate in southern UK could d be suited to rraisins Vin nho, Biodiversid dade & ‘Lifestylle’ • Ethical living ‐ Is it OK ... to drink wine? • Sting to sell wine from m his vineyard • Wine grreenwash ‐ Doe es being green make better w wine, or just bettter bragging rights? Vin nho, Cortiça & B Biodiversidade • www.pe eticao.ecologiccalcork.com • Will Scre ew Cap Wines Destroy Biodivversity? • Bio‐Dive ersity Champio on Graham Beckk adopts Amorim FSC natural corks • Cork ReHarvest Prograam Launch
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Ca aso de Sucessso Naciona al – Herdad de do Esporrão http://www.biologicaonline.com/pt/indexx.php?option n=com_noticiias&task=dettalhe&id=118 8&Itemid=15 53
He erdade do o Esporão aderiu ao o CountDo own 2010 | Biodivers sidade Évvora | Reguen ngos de Mon nsaraz As ssunto: Biod diversidade Fo onte: Hiper Super S A Herdade H do Esporão ade eriu recentem mente ao CountDown 2010 (www.cou untdown2010 0.net), de forrma a dar seg guimento ao o seu compro omisso de prrotecção e de efesa da biod diversidade. A actividade e mundial vis sa deter a pe erda da bio odiversidade a nível locall, nacional, re egional e glo obal. A iniciativa vai responsabiliizar a Herdad de do Esporã ão por cump prir as acçõess necessária as para exting guir ou dimin nuir consideravelme ente o extravvio da biodivversidade até é ao ano de 2010. 2 Do me esmo modo, a empresa fo ortalece o compromisso com c a socied dade, afirman ndo o seu essforço para a preservação e protecçã ão do ambien nte. A rede r CountD Down 2010 fo oi criada com m o objectivo de “encoraja ar e apoiar a implementa ação plena de e todas as dirrectrizes internacionais em vigência e das acçõess necessárias s para salvarr a biodiversidade, demo onstrar ine equivocamen nte quais os progressos que q os paíse es estão a faz zer para ir de e encontro a aos objectivos de 2010 pa ara a bio odiversidade, assim como o obter o má áximo de atenção pública a para o desa afio de salva ar a biodivers sidade em 20 010″. O projecto conta hoje com mais de 600 0 parceiros em todo o mu undo. Ac cções a dese envolver pe ela Herdade do Esporão o: * Definir D um có ódigo de boass práticas pa ara a vitiviniccultura, olivicultura e flore esta com o in ntuito de pote enciar a bio odiversidade e minimizar a erosão do o solo, com uma u gestão apropriada a das zonas; * In niciar um pro ocesso de avvaliação e mo onitorização da biodivers sidade sob a forma de um m Plano de Acção de Co onservação (desenvolvvido pela Am mBioDiv – Valor V Natura al) , engloba ando a totalid dade da Herd dade do Esporão (ap proximadame ente 1.800 Ha), H com esp pecial relevo para a intera acção entre culturas c e ha abitats; * Fomentar F a cultura c de um m leque alarg gado de varie edades gené éticas originais de castas de vinha e de d olival, pro otegendo asssim a viabilid dade destas plantas e da as variedades s e castas re egionais; * Fomentar F o desenvolvime d ento de uma floresta biod diversa e mu ultifuncional, constituída e essencialmen nte por espé écies autóctones; * Desenvolver D e comunicarr estratégias de valorizaçção e promoç ção dos seuss produtos (vvinho e azeite) com base e na eficcácia das prá áticas pró-biodiversidade e em curso; estratégias e serviços de * Desenvolver D e turismo rurral e de ecotu urismo que valorizem v oe enquadramen nto da gestão próbio odiversidade. http://209.85.22 29.132/searcch?q=cache::SmDzxP1aZ ZqkJ:aeiou.s semanal.exprresso.pt/2cad derno/econo omia/artigo.assp%3 Fe edition%3D18 861%26articleid%3DES2 295310+jo%C C3%A3o+roq quette+biodiversidade&ccd=9&hl=pt-P PT&ct=clnk& &gl=pt
Es stratégia de d Biodive ersidade - Esporão cria vinha a-museu Jo oão Roque ette quer fomentar f b biodiversi idade e en ntrar no vinho e agrricultura biológicos b A integração do o ecoturismo o no enoturissmo, levando o as pessoas s para fora, é uma das esstratégias da a Herdade do o Essporão. A criação c de um ma vinha-mu useu com ca astas tradicionais, experiê ências com vinho v e agricultura biológicos são algumas das faces maiss visíveis da estratégia de e biodiversid dade adoptad da pela Finag gra na Herda ade do Esporão. A empresa e foii a primeira do sector dos d vinhos a nível mund dial a aderirr ao Countdo own 2010, uma u iniciativ va cujo objectivo o é parar a perda p de bio odiversidade e a nível loc cal, nacionall, regional e global. “Va amos replantar 25 hectarres para faze er uma vinha a museu de castas c nativa as portuguessas e alenteja anas com ma ais de um m clone. Seria a uma pena perder o DN NA da região””, diz o CEO (Chief Execcutive Officerr) da Herdade e do Esporão o, Joã ão Roquette. Moreto, Ca astelão, Corro opio, Rabo de d Ovelha, Diegalves D e Perrum P são a algumas das castas que estão e em m estudo para a plantar na vinha-museu u. A mudançça na liderança da empre esa, onde Joã ão Roquette sucedeu a seu s pai, José, não é alheia a um ma maior pre eocupação pelo p ambiente e. “Os temass ambientais sempre fora am para mim m muito pró óximos”, acre escentou Joã ão Roquette.
“F Formámos uma equip pa multidisc ciplinar com biólogos s e arquitectos paisagistas, parra assegura ar um ma boa ges stão da bio odiversidad de”, explica a o respons sável da se egunda ma aior empres sa do secto or em
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
va alor de vend das (34,5 milhões m de euros em 2007, o que correspo onde a 12 m milhões de garrafas). Qu uanto ao in nvestimento, “é baixo o. É pagar o trabalho da equipa de biólogo os (NOTA: Equipa da Am mBioDiv – Valor V Natu ural)”. “Esstamos a ten ntar descobriir outras casttas que melh hor se adapte em à região””, acrescento ou. Há també ém cinco hecctares para experiênccia com vinho o biológico com castas mais m resistenttes.Roquette e lembra que e as castas mais m resisten ntes para agricultura a biológica em e Portugal não n têm gran nde valor enológico, ao contrário c do q que se passa a em França a. De efender o olivval Co om 100 hecta ares de olival, João Roqu uette vai desafectar cinco o para experiências bioló ógicas. Lemb bra que Portu ugal pro oduz entre 40 0 e 45 mil toneladas, exp porta 25 mil e consome 65 6 mil toneladas, e daí a necessidade e de comprar mu uito azeite no o estrangeiro o. “A variedad de mais fácill de plantar em e todo o mu undo é a Arb bequina, de que q há milha ares de ha em Portu ugal entre oss quais os últtimos 10 mil plantados no o Alentejo”, afirmou. a Se egundo o responsável, ass castas nacionais galega a e cordovil são s um “pesadelo” para os agricultorres, uma vezz que são o bastante susceptíveis a pragas e alterações a climáticas. E há h risco dos olivais o serem m abandonad dos e replanttados com castas que e não são na acionais, alertou. “Neste compromiss so, plantámos três variedades: Galega Cobrançossa e Ara abequina”, disse, acrescentando que e existem ma ais 50 hectares de Coroneki, Cordovil e Verdeal (esta última com c denominação de d origem co ontrolada). Joã ão Roquette salienta ainda o investim mento na req qualificação da d área florestal e permittir que alguém com impactos negativos plantte em área ardida. a Neste e âmbito, a empresa e Parq que Alqueva arrancou se eis mil azinhe eiras que vão o ser rep plantadas no o Esporão. In ntegrar o pote encial do eco oturismo no enoturismo é outro dos a aspectos da estratégia adoptada. Por ano, passam m cerca de 25 mil visitanttes pelo Esporão, “vamoss levar o eno oturismo mais para fora, à vin nha, à barrag gems, à Ribe eira da Carida ade e criar uma u oferta de e ecoturismo o”. Salienta q que a equipa de biólogos encontrou já cinco tipos de orquídeas, algumas a esp pécies de borboletas e pe eixes diferen ntes dos regis stados na Re egião. Qu uanto à floressta, a Finagrra está a preparar a certifficação da árrea, que uma a vez obtida,, também lhe e permitirá ve ender ma adeira de aziinheira e o porco preto a preços maiss elevados. “Todas estass questões tê êm um suporrte técnico fo orte o que vai resultar num plano de conserva ação e requa alificação”, sintetizou. He elder C. Marttins Co ountdown 2010 Priimeira empre esa de vinho o a nível mun ndial a aderirr ao Countdo own 2010, a Herdade H do Esporão com mpromete-se ea asssumir, a todo os os níveis, as acções necessárias n p para travar ou o reduzir sig gnificativame ente a perda da bio odiversidade até ao ano o de 2010. Jo oão Roquette e salienta a adopção a de um código de boas prátic cas para a vitiicultura, olivicultura e florresta com o intuito de potenciar a bio odiversidade e e minimiza ar a erosão do solo. O compromisso prevê p também m o fomento o da cultura de d um leque alargado de variedades genéticas orriginais - sem m variedades gen neticamente modificadass - na vinha e do olival, O objectivo é proteger a vviabilidade de estas plantass e das variedadess e castas re egionais. “Altterámos a missão da Finagra, para p integra ar a susten ntabilidade”,
afiirmou. “Qu ueremos mobilizar tod da a gente,, desde a administraç a ção até ao pastor de ovelhas”, o ac crescentou. No aspec cto ecológic co “deixám mos também de contrrolar os pre edadores”,, notou. O CEO C da Herdade do o Esporão sa alientou a asssinatura no final de 2007 de um mem morando de e entendimento o com o Instituto de Conservaçã ão da Nature eza e da Biod diversidade e, no âmbito da d iniciativa Business&B Biodiversity. “O melhor exxemplo é o tratamento da barragem m com produ utos naturais e diminuirmos o investim mento necessário em filtrros para limp par a água”.
http://www.revistadevinhos.iol.pt/artigo9 94Esspor%C3%A3 3o_%E2%80 0%9Cno_Douro_iremos_ _concretizar_ _um_desejo_ _antigo!%E2 2%80%9D
En ntrevista com c João Roquette e David Baverstoc B k, do Esporão Es sporão: “n no Douro iremos co oncretizar um desejo antigo!””
Texto de d João Paulo Martins e João Geirinh has Fotos de e Alexandre M Marques 11-02-2009 16:52:04
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 A recente r aquissição da Quiinta dos Murrças, entre a Régua e o Pinhão, P foi o pretexto parra este diálog go com João o Ro oquette e Davvid Baversto ock, respectivvamente adm ministrador e enólogo do Esporão. Esste “regresso” ao Douro parece p estar a galvanizarr toda a equipa uma vez que a quinta a tem imensa as possibilida ades que vão do vinho ao azeite e e…”aquelass laranjas sã ão extraordinárias”, confe essa João Ro oquette. e onde vem esse interes sse pelo Do ouro? De Joã ão Roquette - O apetite pela p região remonta r já ao o tempo do arranque a do projecto do C Crasto, início o dos anos 90. 9 A parceria inicial do meu pai José com o meu tio Jorg ge e com o David D Baversstock, que lá esteve cerca a de sete ano os, aca abou por deiixar um bichiinho que, me esmo após a decisão de ir cada um para p seu projjecto, se manteve. A von ntade de fazer vinhoss no Douro re eacendeu-se e há ano e meio, m à medid da que o projjecto do Esp porão estava cada vez mais consolidado e maduro. Ach hámos que estava e na altu ura de dar um m passo para outras regiões e o Dou uro era o desstino natural. Da avid Baversto ock – Os ano os 90 foram de d grande exxplosão, com m o projecto do d Crasto e também com m a consolida ação do Esporão. Aq qui no Alente ejo continuam mos a subir mas m agora de uma forma a consolidada a e não tanto o como até aqui. a É altura de olhar para outros projectos. Sa abemos que esta não fo oi a vossa prrimeira tentativa de enttrar no Dourro já que chegaram a po onderar a co ompra da quinta do Ven ntozelo. Falh hado esse negócio, Murrças foi de imediato a v vossa escolh ha ou houve e uma bu usca de quin ntas na regiã ão? Joã ão Roquette - Começám mos a procura ar uma quinta a no final de 2006, princíípio de 2007 e fartámo-no os de palmilh har o Do ouro. Encontrrámos muita coisa mas muitas m vezess com dimens sões abaixo dos 20 ha, o que não no os interessavva. Ha avia muita ofe erta de coisa as pequenass e Murças ficca num meio o-termo que nos n pareceu a opção cerrta. Tem boa a loccalização e, principalmen p nte, adapta-sse ao nosso projecto. p Que eríamos uma a quinta, não o queríamos uma empressa. Co omprar uma empresa e no Douro seria para nós um ma coisa estrranha uma ve ez que gosta amos de faze er as coisas desde o princípio. p Murças é uma quinta q conhe ecida mas ass marcas não o estavam tra abalhadas e isso dava-nos espaço de ma anobra. Aquilo que já aprrendemos no o Alentejo po oderá ser útil para outras regiões. A localização l foi importan nte? Da avid Baversto ock - Sim, a opção o princip pal era ser Cima C Corgo e não Douro Superior. Po oderia ser um m pouco maiis para cim ma mas não havia muito mais escolha a. Acho que já há bastan ntes vinhos do d Douro à m moda de Rob bert Parker mas m nós estamos apostados em m fazer vinho os mais elega antes. Em Murças é posssível essa elegância tiran ndo partido de d zonas ficam qu uase a 400 m de latitude.. Reconheço o que há 20 anos a não pen nsava assim m, apostaria ta alvez mais no n rio To orto mas agora preferimos complexida ade, elegânccia e finura, vinhos v com 13,5º, 1 com persistência e a quinta tem m condições para a isso, com muitas m expossições e com m 3,5 km de frente f de rio. Tem vinhass velhas nos altos e mais junto ao Douro, tudo o letra A. Este e ano fizemo os 200 000 quilos q de uva a na vindima mas os rend dimentos são o muito baixo os, de 4 toneladas po or ha. Vamoss focar-nos essencialmen nte nos vinho os DOC Dourro e menos n no Porto. Esttou mesmo convencido que e estamos no sítio certo uma vez que e, com o aqu uecimento global, pode sser vantajoso o estar numa a zona não tão quente e como o Dou uro Superiorr. Vã ão fazer um Esporão Do ouro ou cria ar marcas prróprias? Joã ão Roquette – Podemos informar em m primeira mã ão que, no in nício deste ano, vamos m mudar o nome social de Fin nagra para Esporão, E uma a vez que é este e o nome pelo qual so omos identificcados. Esse nome passa ará a constarr sempre nos no ossos vinhos mas vamos respeitar o nome n Quinta a dos Murçass. A quinta te em stocks de e Vinho do Porto e por isso vamoss manter o ta awny 10 anoss que existe e há também m um bom viinho que pod derá ser um vintage 2007 7. A estratégia e v ser seme vai elhante ao Alentejo, A ter vinhos em todas t as ga amas ou apo ostam apena as num segmento? Joã ão Roquette - O Douro te em potenciall para fazer vinhos v de gra ande qualida ade e por issso, apesar de e vir a existir uma seg gmentação ela e nunca se erá tão grand de como a do o Alentejo. Vamos aposta ar nas gamass média e altta. Co omo vai ser o calendário dos trabalhos? O que e é que é prrioritário? Joã ão Roquette - Vamos começar pela vinha, v entreg gámos hoje um u projecto de d reestruturração para te er acesso ao o pro ograma Vitis. Temos 60 ha h instaladoss mas vamoss plantar uma parte nova a, numa zona a de olival qu ue não nos parece p mu uito interessa ante manter. Em 2009 temos planos para plantar 20 ha, sobre etudo Tourig ga Nacional que q a quinta não tem m. E depois é a adega… Da avid Baversto ock – A adeg ga é clássica a, tem lagaress, funciona em e andares para p poder u usufruir da grravidade, tem m autovinificadore es. As melho ores uvas da as vinhas velhas foram fe eitas nos laga ares e funcio onou muito bem; b a outra me etade das uvvas foi feita nas n cubas. Ve erificou-se que há ali Tin nta Roriz de qualidade q divversa, algum ma muito mal pla antada que irrá ser arranccada. De restto a quinta te em também muita m Tourig ga Franca e B Barroca. As vinhas v velha as
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 pla antadas a 30 00 m (só 2,5 ha), têm cercca de 80 ano os e com cas stas misturad das; o melho or vinho veio daí. Mais jun nto ao rio há também uma vinha com c cerca de e 40 anos, ta ambém muito o interessantte. Eu estive lá no primeiro dia de vindima e fiquei f logo muito impressionado com o que estava a a entrar no os lagares, uma intensida ade de cor e aroma fan ntásticos. Pe ensei, pronto, estou de vo olta ao Douro o. No dia seg guinte começçou a choverr mas felizme ente foi só um m dia e não n afectou as a uvas. Vam mos manter os o lagares e vamos melh horar o sistem ma de frio. V Vamos ver se e temos já qualidade para a arrancar co om as nossass marcas com m esta vindim ma. q tem casa c habitáv vel? A quinta Joã ão Roquette - Tem casa,, habitável, como c a vinha a (risos). Vam mos usá-la muito m para ussufruto da em mpresa e do negócio. Fica mesmo m de fre ente para o restaurante r D DOC, situado o na outra margem. m A ca asa é do séc.. XIX e há também um m convento do início do mesmo m século que está em e ruínas ma as tem 1200 m de área a cobrir (agorra está a descoberto…). Tem muitass possibilidad des. Ainda nã ão temos um m historial da a quinta, está á pouco docu umentada, sabemos que pertenceu p à Tait T (transpo ortadores) e depois d à fam mília Pinto de e Azevedo, desde 1920, que q dimensio onou a adega a para um u projecto em e grande que acabou por p não se re ealizar. Pa assando parra o Alentejo o: vai haver novidades no Esporão o? Da avid Baversto ock – Vai havver alteraçõe es nos nosso os vinhos varrietais. O nossso conceito o de monocas stas, que foi ino ovador, é usa ado como ca artão de visita a; fazemos de d 15 a 20 00 00 litros de cada, c mas a verdade é qu ue, com algu umas exccepções, nunca foi comp pletamente bem b recebido o quer pela im mprensa que er mesmo em m concursos.. Eram semp pre bons vinhos ma as não eram m “grandes” vinhos. v O novvo conceito, que vamos introduzir i ap partir de 2007 – em 2006 6 não gostámos e só fizemos Tou uriga Nacional – será fazzer apenas 5000 litros de e cada, mas ssó das casta as que se mo ostrarem melhores. Vamo os apostar em vinhos de e altíssima qu ualidade, daq queles que ssão mesmo para p se falar deles, asssim como va amos mudar os rótulos e as garrafas. Vai ser uma a nova apostta. Nos branccos vamos continuar c só com c o Ve erdelho, não temos outrass, por enqua anto. Se o Sé émillon passa ar a ser auto orizada pode ser também m uma opção no futuro. Não tem mos muito An ntão Vaz no Esporão mas já plantámos bastante e vai haver. Estes vinhos s passarão a posicionar-se entre e o Esporão Reserva a e o Private Selection. No caso do vinho Torre do o Esporão é verdade que e aca abou por serr pouco falad do porque também era um ma quantidade muito peq quena e muito foi para o Brasil mas voltará v a haver h em 200 07. No o Alentejo, qual q é a castta que vos parece p originar vinhos de mais lon nga guarda? ? Da avid Baversto ock – Alicantte Bouschet, sem dúvida e talvez Syrrah. Quando o Aragonês é bom acho o que é melho or que Syyrah mas tem m muitas variações anuais; 2007 e 20 008 foram bo ons para o Arragonês e maus para a Trincadeira, T q que me e parece que e é uma varie edade com os o dias conta ados. Temos esta casta de d muitos forrnecedores e nunca nos parece uma gra ande casta. A Touriga Nacional no Alentejo A é bem m diferente do d Douro e a aqui não marrca tanto com m os aro omas florais que lhe são característiccos. Joã ão Roquette – Eu aprend di com as pe essoas que aqui a trabalham há muitos anos que o gosto pelas castas vai mu udando com o tempo mas achamos que q devemoss preservar o património que conhecemos e por isso i uma dass vin nhas que vam mos plantar este e ano terá á o encepam mento comple etamente clássico, mesm mo sabendo que q Moreto ou o o Ca astelão não correspondem c m ao que queremos. Há um patrimón nio genético que tem de sser preserva ado e assim serão s 5 ha h de tinto e 5 de branco e funcionará á como campo ampelogrráfico. Quem m sabe daqui a 10 anos não vai ser importante ter ali a aquelas variedades. v E com o aque ecimento glo obal, é melho or não ter certezas absolutas sobre o que se deve ou não o plantar. Ex xiste alguma a abordagem m à agricultu ura biológic ca? Joã ão Roquette – Sim, assin námos um Protocolo P com m Instituto Na acional de Conservação da Natureza a sobre bio odiversidade que tem várrias compone entes mas que nos levam m a uma grad dual aproxim mação de mé étodos orgânicos de trabalhar a vinha v semprre com os cuidados nece essários porq que tem um impacto óbvio no nosso negócio. n Mass esttamos cada vez mais enttusiasmadoss e já começá ámos a fazer alguns testtes de agricu ultura orgânic ca e isso tem m entusiasmado a equipa téccnica. Podere emos caminh har até no se entido de um ma agricultura a biodinâmica a. Da avid Baversto ock – Estou entusiasmad e do mas temos de entrar no n assunto com calma atté porque ain nda não há muitos m gra andes vinhoss no Mundo feitos f neste método. E a vertente do d azeite, é para p desenv volver? Cla aramente. No o princípio de 2009 have erá uma nova a gama de az zeites, com nova n embala agem e nova a apresentação e no Douro, tiran ndo partido do olival orgâ ânico e do lag gar de azeite e, vamos tam mbém avança ar. No Alente ejo, plantámo os 90 om Cobranço osa, Galega e Verdial; temos planos para plantar mais algum olival mas estou e a ver ta anto ha de olival, co olivval a ser plan ntado…Vam mos ver como o estas varied dades se com mportam e depois d logo sse decide se se avança ou o não. De eixámos os queijos q porqu ue não era de e todo um ne egócio comp pensador ma as na criação o de porco preto p estam mos a
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R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 pe ensar aposta ar, recupera ando uma árrea de azinh heiras que te emos na herrdade, procu urando a ce ertificação da d bo olota (o que é possível e dá uma va alor acresce entado ao prroduto). Isso o correspon nde também m à diversific cação qu ue queremos s em termos s de enoturismo.
Ca aso de Sucessso Interna acional – ‘W Wine & Biodiiversity Inittiative’, Áfriica do Sul htttp://mathaba a.net/news/? ?x=617171
To op `green` rating forr Wines off SA Po osted: 2009/0 02/09 Fro om: MNN A major m interna ational trade journal with a global read dership has rated Wines of South Afrrica (WOSA)) one of the world`s w mo ost influential beverage organisations o s in building public p awareness of the environment e . WO OSA was listted in fifth po osition, just behind b US Prresident Bara ack Obama (in ( fourth), bu ut ahead of any a other nattional win ne marketing g body, on itss Green List by The Drinkks Business, a specialist beverage pu ublication witth an interna ational circculation amo ongst key decision makerrs in the beve erage industtry. The Green Listt, published in i January, id dentifies the 50 most influ uential drinkss companiess, individuals and organissations wh ho have made caring for the t environm ment their prio ority by focus sing on such h issues as re enewable en nergy, reducing the use e of water, measuring m ca arbon emissio ons and addressing pack kaging. It highlights how ""even in the midst of an eco onomic crisiss, the drinks industry con ntinues to pricck conscienc ces and have e a strong en nvironmental influence ovver ma any consume ers". The first three positions p on the Green List L were take en by multina ational retail giants Tesco o, Carrefour and Wal-Ma art resspectively. Un nique position ning WO OSA CEO Su Birch said the acknowledgement off South Africa's role in prromoting besst-practice in sustainable wine pro oduction wass helping to still s further ad dvance the country's c uniq que positioning as a prod ducer of high hly varied win nes and wine styless in a way that celebratess and protects its uniquely abundant biodiversity. The Drinks Bussiness praise ed WOSA forr its involvem ment in the partnership be etween the w wine industry y and the conservation se ector in minimising furthe er loss of thre eatened natu ural habitat, which w had "ccontributed to o sustainable e wine pro oduction thro ough the ado option of biod diversity guidelines", and identified the e Integrated Production of o wine (IPW W) wh hich focused on "every stage in the prroduction pro ocess from environmenta e al impact stud dies and the correct pre eparation of soil s to the usse of recyclab ble packagin ng". "In n the present economic climate, in wh hich consume ers are more e circumspecct when spen nding their mo oney, they are see eking not only outstandin ng value, which South Africa is able to o offer acrosss all pricing segments an nd a wealth of o styyles, but also o an affirmation of producction integrityy," Birch said d. Sh he said South h Africa's eco o-sustainable e wine produ uction standa ards were reg garded as the most progrressive in the e wine wo orld. "That we e are in the company c of the t world's most m powerful retail chains, who are a able to exerciise significan nt influence, as well w as the ne ew and highlyy popular pre esident of the e United Stattes, makes u us feel extrem mely proud." Birrch added tha at the countrry's Variety Iss In Our Natu ure marketin ng strategy, which w had se erved to set itt apart from its competitors, ha ad played an n important ro ole in building South Afric ca's global fo ootprint. Exxport growth So outh Africa is now the fasttest-growing supplier of wines w to the UK market, with w a 22% yyear-on-yearr volume incrrease, acccording to re ecent AC Nie elsen data, sh he said. The country occupied fifth po osition by vollume with a 10% share of o the UK K market, which had rece ently been ide entified in a Vinexpo-com V mmissioned study s as the world's large est consumer of imported wine with 1.6-billio on bottles pu urchased in 2007. 2 Exxports to Germany, the Netherlands and a Scandina avia had also o shown subsstantial grow wth. South Affrica is now th he fro ont-ranking New N World player in Germ many, Holland and Swede en. While final figures are e still awaited d from SA Wine W Infformation Sysstems (SAW WIS), it is estim mated that more m than 40 00-million litre es of wine lefft South Afric ca's shores in n 2008. "Ea arlier this decade we set ourselves a goal of achieving annual exports of 300-million 3 litres a year by b 2010, a levvel we ma anaged to rea ach in 2007," Birch said. "Now we co ontinue to build our intern national prese ence in estab blished and newer n ma arkets, such as Africa, Ea astern Europ pe and parts of Asia."
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R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 Bio odiversity and Wine Initia ative Birrch also lauded the role of o the Biodive ersity and Wine Initiative (BWI) in pro omoting and protecting biodiversity wiithin the e Cape Flora al Kingdom, where w over 95% 9 of the co ountry's wine es originate. "In n less than fo our years, loccal wine prod ducers, under the auspice es of the BW WI, have set a aside 112 550 hectares fo or lon ng-term consservation - sig gnificantly more m than the e total nationa al vineyard of o 102 000 he ectares, and new membe ers are committing to the t project on n an ongoing g basis." So outh Africa is the ninth big ggest wine producer in th he world, with h 101 957 he ectares cultivvated to vine, representin ng 3% of global output WW WFV SOUTH H AFRICA For re Pre ess Release elease: Imme ediate CA APE WINELA ANDS MAKE E CONSERV VATION HISTORY - CON NSERVATIO ON HECTAR RAGE EXCEE EDS THE TO OTAL VIN NEYARD FO OOTPRINT In less than 4 years, y the So outh African wine w industryy has succee eded in settin ng more area a aside for lo ong term conservation th han is curren ntly planted under u vineyard, through the auspices of the Biodivversity and Wine W Initiative e (BW WI). Wine prroducers who o have comm mitted valuab ble remaining g natural area as to the BW WI have succe eeded in settting aside more tha an 103,000 hectares to un nderpin the long term sus stainability and integrity o of the Cape winelands. w S South Afrrica is leading the world in the conserrvation of bio odiversity within the vineyyard landscapes with a co onservation foo otprint that no ow matches the total are ea under vine eyards! This illustrates the e South Africcan wine industry’s commitment to o protecting th heir unique natural n herita age, with an additional he ectare under conservation for every hectare h of vine planted within the South S African wine industry. So outh Africa is the 9th bigg gest wine pro oducer in the world with 101 957 hectares cultivate ed to vine, re epresenting 3% 3 of glo obal output. Mo ost of the cou untry’s wine-growing – almost 95% - takes place in the Cape Floral Kingdo om (CFK), th he richest an nd also the e smallest pla ant kingdom on the plane et. The CFK K is home to more m than 10 0000 plant species, more e than found in the entire Northern n Hemisphere e. Recognizzed both as a global biod diversity hotsspot and a W World Heritage site, it has come under increasin ng threat from m agriculture e, urban deve elopment and invasive allien species. In 2004, faced with just 4% % of the CFK’s unique ren nosterveld remaining and much of its lowland fynb bos ecosyste ems under threat, th he wine industry developed a conservvation partne ership with th he Botanical Society of South Africa, Co onservation International and the The e Green Trust, which led to t the establishment of th he BWI. Wid dely praised as a pio oneering parttnership betw ween the cou untry’s wine industry and conservation sector, its mandate is not n confined to pro otecting natu ural habitat. Itt also encourages wine producers p to farm sustain nably and express the ad dvantages of the Ca ape’s abunda ant diversity in i their winess. The initiative’s success will be showcassed at the CA APE WINE 2008 2 event, currently c underway at the e Cape Town n International Convention Centre, 23 – 25 2 Septembe er 2008. The industry will highlight ho ow the BWI has succeede ed in bringing togeth her the heavyyweight corporates, manyy of the co-operative wineries as welll as boutique e and garagisste pro oducers in a unified thrusst to protect what w is considered the co ountry’s mosst compelling competitive advantage. The abundant biodiiversity make es it possible e to create a wide variety of wine style es Un nderscoring this t positionin ng, South Affrica’s generic wine marketing body, Wines W of Sou uth Africa (W WOSA), is run nning a campaign c en ntitled “Varietty is in our Na ature”, highlighted in abo ove and below w-the-line marketing cam mpaigns, particularly in the UK, the country’s c bigg gest export destination. d Sa ays BWI proje ect co-ordina ator Inge Kottzé: “We are enormously encouraged d by the indusstry’s commitment to long g term conservation of this unique region. There is a widesspread suppo ort to preservving the land d, which form ms a central part p of So outh African culture c and id dentity. Grow wers are also o farming in ways that arre more in ha armony with nature”. To o date, the BW WI has a tota al of 129 mem mbers, thirte een of whom have been accorded a cha ampionship status s for excceeding the demands se et out in the BWI B guideline es. Both gro oups include some of the country’s most respecte ed pro oducers who o have earned internation nal acclaim fo or their wines s on leading shows and a amongst prominent criticss. Ko otzé says ma any producers have made e biodiversityy a core featu ure of their marketing m cam mpaigns and d are embraccing the e advantagess it offers to promote p wine tourism. “S Several prod ducers have opened up b biodiversity walks w and info ormation cen ntres on theirr farms, whilsst neighbourring wineries collaborate to create reg gional biodive ersity trails. Da arling, less th han an hour'ss drive from Cape C Town, is the first wine w producin ng district to b be awarded membership p sta atus by the Biodiversity B W Wine Initiative e (BWI) with all individual farms, as well w as Darling Cellars, ac chieving
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 acccreditation. Desk D top research indicates that this is a world-wiide first with no similar acchievement elsewhere e in n the win ne producing g world. Ing ge Kotze from m the BWI exxplains "Thiss exemplary wine w district encapsulate es BWI's centtral philosophy of conserrvation and continual improvementt of all aspeccts of environ nmental management on the farm. With the guida ance and sup pport of Darling Tourrism, they are e making an enormouslyy valuable contribution to the conserva ation of some of South Africa’s A mo ost highly thrreatened hab bitats". Wh hilst the Gree en Mountain Eco-Route in i the Grabouw-Elgin reg gion continue es to showca ase their natu ural splendou ur and unique biodiversity featuress in another world w first, a Biodiversity Wine Route e. Participatin ng BWI members and cha ampions in this region ha ave recently launched the eir “Take a Hike” H 5 day hiking trail aro ound the Gro oenlandberg mo ountain, a hikking trail thatt takes you up u close and personal witth nature meandering thrrough the nattural areas on o BWI me embers estattes with overrnight accom modation provvided on thes se farms. Ea arlier this yea ar the BWI re eleased its long awaited la abel. The lab bel, which wiill be displaye ed prominen ntly on the fro ont of the e bottle, featu ures a sugarr bird on a prrotea, servess to identify and a endorse wines w which have been produced p in acccordance witth BWI’s con nservation requirements. Acccording to In nge Kotze, BW WI project co oordinator “B By supporting g the BWI me embers displaying this la abel, you will be ma aking a signifficant contrib bution to the long term co onservation of o critical natu ural habitats and species s in the Westtern Ca ape wineland ds.” Fo or Further Info ormation please see: ww ww.bwi.co.za or contact: Ing ge Kotze, BW WI Te el: (021) 888 2813 Ce ell: (083) 712 2 1452 Em mail: ikotze@ @wwf.org.za http://www.bwi.co.za/memb bers/memberr.asp?Memb berID=142
‘W Wine & Bio odiversity’ Members s - Speku ulasie Biodiversity highlights: Area conserrved – 12ha. B Johan and Lin nza are very passionate about conservation and are a committe ed to conservve the 12 hectares of crittically endangered Swartland S Grranite Bulb veld. v They strrive to, with the t assistancce and recom mmendations s from BWI to o manage th his natural arrea according g to the BWI biodiversity guidelines. Jo ohan Louw purchased the e farm Speku ulasie in 198 84. Although vines were already a plantted since 196 64, the farm was un ninhabited for more than 50 years. Jo ohan and Linza are very passionate p a about conserrvation and are a committed d to conserve the 12 hec ctares of criticcally en ndangered Swartland Gra anite Bulb ve eld. They strive to, with th he assistance e and recommendations from BWI to ma anage this natural area according a to the BWI biod diversity guid delines. Co onservation actions a execcuted, -T The natural area is only grazed at certtain times of the year and d animal num mbers are strrictly controlle ed to preven nt ovvergrazing -M Most of the alien vegetatio on (Pines an nd Port Jacks son) have be een eradicate ed and cleare ed areas are e follow up on a regular basis. Owl boxess have been erected to get g owl popullation back. N No hunting is s allowed and fauna such as duiker, steenbokkies, po orcupines and bat-eared foxes are regularly seen. Even carac cal and Africa an wild cat have been b spotted d. Birds such as pheasan nts, guinea fo owl, blue cran nes, and seccretary birds can be seen n. Th he Louws pla an to get form mal conserva ation status fo or this very unique u critica al habitat, thrrough the Ca apeNature’s Sttewardship Programme. P Arrea Conserve ed: 12 ha W Wine District: Swartland S Ow wner / Conta act Person: Johan J and Linza Louw Ph hone: 022 48 821108 W Website: Joha an@bolandair.co.za Me embership Da ate: 23 March 2008
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 http://www.bwi.co.za/memb bers/memberr.asp?Memb berID=143
‘W Wine & Bio odiversity’ Members s - Fransc che Hoek Estate E Bio odiversity highlights: h A Area conservved – 47ha. is amongst others, Evvidence of co onservation commitment c o the fa act that valua able land worrth plus minu us R5 000 00 00-00, wa as set aside for f conservattion of the Red Data Boo ok specie Serruria graciliss (graceful sp pider head), when the sp pecie wa as discovered d on the Esta ate during the reticulation n construction phase of th he project. Co onservation actions a were undertaken right from the planning stages s of the Fransche Hoek Estate. A developme ent he fra amework doccument with various v otherr inputs and documents was w then com mpiled by De ennis Moss PartnershipT P firsst professional team was appointed as a follow: Evvidence of co onservation commitment c is amongst others, o the fa act that valua able land worrth plus minu us R5 000 00 00-00, wa as set aside for f conservattion of the Red Data Boo ok specie Serruria graciliss (graceful sp pider head), when the sp pecie wa as discovered d on the Esta ate during the reticulation n construction phase of th he project. Fra ansche Hoekk Estate is allso contractu ually committted to develo op and manage the precin nct in accord dance with inte ernationally recognized ISO14001 sta andards of environmenta e al care, and has h already a appointed sp pecialists to assist a and audit these e obligations from the sta art of the land d rehabilitatio on phase. Fivve corridors for f storm watter channelin ng and servicce water stre eams coming g from the Franschhoek pass p was constructed at a total cost of o plus minuss R2 700 000 0-00. Landscaping to o the amountt of R5 000 000-00 0 was undertaken u to reinstate endangered e ***or** other fy ynbos specie es as part of rehabilittation on ope en spaces an nd common property p as well w as side walks. w Ass far as the mentioned m op pen spaces and a residentia al stands are e concerned a landscapin ng officer (qu ualified ive horticulturist) iss in charge of o the coordin nation of Cap pe indigenes species and d fynbos plan nting, with a comprehens c lan ndscaping gu uideline and planting list compiled c by Dennis Moss Partnership Landscaping Architects s. Co ontractors Ru ules and Reg gulations make provision for the induc ction and bre eeving of con ntractors and d builders beffore settting foot on the Estate, with w regard to o environmental educatio on, and heavvy fines are isssued for any breach of this t reg gulations. A work w for wate er program and a ongoing rehabilitation n program to o clear the Esstate and the e northern pa art of the La Cotte C Strream running g into the Bergriver, from alien invasivve species, such s as the elata e wattle, black wattle,, pine, silky wattle, w am merican bram mble and bloe ekom, was undertaken an nd most of th hese areas have h now bee en cleared co ollectively, with w a positive impactt on the flow of the La Co otte Stream. ,, A permane ent force team is continuo ously busy with w the proce ess of alie en clearing. A massive m ope eration was also a undertakken to rectify erosion, diggings and do ongas of the old shooting g range which was ned operatio pre eviously situa ated on the land. ,, The abovementio a ons were also o undertaken n at a furtherr expense of sevveral million rands. The old dedica ated municipa al household d refuse dump was rehab bilitated at a cost c of R5 50 00 000-00. ,, This dump was w situ uated in the Patryspoort stream running through the t Estate an nd the center of Franschhoek and wa as previouslyy heavily polluted d, toxic and smelly. s ,, All the old wastte was remov ved and toda ay is a beautiful cosmetic c dam, with planted p fyn nbos beds an nd a beautifu ul walk path leading to the e Mont Roch helle ,, nature e reserve. The most adva anced teleme etry, compute erized drippin ng irrigation system s in the e Franschho oek Valley wa as installed, at a cosst of R2 750 000-00 to sa ave water an nd to set a exxample for th he farming co ommunity. The future visio on for the Fra ansche Hoekk Estate (21h ha vineyards s and 7ha olivve ,, trees) a and conserva ation area (47 7ha), is to t develop it as a charming model forr the ,, whole e community and visitors to Franschhoek, with the e belief that best b pre estigious win nes and olive es in the coun ntry will be produced on the t Estate, so s to help and d uplift the previous dissadvantaged in the Valleyy of Franschhoek. ,, Alsso to safegua ard and presserve this envvironmental jewel j and bio oversity of un nique fynboss and other in ndigenous sp pecies in natural areass, for the nexxt generation n and touristss to South Affrica with the e aim to farm vineyard in harmony witth existing sensitive eco-syste ems. Arrea Conserved: 47 ha Wiine District: Franschoek k Ow wner / Conta act Person: Cas van Wy yk Ph hone: 021 87 762686 We ebsite: cas@ @fhe.co.za Me embership Date: D 04 Dec cember 2008 8
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 http://dev2007..nedbank.co.za/website/ccontent/greenaffinities/GrreenlifeProje ect_detail.asp p?ItemID=22 23&Article=A Articles &A Article2=archive
W Wine, Biodiversity an nd Busines ss Sense The South Africcan wine ind dustry and the e conservatio on sector ha ave joined ha ands to save the Cape Flo oral Kingdom m. The Grreen Trust is behind them m all the way.. The latest project p to rec ceive funding g from The G Green Trust is s the Biodive ersity and Wine Initia ative (BWI), which, w underr the leadersh hip of Tony Hansen, H already has the support of South S African Wine & Brandy B (SAW WB) and 150 Cape wine producers – out of a total of 505. “So outh Africa iss the 6th larg gest wine pro oducer in the e world with 110 1 000 hecttares under vvineyard; 90% % of these are situ uated in the Cape Floral Kingdom,” explains e Hanssen. The sm mallest, richesst plant kingd dom in the world - with 96 600 pla ant species (more than in n the whole of o the northerrn hemisphere) - the Cap pe Floral King gdom spans 90 000sqkilo ometres and stretches fro om the Ceda arberg to Porrt Elizabeth.“About 80% of o the Cape F Floral Kingdo om falls unde er privately owned d land, includ ding vast win ne estates, which w is why solid conservvation partne erships are critical c to prottect it,” states Hanssen. An n alarming pe ercentage of the extraord dinary biodive ersity of the Cape C Floral Kingdom K hass already been lost throu ugh agricultural enccroachment, urban development, alie en species invasion and frequent f firess. Without inttervention, more m will disappear. Ma arketing is the turnkey in i this cons servation cro ossroad, witth marketing partnershipss between th he wine producers and conservationists leadin ng the way. “Until now, So outh African wine produccers haven’t even scratch hed the surfa ace of the e spectacular tourism and d marketing opportunitiess available to o them in the e Cape Floral Kingdom. “W We help wine pro oducers who o support the BWI to adop pt the Cape Floral F Kingdo om as a uniq que marketing tool for the eir wines,” continues Hanssen. “W We help them assess the conservation n value of the eir land, impllement biodivversity guide elines and ide entify unique e ma arketing elem ments – from rare speciess to magnificcent scenic ro outes and tra ails. “This offfers wine pro oducers a uniique selling point tha at distinguish hes the Cape e and its wines - in a high hly competitivve global ma arket - from the t other 20 winew pro oducing coun ntries worldw wide.” The BW WI will also be b establishin ng a Biodiversity Wine Route that will add an eco otourism opttion to the exxisting wine route. r Anothe er enormous incentive for wine produ ucers and lan ndowners wh ho enter into a bio odiversity agrreement or establish e a co ontract nature reserve, is that they ma ay qualify forr 80-100% pro operty rates rebates.States Hansen: “We “ needed to come up with a win-w win strategy to attract wine producers into conservation, instead of pu utting their ba acks up by tryying to impose regulation ns on them. W We are confiident we are achieving this and a that we will w have the e majority of wine w produce ers on board d by the end o of next year.” http://www.presssandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1119 9561?UserKe ey= Re ed Nose wines Pu ublished: 14/0 03/2009 DID D you stay up into the ea arly hours wa atching the Comic C Relief broadcast? I find it comp pulsive viewin ng – just ano other 10 minutes beccomes half-a an-hour. It’ss not too late to get involvved from a wine w point of view. v Wine Relief, R the wine-industry a arm of Comic c Relief, wass lau unched in 1999 and has so s far raised £2.7million, not including g this year’s contribution, to assist pro ojects in the UK and Africa. Thiss year, for th he first time, two t wines ha ave been lau unched speciifically for the e event. Red Nose White e and Re ed Nose Red are both ma ade by the Saam Mounta ain Vineyards s in South Affrica. The disstinctive Red Nose artwork has been donated by b Damian Hirst. H Sa aam is Afrikaa ans for “toge ether”, and Saams Mounttain Vineyard ds, located at a the foot of the Perdebe erg Mountain, brings togetherr 40 growers from five diffferent terroirrs stretching from Paarl to Durbanville e. Working in n tune with th he environment, th he growers practise p susta ainable viticu ulture and arre members of o the South African Biod diversity Pro ogramme. Avvailable from m major high--street retaile ers such as Sainsbury’s, S M&S, Tesco o, Morrisons and Somerfield, the e wines cost £4.99, and £1 £ from each h bottle is donated to Com mic Relief. Some retailerss, such as th he Co-op, Ma ajestic and Wine Rackk, are also giiving 10% of the sales of selected win nes to Comicc Relief. If yo ou want to do o something funny ght, try a true e blind wine--tasting – “Ca an you tell white from red d?”. It’s not a as easy as it sounds. s Tasters forr money tonig mu ust wear a blindfold and a red nose so o, unable to see or smelll, will have to o rely only on n taste – and taste is dulle ed because of the e loss of smell. To make it even more difficult, chill light-bodied d, unoaked re eds and serv ve full-bodied d, a room temp perature. oaked whites at
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 Co omic Relief Red R Nose Wh hite Made fro om Chenin Blanc, B there is s apple and pears p and a touch of hon ney on the sn niff. It’s reffreshingly dryy with notes of lemon and d peach. Com mic Relief Re ed Nose Red d This takes South Africa a’s distinctive e Pin notage grape e and blendss it with Shira az to give a spicy, s fruits-o of-the-forest sniff s and a fu ull-bodied mo outhful of liqu uorice, spice and bram mble. ww ww.rednosed day.com/partners/ wine_rrelief ww ww.saam-mo ountain.com ww ww.bwi.co.za a http://www.pan nda.org.za/index.php?secction=News_ _EcoSystems s&id=141 Wiines of Soutth Africa clo ose behind Obama O whe en it comes to t going gre een
Mo onday,2 Febrruary 2009 So outh Africa's s wine indus stry, represe ented by Wines of Soutth Africa, ha as been rega arded as hig ghly influenttial in bu uilding public awarenes ss about env vironmental issues, acc cording to UK U magazine e Drinks Business. This s is du ue to their in nvolvement with w the Bio odiversity an nd Wine Inittiative, a pro oject manag ged by WWF F (the World Wide Fu und for Nature) and the Botanical Society S of So outh Africa. Bo oth Wines of South Africa a (WOSA) an nd USA President Barack k Obama werre listed amo ong the top five on the 20 009 Grreen List pub blished by this specialist UK U beverage e magazine. On the list are the 50 mo ost influentiall drinks companies, ind dividuals and d organisations when it co omes to haviing "a strong g environmen ntal influence e over many consumers". The magazine placed WOS SA fifth, just behind b Presiident Obama a in fourth pla ace. The firstt three positions on the Green G Lisst were taken n by multinational retail giants, Tesco, Carrefour and a Wal-Marrt respectively. Drinks Bu usiness praised WO OSA for its involvemen nt in the Biod diversity and Wine Initiative (BWI), a strategic partnership p between th he wine industry and the con nservation sector, s its adoption of biodiversity b y guidelines,, and its foc cus on environmenta al impact stu udies. Su u Birch, Chieff Executive WOSA, W said, "That we arre in the com mpany of the world's w mostt powerful rettail chains, who w are e able to exe ercise significcant influence e, as well ass the new and d highly popu ular presiden nt of the Unitted States, makes m us feel extreme ely proud!" Sh he lauded the e role of BWI in promoting g and proteccting biodiverrsity within th he Cape Florral Kingdom, where over 95% of the country'ss wines origin nate. "In lesss than four ye ears, 140 loc cal wine prod ducers, unde er the auspice es of BWI, ha ave sett aside 112 550 5 hectaress for long-term m conservation. This is significantly s m more than the e total nation nal vineyard foo otprint of 102 2 000 hectare es." BWI is currently c fund ded by The Green G Trust, a partnership between WWF W and Ne edbank. http://www.youtube.com/usser/varietyisin nournature Wiine & Biodiv versity in Yo outube
[T TRADUZIDO]] Cape Wine 2008. We are the Cham mp... [TR RADUZIDO] Cape Wine 2008. We arre the Champ pions semina ar part 2
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 7 producers p wh ho all have th he highly sou ught after cha ampion statu us in the Biod diversi... sem avaliação 5 meses atrrás 62 exibiçõ ões varietyissinournature sem avaliação
[T TRADUZIDO]] Cape Wine 2008. We are the Cham mp... [TR RADUZIDO] Cape Wine 2008. We arre the Champ pions semina ar part 1 7 producers p wh ho all have th he highly sou ught after cha ampion statu us in the Biod diversi... sem avaliação 5 meses atrrás 103 exibições varietyisinournature e sem avaliação
[T TRADUZIDO]] Lomond Wiines [TR RADUZIDO] Lomond Win nes Lomond is loca ated a mere 30km 3 from th he Southern tip of Africa, in the heart of the... sem avaliação 1 ano atrás 155 exibiçõe es varietyisin nournature se em avaliação o
[T TRADUZIDO]] Delheim Wines, Stellenbosch [TR RADUZIDO] Delheim Win nes, Stellenb bosch De elheim has allways had a very strong commitment c t to the conse ervation and preservati... sem avaliação 1 ano atrás 272 exibiçõe es varietyisin nournature se em avaliação o
[T TRADUZIDO]] The Cape Dwarf D Chame eleon [TR RADUZIDO] The Cape Dwarf D Chame eleon Re esearchers frrom the Soutth Africa Natiional Biodive ersity Institute e have comp pleted a... 1 ano a atrás 554 4 exibições varietyisinou v rnature
[T TRADUZIDO]] Cederberg Cellars [TR RADUZIDO] Cederberg Cellars C Pie eter du Toit introduces uss to the biodiiversity proje ect being imp plemented at Cede... sem avaliação 1 ano atrás 195 exibiçõe es varietyisin nournature se em avaliação o
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
[T TRADUZIDO]] cfk2 [TR RADUZIDO] cfk2 hi res versio sem avaliação 2 anos atráss 86 exibiçõe es varietyisin nournature se em avaliação o
[T TRADUZIDO]] The Cape Floral F Kingdo om [TR RADUZIDO] The Cape Floral F Kingdom The Cape Flora al Kingdom is a World He eritage Site and a home to some tens of o thousand... sem avaliação 2 anos atráss 752 exibiçõ ões varietyisiinournature sem s avaliaçã ão
[T TRADUZIDO]] Bruce Jackk on South Affrican Wine [TR RADUZIDO] Bruce Jack on South Afrrican Wine Bru uce Jack from m Flagstone wines talkin ng on why So outh African wines w are so o special ... 2 anos a atrás 51 11 exibições varietyisinournature
Ca aso de Sucessso Interna acional – Bo ordéus http://www.eartthwatch.org/europe/expe editions/expe ed_research_ _focus/rf_borrdeaux.html
Building biodive ersity back into o the wiine business Ma ay 22nd is In nternationall Day for Bio ological Dive ersity; this year's y theme, Biodiversityy and Agricullture, aims to o raise aw wareness of the t importancce of sustain nable agricultture to prese erve biodiverssity, but also o to feed the world, mainttain live elihoods, and d enhance human wellbe eing. Bio odiversity (sh hort for biolog gical diversitty, which, sim mply put, mea ans the varie ety of life of e earth), is the basis of agriculture; it iss the origin of o all crops an nd livestock and a the varie ety within the em. Although h agriculture can contribu ute to the e maintenancce of biodive ersity, it is one of the majo or drivers of biodiversity loss. l Farmerrs and other producers arre cusstodians of agricultural a biodiversity. Sin nce 2005, Ea arthwatch an nd Syngenta have been working w togetther to raise understanding of environ nmental ste ewardship, th hrough resea arch on wayss of combinin ng crop produ uction and biiodiversity co onservation in European agriculture. Tw wo projects on n biodiversityy and producctive farming have been launched. l Th he first looks at biodiversity in a mixxed arable fa arming landsscape in the Cotswolds C in n England, while w the seco ond is in the vineyards off Bordeaux in n Fra ance. A third project on biodiversity b in n the olive grroves of soutthern Spain is i under deve elopment. Th hese projectss offfers great opportunities fo or experientia al learning: volunteers, v in ncluding com mpany employees, teache ers and conservationistts learn by getting involve ed in researcch alongside scientists att the field site es.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Biodiversity and vineya ards In the famous wine w produciing areas of France such h as Bordeau ux, viticulture is the main agricultural land use, witth up to 75 per cent of o the total la and area devvoted to vineyyards. The im mpact of thiss widespread d monoculture e on biodiversity is sig gnificant. Win ne producerrs, consume ers and traders are becoming incre easingly env vironmentally consciou us, and agro-tourrism is beco oming more important. Improving I vineyard v bio odiversity ha as many ben nefits, including he elping to kee ep vine pestts and disea ases in chec ck, and can help reduce e soil erosio on and agro--chemical ru un-off. Wiine growers s traditionallly do not seek to maxim mise yields, but instead focus on th he quality off the grape. The so oil, geograph hy, climate and a other ch haracteristic cs of the loc cal area con ntribute to th he unique qualities of th he wine, its terroir and there e is an increa asing desire e among win ne producerrs to preserrve the natural features associated with this terro oir. Nu umerous ‘farm mscaping' techniques, inccluding creatting hedgero ows and enco ouraging gro ound cover be etween vine rows have been prop posed and im mplemented to benefit bio odiversity, bu ut as monitorring the effeccts of these techniques t req quires specia alist training to t identify sp pecies, the im mpacts of the ese techniques are not offten assesse ed or understtood. The Earthwatch project Willdlife and Win ne in Bordea aux, based at Château les Vergnes, G Gironde, aims to promote e farrmscaping prractices to en nhance biodiiversity at the e regional lev vel in grape growing area as. To achiev ve this goal, appropriate me ethods have to be develo oped to quantify biodivers sity in a simp ple and efficie ent way that can be used d by non-experts. These techniq ques will emp power farmers to be able e to measure biodiversity in their viney yards and to o asssess the efficcacy of techn niques applie ed to boost biodiversity b on o their land. This is a collab borative proje ect of the Earrthwatch Insttitute, the Bo ordeaux Agriccultural Univversity (ENITA A de Bordea aux), Syyngenta, the Univitis coop perative Wine ery and the Hunting H Fede eration of the e Gironde (Fédération dé épartementalle des cha asseurs de la a Gironde). The main goal of the pilot fiield season in i 2007 was achieved: to o develop and d test the fea asibility of sim mple, fast ye et sciientifically reliable biodive ersity measu urements for birds, insectts and plantss, using non-e expert volunteers. Field work w inccluded sampling of insectts and plantss on plots witthin the viney yard, followed by laborato ory identifica ation, as well as birrd song identtification. In future f years, these metho ods can be applied a to a la andscape-sccale to compa are different lan ndscape-type es, in order to o select farm mscaping pra actices that promote biodiiversity, and which can be b put forward d to farrmers. From this spring, the t project te eam is also aiming a to esta ablish a farm mscaping and d manageme ent plan for Ch hâteau les Ve ergnes, as a demonstration project. The project hass a strong ed ducational message; lead d scientist Maarten van Helden H says, "The educattional aim off this wo ork is to make e people awa are that ‘biod diversity' is not n just focus sed on nature e conservatio on or endang gered specie es. By ob bserving ‘common' biod diversity in a cultivated area, peoplle start to ap ppreciate th he direct env vironment th hey are e living in an nd understa and that agrriculture has s a direct im mpact on bio odiversity. E Even very sim mple agroenvironmenta al measurem ments that arre easy to apply at the farm f scale can c improve e biodiversitty." d you know w? Did • Th he history of wine in the Bordeaux B reg gion dates back to the firrst century AD. • Th he Bordeauxx region produces more th han 700 milliion bottles off wine a yearr, including some s of the most m exxpensive win nes in the wo orld. • In the 12th cen ntury, the ma arriage of He enry Plantage enet and Ele eanor d'Aquittaine made th he province of o Aq quitaine English territory.. Bordeaux wine w was then exported to o England an nd became very v popular.
Ca aso de Sucessso Interna acional – Au ustrália http://www.inde ependentwee ekly.com.au//news/local/n news/entertainment/adela aide-hills-gre een-growers//1443428.asp px
Ad delaide Hills' green growers PH HILIP WHITE E 25//02/2009 8:3 32:00 AM Ba acchus, a larg ge part of the e communityy, and then possibly the entire e wine drrinking world d, will bless th he Adelaide Hills win negrowers. The T Hills vine eyard environ nment, and its wines, are e certain to im mprove throu ugh the new ecologically ressponsible fra amework devvised, established and bro oadcast via the t Adelaide Hills Wine R Region webs site by the reg gion’s savvvy Environm ment Committee. For 20 years, the Hills H have be een too easily satirised d for their prrofusion of posh p
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 ho obby growerrs who plantted vineyard ds with little e idea of viticultural science or oen nology, not to t mention the t rea alities of a crowded c ma arketplace. Vineyards V off the wrong varieties were planted holus bolus s in the wro ong pla aces for the wrong reas sons. Machia avellian transsnationals lo ove taking this fruit at min nimal rates fo or amorphouss ble ends without attribution. The T side-effe ects include inappropriate e petro-chem m regime man nagement, pollution p of wa atercourses, water abuse es, bird scare ers, neighbou ur disputes, lack of native e vegetation, and so on. Bu ut the Hills ha ave suddenlyy leapt ahead d of all other South Austrralian regionss. Last week, the Adelaid de Hills Wine e Re egion launche ed its impecccably respon nsible Environmental Man nagement Syystem. Moun nt Barker May yor Ann Ferg guson and council CE EO Andrew Stuart S were th here with entthusiasm to see s a few qu uiet local herroes make a most impresssive pre esentation. While W rival regions have depended d up pon vague cla aims to green awarenesss, and maybe e even practtice, the e Hills region n association has nailed the t theory be etter than the e rest and relleased its tem mplate for measurable pra actice. It has thus laid down the gaun ntlet to all its members – not n to mentio on the other districts, like e McLaren Va ale – wh hich have dep pended on anecdote a and d impressiona able writers like me to sp pread the wo ord about gre een credentia als. The determined d and seemingly tireless Larry Jacob bs, of the biod dynamic Hah hndorf Hill W Winery, has worked w like a tiger, cha airing the reg gion’s Enviro onment Committee. “It is extremely exciting for us to realise e that after all our effort to o develop a program p we ssaw could ge enuinely ben nefit the e Hills, we’re the first regiion in the sta ate, if not Ausstralia, to hav ve a function ning and govvernment-end dorsed regional EM MS available to our memb bers.” Put sim mply, this sysstem will gro ow and evolvve as more prractitioners climb c aboard. It ma ay not be lon ng before the punter is pa aying a premium for these e classified products. p With the assisttance and su upport of And dy Chamberss, Green Och hre environm mental consulltant, and Bry yce Routley, effficiency proje ect officer at the t Environm mental Protecction Authoriity, the Hills has h adopted the philosop phy of green guru He einz-Werner Engel, an exxpert in environmental ma anagement systems s and ISO 14001. The latter ta attoo is a keyy inte ernational identifier of rig gorously enviironmentally aware busin nesses which h must practise what they y preach. Perhaps mo ost critical to the Hills plan is Engel’s system, calle ed Ecomapp ping. “An envvironment ma anagement system s (EMS S) is sim mply a tool fo or measuring g and then managing an organisation’ o ’s impact on the environm ment. Ecoma apping is a siimple, flexxible tool tha at helps with environmenttal managem ment, leading g, if you like, to achieving ISO 14001 status,” s said Janet Kle ein, of the Ng geringa biodyynamic vineyyards and winery at Mount Barker. (Ha aving well an nd truly comp pleted his stint, Larry Jaccobs has left his position as chair of th he environment committe ee, and the able Ja anet has now w taken over the role.) Bo oth went on to o explain how w Ecomapping helps a grower/makerr become aw ware of their e environmenttal impact an nd ongoing behavviour, identifyy issues and problems, giive these ran nk, and schedule the app propriate reac ctions. Once completed, Eco omapping ca an serve as the basis for a wider environmental management m system whic ch promotes itself. So o, with all the confounding g acronyms, what does th his actually mean m on the ground at th he coalface? It means tha at by self-promoting rivalry, indivvidual vintnerrs in the Hillss, and then entire wine regions elsewh here, will lea arn to clean up u the eir act. The new n practition ner simply le earns to draw w maps of diffferent aspeccts of their bu usiness. Larrry showed uss his Ha ahndorf Hill maps, m based on aerial photography off his site. There’s a 10-sttep method, available on the associattion’s we ebsite: www.a adelaidehillswine.com. These generations of mapss cover, in orrder: urbanityy and biodive ersity; water, soils and sto orage; air – including i odo ours, noise and dustt; energy; wa aste; risks; materials flow; employee opinion, o and the maintena ance of an ecolog e book. The next step it to devise d a badge or logo to o identify and d reward bus sinesses and products tha at have committed to the e sysstem, and made progress in cleaning g up their actt. This will ma ake the wholle deal comp petitive, both within the re egion and with its riva als, who are all desperate ely keen to make m sales to o an increasingly environ nment and he ealth-conscio ous inte ernational marketplace. m S Hillsbilliess become Hills Angels? I’ll say it agaiin: “By their w So works ye sha all know them m.” http://www.yalu umba.com/arrticle.asp?p= =163&o=true&a=469 15 November N 20 007 Intternational Green G Apple e Award
"Y Yalumba awarded a In nternational Green Apple A Awa ard for En nvironmen ntal Best Prractice in an a awards s ceremon ny held in the UK" At the House of o Commons in London, Friday F Novem mber 9th, Ya alumba, Australia's oldestt family owne ed win nery, was aw warded an 'In nternational Green Apple Award for Environme ental Best P Practice (Australia and d New Zealand Silver 20 007)'. Adding g to the host of accoladess Yalumba ha as received for f the eir pioneering g sustainability programm me and progrressive stanc ce on matterrs green, thiss award further cements Ya alumba’s com mmitment to sustainable s w winemaking.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 Fro om the winerry in Eden Va alley, Robertt Hill Smith, Proprietor P of Yalumba sa aid, "We are convinced th hat our effortss in pro otecting our natural n resou urce base arre reflected in n the quality of the winess we share w with the world d. Quite simplly, exccellence in winemaking w r requires exce ellence in en nvironmental managemen nt – the two a are inseparable. Our wines now celebrate this fact." Ya alumba has been b operatin ng in the rura al environme ent for over 150 years and d understand ds the significance of environment–frriendly susta ainable activitties as an inttrinsic aspec ct of wine qua ality. Yalumb ba has implem mented a bra and ste ewardship prrogramme that reflects au uthenticity, due diligence, product saffety and cred dible environmental ma anagement. By B addressin ng these activities that ha ave a signific cant environm mental impacct Yalumba ensured, e and d continues to en nsure, its em mployees and d other stakeholders a he ealthy and pro oductive life in an environ nment that iss safe and ecologicallly functional. This commitme ent, yet again n, was reinfo orced quite re ecently when n Yalumba se et aside 1500 0 acres of land in The Rivverland, South Australia, to re-create a habitat forr biodiversity y through the planting of m mallee trees.. In addition to t the conservation of biodiversityy this area will also contribute to carbo on sequestra ation. The Commitme ent to Sustaiinable Winem making progrramme is a whole-of-com w mpany, life cyycle approach h to environm mental ma anagement and a includes all of Yalumba's businesss activities frrom grape growing to win nemaking, pa ackaging and d disstribution. The Green App ple Awards are a hosted byy the Green Organisation n, an indepen ndent, non-p political, nonacttivist, non-prrofit environm ment group dedicated to recognising, r rewarding and promoting g environmental best pra actice aro ound the worrld http://www.yalu umba.com/arrticle.asp?p= =163 21 April 2009
FIV VE STARS S to Yalum mba Organ nic Viogniier 2007 - 'genuine poise p and finesse' 5 stars s - "Leavving aside an ny environme ental or ecolo ogical consid derations, org ganically grown grapes usually u make better win ne, as illustra ated by Yalumba's latest viognier. Pro oduced from an establish hed organic vvineyard at Lexton L on the e Mu urray, this is truly delightfful drinking, a dry white of o genuine po oise and finessse. The typical apricot, peach and citrus c aro omas and fla avours are in evidence bu ut by no mea ans is the pallate clumsy or o blowsy, wh hich can hap ppen with som me vio ogner version ns." Pa addy Kendlerr, Herald Sun n (Aus), 21 April A 2009 http://www.articclearchives.ccom/environm ment-natural-resources/e ecology-envirronmental/85 51368-1.html
EP PA Honors s Conserv vation Effo orts at Aus stralia's Yalumba Y W Wine Comp pany. Pu ublication: En nergy Resourrce Da ate: Wednesd day, May 2 2007 2 EN NERGY RES SOURCE-2 May M 2007-EP PA Honors Co onservation Efforts at Au ustralia's Yalu umba Wine Company(C) C )2007 JeraOne - http:://www.jeraone.com Ya alumba Wine Company, Australia's A oldest family-o owned winery, has receivved the U.S. Environmen ntal Protection Ag gency's 2007 Climate Pro otection Award. The annu ual award rec cognizes com mpanies and d individuals from f around the wo orld who have e demonstra ated leadersh hip, dedicatio on, and achie evements in protecting th he environme ent. Ya alumba, found ded by the Hill H Smith fam mily in 1849, is the first wiine companyy, globally, to o receive the award. At th he aw wards ceremo ony, Kathleen Hogan, Dirrector, EPA Climate C Prottection Partnerships Divission, noted, "Thanks " to The T Ya alumba Wine Company, wine w lovers everywhere e c enjoy the can e fruit of the earth e and he elp protect the earth at the same time. Tha at's because e Yalumba minimizes greenhouse gas s emissions during d everyy step of the wine-making w g pro ocess -- from m the vineyarrd to the conssumer's table e." Ya alumba was recognized r fo or its environ nmental stew wardship thatt includes lan nd conservation and rejuv venation and d cle eaner optionss for packagiing and markket distributio on. Over 300 0 acres of lan nd have been n set aside fo or conservatiion and as a wildliffe sanctuary,, and more th han 98% of its packaging g comes either from recycclable materrials or is itse elf reccyclable.The winery has also establisshed a water--waste mana agement program. "After almost 160 years y of continuous fam mily operation n, we not only wish to lea ave a legacy of great wine e, but to also o pass on our natural asssets to future generatio ons in betterr condition th han when we e inherited the em," Hill Smith said.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Ca aso de Sucessso Interna acional – Esttados Unido os http://www.freyywine.com/biodiversity.html
Lo ocal Wildliife Diversiity - Biody ynamics® and Biodiversity On ne of the bassic tenants off Biodynamicc agriculture is to supportt biodiversity within the fa arm landscap pe. At Frey Vin neyards we live on an am mazing piece e of land. The e appreciatio on for its biod diversity and beauty is a bond that alll of the e family sharres. The land lies ju ust two miless below the source s of the Russian Riv ver. No active e logging or agriculture goes g on abovve us, so our wate ershed is unsspoiled and pristine. p One e thousand acres, a spread d between 90 00 ft. and 26 600 ft., hold a mixx of oak and conifer foressts, meadow ws and upland d chaparral. Oak and ma adrone, ancie ent redwood,, Douglas fir,, Ta anbark-oak (L Lithocarpus densiflorus), d and pondero osa pine are the primary forest trees. Upland mea adows are untouched and d the lower 10 00 acres of meadows m ha ave been plan nted in certifiied organic a and Biodynam mic vineyard ds, lea aving 90% off the land as home to a wide w mix of plants, and an nimals such as a bears, mo ountain lions, bobcats, coyyotes, foxes,, raccoons, rabbits, r skunks. Lizards, frogs, f and sa alamanders coexist c with an assortme ent of mu ushrooms tha at appear briiefly during th he rainy mon nths. Up pholding Biod dynamic agriculture stand dards protects natural ha abitats and su upports and maintains wildlife corrido ors forr many species. Hedgero ows and fore est are home e for beneficia al insects and birds, who o then keep agricultural a pests in a healtthy balance. For examplle, a common grape pestt is the grape e leafhopper (Erythtoneu ura), which succks sap from m the grape le eaves, robbing the plant of essential nutrients. Th his can stuntt the vines, delaying d fruit ma aturity. Fortu unately, a very tiny parassitic wasp (An nagrus epos Girault) over winters in the blackberrries bordering g our vineyards. In July the female f wasp ps lay their eg ggs within the e eggs of gra ape leaf hoppers, killing the t leaf hopp per eggs. This nattural biologiccal control rem moves the ne eed for diozinon or malatthion insecticcides. Ma any bird speccies enter the e vineyards and a feed on insects, such h as black ph hoebes, swa allows, blackb birds and blu uebirds. The e bluebirds esspecially enjoy the birdho ouses placed d near the po onds to raise e their young each spring. Kin ngfishers, Grreat Blue Herons, Green Herons, and d Great White e Egrets freq quent the pon nds as well. We are also o vissited by the spectacular s P Pileated Woo odpecker (Drryocopus pile eatus), who swoops s down n from our fo orests to supplement its diet with vin neyard insectts. We suspe ect that it nib bbles at the berries b when n they are ripe, but the ve ery shyy bird will no ot tolerate clo ose approach hes. This unique woodpe ecker, as big g as a crow, is a close cousin of the possibly-extincct Ivory-billed d Woodpecke er of the easttern U.S. Co onserving bio odiversity also greatly enh hances wate er quality. Pe erennial vege etation along g our riparian n zones helpss to control erosion and filters ru unoff, proteccting the puritty of our spriings and stre eams it flowss through ourr land and beyond. Fre ey Vineyardss supports th he work of the e Wild Farm Alliance. Th heir website quotes Aldo Leopold, the e father of wildlife ecologyy: "Land, the en, is not merely soil; it iss a fountain of o energy flow wing through h a circuit of soils, s plants and animals." Learn more at: Wild Farm m Alliance. http://www.presssdemocrat.com/article/2 20081020/BU USINESSJOURNAL/810170205?Title e=Guest_con ntributor__Spe cie es_issues_te ested_in_the_ _vineyards WIINE INDUST TRY BUSINE ESS JOURNA AL Gu uest contributor: Specie es issues te ested in the vineyards
WINE INDUS W STRY DIR RECTLY FE EELING IM MPACT OF F WATER, SALAMA ANDER PR ROTECTIO ONS Mo onday, Octob ber 20, 2008 BY Y PAUL P. “S SKIP” SPAUL LDING III The Northern California C win ne industry has h become a key laborattory for significant nationwide trends in endangeredspe ecies regulattion. The pro ominent natio onal and California specie es issues tha at have deve eloped recently – the continuing decline of many endangered d species, the e incrementa al impacts off global clima ate change and the evolvving endangered sp pecies regula atory framew work – are beginning to ha ave dramaticc effects on w wine growers s and the win ne ind dustry in general. On n a national le evel, althoug gh there have e been some e success sto ories – such as the bald e eagle’s recov very – manyy thrreatened and d endangered d species ha ave continued d to decline in i number. As A a result, th he fish and wildlife w
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 reg gulatory agen ncies are con ntinuously ad dding new sp pecies to the e protected lisst and designating areas s on public an nd private land as their critical habitat. In May M 2008, un nder court pressure, the U.S. U Fish & W Wildlife Service took the lan ndmark step of adding the e polar bear to the federa al endangere ed species lisst, not becau use it currenttly meets endangerment criteria, but because it iss expected to o become thrreatened soo on due to glo obal climate change. c These species trends have e provoked a variety of go overnmental and court de evelopmentss, both for and against spe ecies protecttion. In Wash hington, the Bush Administration has proposed sttreamlined agency rules that are l designed to ma ake it easier to navigate the t endange ered species permitting sccheme. Thesse rules are controversia c and may not be e supported by a new administration.A landslide of o conflicting legal claimss has resulted d from the polar bear listin ng (industry groups g are challenging c it and environ nmentalists believe b it doe es not go far enough) e and d eve eryone is wre estling with the t challenge e of incorporrating long-te erm climate change c into sspecies prote ection law. Ca alifornia’s Leg gislature, exe ecutive brancch and courtts remain firm m in their pro otection of en ndangered sp pecies as evidenced by a variety of le egislation, rules and judiccial decisions s. These tren nds are havin ng specific im mpacts on the e No orthern Califo ornia wine ind dustry. Firrst, the crucial intersectio on of water availability a an nd protected fish is increa asingly becom ming a problem for grape e gro owers. The re ecent collapsse of West Coast C salmon n runs and th he resulting shutdown s of the salmon fishing f seaso on in California C thiis year have focused renewed attention on the im mportance of preserving ssufficient watter flows for the ese fish. Man ny Northern California C vin neyards draw w water from the same sttreams that ssupport these e fish, particularly from m the Russia an River systtem, which supplies wate er for the Son noma, Napa and Mendoc cino grape ind dustry. As a result, r the Sttate Water Resources R Co ontrol Board, which issue es permits to appropriate California surface waters s, is working on a new,, controvers sial policy to o preserve streamflows s s for fish. If the t water bo oard’s curren nt policy pro oposal is ad dopted, it is expected to o dramatically reduce th he water available for vin neyards. A second s key developmen nt relates to the California a tiger salamander, a federally endangered amphibian that ha as a particular affinity for vineyard environme ents. This sa alamander is present in th he Santa Ro osa Plain and d any project, inccluding a vine eyard projectt, that will ad dversely affecct the salama ander must receive r adva ance approva al from the fed deral wildlife service befo ore proceedin ng. In Decem mber 2005 many stakeholders – local governmentts, federal an nd sta ate agencies and key citizzen groups – reached wrritten agreem ment on a con nservation sttrategy for ba alancing development in n this area with w protection n of the salam mander. Ho owever, the strategy’s s imp plementation n has been stalled s – and perhaps haltted – by lackk of funding and a lack of consensus on the t best path h forward. If this effort im mplodes and as a the salam mander listing g spreads to other countie es, it will w be time-cconsuming an nd expensive e for many vineyards to receive r the necessary n fed deral salama ander cle earances. Th hird, similar species s issue es are playin ng out for vine eyards throu ughout Califo ornia. For exa ample, the California C red-leg gged frog, a federally f thre eatened speccies, is often found to be present in coastal c riparia an areas and d often requirres fed deral agencyy approvals before b certain n types of vin neyard projec cts can go fo orward. Wine e industry pro ojects thrroughout Norrthern Califorrnia are bein ng increasing gly affected by b other listed d species, including the San S Joaquin kit foxx and bird sp pecies. Fin nally, the win ne industry needs n to keep a close eye e on the inte errelationship p of climate cchange and species s issue es. In California, a governmentt Climate Acttion Team re eport analyze ed the anticip pated effects of climate change based d on different sce enarios. Amo ong other things, the scenarios predic ct, by the end d of the century, a huge increase i in the nu umber of crittically dry years, y a 30 percent p to 60 0 percent loss in Sierra snowpack under even the mildestt scenario and a six- to 30--inch sea-lev vel rise. The ese changes s will lead to o earlier sno owmelt, runo off and strreamflow hig ghs, thus crreating a larrger water shortfall s for the t wine bu usiness and increased water w co ompetition with w endange ered fish. In short, the Northern N Califfornia wine business, b due e to its essen ntial connecttion with the land and its dependence e on water, is gre eatly impacte ed by endang gered specie es issues and d reflects, in a microcosm m, important trends occcurring on na ational and global g levels. Skkip Spaulding g is a partnerr at Farella Braun B & Marte el, a law firm m with offices in San Fran ncisco and Stt. Helena. He e has more than 25 years of experience in providing water, w specie es and enviro onmental advice and litig gation service es to the wine industry. He can n be reached d at sspaulding@fbm.com m.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 http://www.bizjo ournals.com/portland/sto ories/2008/09 9/15/story9.h html Friday, Septem mber 12, 2008
Vineyards struggle s to o meet carrbon neutral pledge e Po ortland Business Journa al - by Robin J Moody Business B Jo ournal staff writer Thirty Oregon wineries w mad de a splash a year ago by b committing g to a state-ssponsored efffort to becom me carbon neutral, pledgin ng to implem ment carbon-rreduction pro ograms within 18 monthss. The effort h has proved challenging c fo or some vineyards in the first year, howevver. The environmental im mpact is also questionable, although industry expe erts point to clear marketing m ben nefits. “Our facility f was built b in 1984 with w no mode ern bells or w whistles,” said Pat Dudleyy, esident of the e Salem-area a Bethel Heights Vineyarrd, which signed on to the e initiative in August 2007. “The carbon pre neutral challenge has been n useful in the e problems itt addresses, but whetherr we’ll be carrbon neutral by the end of o the e year is dub bious.” Me easuring the e vineyard’s s consumptiion of waterr and other inputs has been b harderr than expec cted, Dudley said, but her motives m for pa articipation arre clear. Con nviction among vineyard operators is growing thatt drastic actio on is required r to ensure e the long-term viab bility of the industry. At cu urrent rates of o greenhousse gas-fueled d climate cha ange, land fo or growing wine w grapes iss expected to o shrink by between b 50 percent p and 8 81 percent by b 2100, acccording to re esearch publiished in 2006 6 by the National Academ my of Sciencces. The stakes are e high in Oreg gon, where the t wine indu ustry has exp ploded to top p $1 billion in annual sale es. Oregon’s sig gnature grape e — pinot no oir — thrives in cooler clim mes and may y shrink or disappear if te emperatures rise. By the end of this century, researcchers predictt pinot grapess will grow better in the Puget P Sound region than the Willame ette Va alley. “We’re basically talkking self-presservation here,” Michael Stewart, the spokesman for the nonp profit carbon offfset provider Carbonfund.org, told Wine Spectatorr last year. “If it’s not in th he interest off wine produc cers to have sta able, predicta able weatherr patterns forr growing spe ecific grapes with delicate e character, then we sho ould just hang g up and start drinking beer instead.” While environmentalists are pleased with h the program, many vine eyard ownerrs we ere simply too o busy or too o skeptical to o invest time and money in the progra am. Only 30 of Oregon’s 250 wineriess sig gned up. Win ne economistts are among g the skeptics. Based on per-bottle prroduction esttimates published on Win neeco onomics.org, Oregon win neries genera ated 19,000 tons of carbon for wine production p allone. But in the t same yea ar, the e United Stattes produced d 6 billion ton ns of carbon dioxide, mea aning that Orregon winerie es contribute ed just .0003 3 percent to the national n total. “It’s cool and nice, but the main m fact is that t it sheds positive lightt on these wiineries and o on the state,”” said Karl Sto orchmann, managing m ediitor of the Journal of Wine e Economics s. “This is no ot a big deal ffor climate ch hange or glo obal wa arming. It’s pe eanuts.” Ca arbon-neutral initiative pro oponent Ericc Lemelson, owner o of Lem melson Vineyyards in Carllton, objected d to the notio on. “Ultimately, tha at argument always a puts the onus on someone els se. But scien nce is telling us we have limited time to takke steps for the t planet, an nd if we don’’t we’ll regrett it,” said Lem melson, who during the p past year has s installed so olar power and efficcient lighting at his wine facility. f Leme elson sees sustainability as the right tthing to do ethically, e but alsso expects th hat emerging g factors will bolster b the business b case e for green in nvestments. Increased government reg gulation for carbon c dioxid de emissionss from busine esses is com ming, he predicted, and rissing costs for energy will tip the e cost-benefit balance forr investing in n sustainable e processes. Sto orchmann did d not downplay the signifficance of climate change e for the indu ustry. Wine e economists are a immersin ng the emselves in studying s clim mate change.. It was also a central top pic at the Am merican Assocciation of Wine Economissts annual confere ence, held in Portland in August. A rm moody@bizjou urnals.com | 503-219-3438
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009
Vin nho, Biodivversidade e Alterações Climáticass http://reignofterrroir.com/200 09/01/05/carrbon-sequesttration-in-vineyard-soils/
Ca arbon Seq questration in Viney yard Soils Ξ January J 5th, 2009 | → | A Day at a Time, International Te erroirs, Interrviews, Tech hnology, Wiine History, Wiine News, Winemakers, W , Wineries | Wh ho could havve predicted, as we enterr 2009, the banishment of o the word ‘green’ and ‘ccarbon footprint’? Both te erms have become quite q meanin ngless in this accelerated world of ada aptive publicc relations an nd feral free marketers. m B a But wo ord and its rig gorous conce ept that mustt be more vig gorously prom moted and understood u fo or this new ye ear is biocha ar. So important is the e notion that it was includ ded in the 20 007 Farm Billl, authored by b then Sena ator Ken Salazar, now Pre esident-electt Obama’s nominee n for Secretary off the Interior. Bio ochar is simp ply the produ uction of charrcoal from a biomass. It is resolutely not the equivvalent of a firreplace, thou ugh it sha ares a kinship. Biochar iss produced by b pyrolysis, the thermochemical deccomposition of organic material m in the e absence of oxyygen. But thiss definition re equires significant qualifiication. Bioch har made of wood, what we common nly call ‘ch harcoal’, has been producced for centu uries in the limited presen nce of oxyge en. Traditiona al methods might m include burying wood over o which one would the en build a fire e to char the wood below w. Not only was the resultting charcoall used in cooking, c still is today, it was w also use ed as an ame endment for poor p soils. But this is not the same as s the ’slash and a burn’ method employed e by ancient cultu ures up to the modern farmers along I-5. We are not talking about a addition ns of a tra ansitory ash. Biochar is diifferent. And just as ancie ent. Indeed, the recent diiscovery in th he Amazon Basin B of wha at are called Terra Prreta do Indio o soils confirrms biochar’ss Pre-Columbian use, soils dating fro om 500 BC to o 1400 AD. No ow, what is especially fasscinating abo out these soils is not only the logarithm mic increase in agriculturral productivity the ey continue to t allow, but also the extrraordinary sta ability and du urability of th he carbon added centurie es ago. And iti is thiss feature of biochar b products that hass caught the attention of some of the finest mindss in soil and environmenta e al sciience, David d A. Laird an nd Cornell’s Johannes J Lehmann to name n just tw wo. I encourage readers to o study theirr rep presentative works linked d above. The e intriguing question immediately pressented itself tto researche ers: could thiss ancient technology be refin ned to not only dramatically improve soil s quality bu ut to also seq quester huge e amounts off CO2 am mong other greenhouse gasses g that would w otherw wise be releas sed by agricu ultural/organ nic waste? An nd today it iss absolutely a qu uestion of the e efficiency of o modern pyyrolysis techn nology. In facct, oxygen ha as been elim minated entire ely fro om pyrolysis. All gas by-p products are not only captured but can n themselvess then becom me a source of energy in the forrm of syngas s or may be further f refine ed. On ne leading manufacturer of a biochar machine/kiln n, Best Enerrgies, lists th he wide varie ety of organic c inputs that may be used to prod duce biocharr: Poultry litte er, dairy man nure, greenw waste, nut shells, paper sludge, straw w, wood waste e, oody weeds, distillers gra ain, cotton tra ash, rice hullss, and switch h grass. You get the idea a. wo This rather stutttering (and necessarily n incomplete) preamble p to biochar prop perly situatess the following telephone conversations I had with Ha ans-Peter Scchmidt over the t last week k (with minorr bracketed ssemantic corrections despite hiss superb Eng glish!). He lives in Switzerrland and run ns Mythopia a, an experim mental vineya ard where the e only Europ pean ressearch progrram on bioch har’s effects on o vineyard terroir t is on-g going. I calle ed the gentleman after rec ceiving his fasscinating e-m mail below: We e started 2007 with a firrst test field of 3000m2 where we in ntroduce Bio-Char, Bio-Char + Com mpost, and each e witth different seeds in be etween the wine w stocks. This year we w are going g to extend the test fields and tryin ng the me ethod in Fra ance, Spain and Italy. Fu urther on we e created a Carbon-Netw C work with se everal Institutes researching the so oil-effects, char c stability, wa ater holding capacity an nd so on. We W are going to purchase a first Pyrrolyse reacto or producin ng about 1000t/year Bio o-Char and Electricity, E t through that our 40 vine eyards all over o Europe [will] becom me climatene eutral by 201 13. Ad dmin Perhap ps you could give us a gliimpse of you ur background? Ha ans-Peter Sc chmidt O.K. I started as an anthropologist at the University off Hamburg, a and I became e a winegrow wer in myy research on n the agriculttural attitude es of ancient peoples. Qu uite a curiouss biography to o become a researcher in eco ology! Ab bout your vin ineyards. Yo ou have som me in Switze erland, some e in France, Spain and IItaly. Is thatt correct? H-PS I have my own domaine in Switze erland, Doma aine Mythop pia. And this is a kind of rresearch dom maine, very small, s it’ss only about 5 hectares, 2, 2 maybe 2 1/2 hectares of grapes, 3 hectares or so of aromatic herbs, fru uit trees and wild, w
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 native plants. ow long ago o was the vin neyard planted? Ho H-PS They are e kind of old vines, v about 50 years. I took it over a couple of ye ears ago. An nd we do the research the ere. Bu ut I also organize the rese earch, the eccological rese earch for a company c thatt is called De elinat. It is an n organic win ne seller working with w about 40 0 different winegrowers all a over Europe. I am occcupied to organize the ecological rene ewal [off the vineyard ds] for these winegrowerss. They do all a organic win ne growing, but organic is not enough h for us. We are loo oking for morre biodiversitty, for more respect r of the e terroir and a climate ne eutral agriculture. So, it is s my job to org ganize it for these t other winegrowers w so that theyy become clim mate neutral, that they make better te erroir wines, and so on. y work, in France, forr example? In what appelllations do you H-PS Not an appellation bu ut the Côtes du Var, nea ar Provence, Côtes de Prrovence, Borrdeaux, Côtes du Rhône. [All of De elinat’s doma aines may be e found here.] Arre any of the e vineyards biodynamic c? Are biody ynamic principles in co onflict with tthe productiion and use of bio ochar? H-PS There is no conflict with w biochar. Maybe one third t of the winegrowers w w work with we h are biodyna amic, but in our o cha arge it’s bio-organic. So whoever w wants to do it biodynamic is s free to do itt. It is not an obligation. Wh hat is your take t on biod dynamics, by b the way? H-PS There are e a thousand d reasonable e things to be e done to imp prove the Te erroir charactteristics, the harmony of the t eco osystem and d plant protecction before irrational me eans would become b inevitable. I like the positive energy e of ma any bio odynamic win negrowers bu ut their theorries are too spooky s for me. m I prefer playing Mozarrt to my grapes than rotatting pla anetary copp per-sulphur-m mixtures 20 minutes m to the e right! In n your emaill you wrote of o “differentt seeds in between the wine stocks s”. Did you mean ‘interr row’ croppiing? H-PS Yes. Usu ually we startt with legume e seeds. Are e they all nitrrogen-fixing legumes? H-PS It depend ds on the soiil, on the region, on the climate, c but th hat is only to o prepare the e soil and enrrich it with grreen ma anure for the nutrition of the t vine; but then we [alsso] try to get wild seeds frrom the surro oundings to enrich the bio odiversity. Ussually we havve about 100 0 different sp pecies growin ng in the soil. Ou ur plantings include: kg per hectar: 2 kg k Rotklee (rred clover) (T Trifolium prattense) 2 kg k Weissklee e (white clove er) (Trifolium m repens) 4 kg k Mattenklee (Trifolium . pratense) 7 kg k Luzerne (lluzerne) 2 kg k Phaecelia a 1,6 6 kg Esparse ette (Onobrycchis viciifolia) (sainfoin) 100g Kümmel (carum carvii) (caraway) 70g Ysop (hysssop) 100g Salbei (kb bA) (sage) 10g Thymian (kkbA) (thyme)) 10g Origano (o oregano) The mix depen nds largely on n the soil and d climate. Ind digenous pla ants are prefe erable. It’s no ot only for nitrogen but also oxyygenation, to o bring organ nic material deep d into the e soil so that you get micrro-organic life e not only in the first twenty to thirty centimete ers but down n to the root zone z of the vine. v The idea is to prepa are the soil in n the vineyard d for the wild d see eds. It is not of interest to o have five or o ten plants but to save and a propagate the native e plants. Wiith respect to t the bioch har, is it disc ced in? How w is it applied? H-PS It is disce ed in. o what depth h? Just a few w inches? To H-PS Yeah. It’ss just superfiicial. We don n’t know yet the t best [dep pth]. As you know k the cha ar is light and d it tends to get g to the e surface; it’ss like if you put p wood into o water, it floa ats up. So what w we have to do is to [ffigure out how to best achieve] asssimilation of the biochar with w the soil to [enhance its] biologica al life. So the en we do exp periments: ho ow to get it and a to kee ep it deep inside [the soil]. Ca an biochar be b crushed to t a fine pow wder? Or is it applied as it arrives from f a prod ducer? H-PS It is powd dery but you still have pie eces up to tw wo centimete ers.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 Wh ho is the cu urrent suppliier of the bio ochar produ uct? H-PS Well, now w we have begun to prod duce biocharr ourselves with w our own machine and d our own bio o-material. ould you telll me the nam me of the co ompany res sponsible fo or the biocha ar machine? ? Wo H-PS Pyreg [site in Germa an]. hat materiall do you burrn [pyrolyse e]? What is its i source? Wh H-PS Mostly we w will burn [p pyrolyse] the remainder of o vinification n, the pomace. But we ca an’t keep it fo or the whole of o the yea ar because it would compost. So we use other so ources, the re est of the pre essings like leaves, stem ms, and we usse gre een stuff from m the forest and a [countryside]. An nd the cuttin ngs from the e vines at th he end of the e year? H-PS No becau use we try to o keep that in n the vineyarrd, it’s a sourrce of [green manure] and d potassium that we need. here must be e other sourrces of mate erial to main ntain biocha ar productio on all year lo ong, after the Crush, as s we Th call it here… H-PS Where we w live we have communities who havve to maintain the roads, they are cuttting trees, th here are lawn ns, shrubs, all this material we can use. If you y are furthe er south and d you don’t ha ave that mucch vegetation n all the yearr rou und then we use the remains of olive pressings. Or O rape seed d pomace. So o you can usse very intelligently all thiss stuff. Pyyrolysis would d work comb bining different materials. Or sunflowe er. You can run r your car o on sunflowerr oil and use the rem mains for pyrrolyse! Evven with etha anol productio on you have a remainderr that could be b used in pyyrolysis. Thiss might be a very intellige ent combination if you y do it on a high scale. You would combine the ese two techn nologies. With small pyro olysis machin nes, you cou uld use it on a small farm to produce your y electric energy and your heating g, to improve your soil s and to resstrain CO2 frrom the atmo osphere. You u don’t need that much m material. You can scale th he ma achine to a desired outpu ut. Myy idea is to acchieve a gen neral diversiffication in agricultural pro oduction. In fa act, not only to bring biod diversity into the vin neyard, with flowers, f plan nting trees, but also to ha ave other culttures around d and in betw ween vine row ws. For exam mple, we e do bees, we e produce ho oney, a seco ond product. And we prod duce aromatiic herbs for h herbal teas, and a differentt fruits. So o we have fou ur, five suppllementary prroducts within the vineyard. So thinkin ng in the long ger view you u could alwayys have enough material m to prroduce all the e green stuff needed to produce p not only o biochar but also ene ergy. Co ombining the idea about Permacultur P re with the id dea of climate farming me eans it’s a diversification of agriculturre that [allows] you to calculate the e needs of evvery part of your y viticulture. nce you placed your me essage (see e bold text below) b on th he Internation nal Biochar In nitiative’s bu ulletin board d have Sin yo ou received any a inquirie es from othe er winegrow wers in Europ pe? Fro om the Bulletin Board: We e are going to begin in 2008 a carb bon-project in i a Swiss vineyard v in order o to imp prove the au uto-defence of the wine-plant, to fix toxic-ele ements of earlier plant--treatments (esp. coppe er) and last b but not leas st to improve e the climate balanc ce of the vin neyard. Has anybody worked w already with carb bon enriche ed compost in wine and d fruit gro owing? Is so omebody working w alrea ady on carb bon-projects s in Switzerla and? H-PS I do not know k exactlyy who contaccted me throu ugh this [pos st] but I have received five e questions a week abou ut our pro oject. But it iss not only forr winegrowin ng, it is for evverything con ncerning clim mate farming and biochar.. It seems that in Eu urope we are the first to use u biochar on o a big scale e. Mo ore specifica ally, you are e doing side e by side exp xperiments in n vineyards s using just biochar and d another wiith the bio ochar and compost c mix x. And you are a doing th hat as a conttrol study. H-PS Yes. nd also dete ermine how best to keep p the biocha ar in the soiil. An H-PS Yes. It’s a huge proje ect we have, with differen nt institutes and a universitiies. There arre many para ameters that we [arre] try[ing] to determine. One O question n is about the e capacity off the soil to keep k water, a and this capa acity, we believe, will grow with biochar b which h gives us th he possibility to grow wine e in Spain orr in the south h of Italy whe ere there is no rain in Summer S [so no moisture e] without watering. It is not, however,, about growing vineyards in the dese ert but about the possibility of inter row grow wing of green manure and d wild plants to foster the biodiversity. We can bettter keep the e rainwater that falls f in the Winter W season n. We can ke eep much better the wate er in the soil w which has a huge effect. And the ere is researcch on micro-nutrient activvity; that is a very interes sting question n for terroir q quality. The vines v can bettter absorb the min nerals and ph hosphorus. [A And biochar]] increases th he bacteria and a [therefore e] the bioacttivity of the so oil because of the e [porous and d durable stru ucture] of the e biochar. There are many different asspects that change c throu ugh the utiliza ation of bioch har. We try to o document the best
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 possibilities of all these cha anges. So wh hat we do, fo or example, we w measure the change o of aromatic profiles p in the e gra ape. We mea asure all we can! To bette er know how w to use it [bio ochar] for be etter wines, a and also the stocking s of carbon, how long biochar will w keep in th he soil withou ut [itself] changing. Anoth her question [we’re answ wering] is if a vin neyard usually has been treated t with chemicals th hat still are in n the soil then n biochar can fix it. These are the kin nds of questions we have h and we have a netw work of differe ent researchers doing diffferent [proje ects] in the laboratory and d also on the farm. Wh here in Spaiin and south hern Italy? H-PS We are ju ust starting this year (I be egan working g for Delinat last year.) in n Sicily, and iin Spain, it’s the Navarra a reg gion and Extramadura. No ot in the Pen nedès? H-PS We workk with vineyarrds in the Pe enedès, but the pilot viney yards where we’re going to show how w it works, [th hese are e] in Navarra a and Extram madura. Laterr on we’re go oing to introduce this who ole concept o of biodiversity y and climate e farrming for the other vineya ards. Co ould you nam me a few off the institute es and univ versities ass sociated with h your resea arch? H-PS The Univversity of Zurrich, FiBL, Research R Ins stitute of Org ganic Agriculture, Frau unhofer Instittute in Municch, and others you u may not kno ow. But thesse are the big ggest. o it is fair to say you are e undertakin ng a researc ch project th hat is the firs rst of its kind d in Europe.. So H-PS Yes. And d there is one e thing that iss great using g biochar in the t vineyard: you have a kind of perm maculture. Itt’s not like e you harvesst every yearr and have to o change [bio o] cultures. But B you can lo ook to the long term impa act of biocha ar on one culture, so o you can do it not only with w vineyardss but with fruit trees or oliive trees. This is one thin ng that is goo od. An nd the second d thing, quite e remarkable e, is that we can c make pu ublicity with our o research!! So another agricultural pro oducer doing g cereals or beans b or wha atever doesn n’t have much to win on promoting p the eir efforts on n biodiversity or clim mate farming g. But with wine, w and we sell organic wine, we can n make it a marketing m too ol doing what we do. So o you understtand this is a great occassion to be en ngaged in res search and wine. w I understand. u And by the way, as far as I know th here is no one o doing th his kind of v vineyard rese earch in the e Un nited States.. Biochar is hardly know wn here. H.P PS They will if you write a good article! (laughs) Th hat’s why I’m m here. I’ll trry! What kin nds of grape es does yourr Domaine Mythopia M grrow? And wh here is yourr vin neyard locatted? H-PS We do Pinot Noir. We e are located d in the Wallis [Fr. Valais s], between the Matterhorrn and Mont Blanc in the High Alp ps. We are between b two mountain ch hains, 4000 meter m mounta ains. There is a valley, th he Rhone Va alley. In fact, the Cô ôtes du Rhôn ne gets irrigated from ourr valley. So th his area is a micro-climatte, very dry, w warm, and we w have a sp pecial terrroir because e, being in a mountain reg gion, we havve a differentt soil every 100 meters. F From one mic cro-climate to o the next, a differen nt soil. It iss very interesting to makke little winess. Sometimess we make a Pinot Noir frrom only 1,500 square meters, m a special win ne for that, th hen on anoth her patch of 2000 2 square e meters we make m anothe er wine. All iss Pinot Noir, but the differrent soils [the terroir makes] diffferent wines..
Where mightt we read th Wh he results of your res search? H--PS We are just starting g an online journal callled ithaka, like the isla and Odysseus came ba ack to after a twenty years’ voyage. We W call it itha aka because e we try to bring b bees, butterflies, birds, amphibians… back b ho ome to the nature n of the e vineyard. The official start of the e journal is in two weekks [1/20]. Wiill it also be in English as a well as French F and German? G H-PS Not for th he moment. But B I like you ur blog; mayb be we could interlink som me stuff, transslate some articles. a w like th hat. Thank you y very muc ch, Peter. I would H-PS You are welcome, w Ke en. http://reignofterrroir.com/200 09/03/05/petter-schmidt-o on-terroir-biodiversity-and d-biochar/
Pe eter Schm midt on Terrroir, Biod diversity, and a Biochar Ξ March M 5th, 2009 2 | → | A Day at a Time, T Intern national Terrroirs, Interviiews, Techn nology, Wine e News, Wiinemakers, Wineries W | I am pleased to o post the thiird and concluding intervview on the subject of vine eyard soils. H Here presented are the tho oughts of Petter Schmidt of o Domaine Mythopia. I enjoyed a le engthy interv view with the e gentleman in early
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 January. What is offered be elow are sign nificant refine ements, amp plifications an nd additions to that interv view. In my inttro to this se eries I referrred to Herr Schmidt as an n vineyard ex xperimenter, a somewha at clumsy phrrase that nevertheless gets to the he eart of his pro oject. He worrks on matters of soil life enhanceme ent through biodiversity an nd the e judicious usse of biocharr so that terro oir might besst be express sed. Yes, he believes in tterroir. And his h discipline ed, sciientific appro oach to the subject will ce ertainly be off interest to many m of my readers r and tthe wider vin nous community. Fin nally, it is the e humility beffore the complexity of soiil, a humility shared by Ze ed Rengel, JJason Lett an nd Peter Scchmidt, that iss the proper intellectual attitude. a As Herr H Schmidtt says, “Soil is i an endlesss science”. He ere are the lin nks to the firsst two interviews: Ze ed Rengel an nd Jason Le ett. Ad dmin Thank you y agreeing g to speak with w me again n. My first que estion conce erns the relattion or contra ast between bio ochar and co omposting ass methods of carbon sequ uestration. Is s it true that composting c d does add to green g house e gasses? eter Schmidtt First of all I would not make m the con ntrast betwee en compostin ng and biochar. For me composting and a Pe bio ochar is some ething that belongs b togetther. They arre two things s that are verry important ffor soil. So we w won’t rep place compo ost for biocha ar. What we’rre trying is to o enhance the quality of the compost through additions of bio ochar. When we put bioch har in the so oil usually we e do it with co ompost. With h compost yo ou get the nutrition to the soil, you get the e bacteria, you y get life in the soil. Witth the biocha ar you get the e structure. B Biochar gives s a new strructure to the e soil. Thereffore you can enhance the e effectiveness of the com mpost. Co omposting releases methane, carbon dioxide, and d also nitrous s oxide during its decomp position. Tha at, in fact, is no n good for sure! But if you wo ould take from m that the co onclusion tha at you should d not composst that would be wrong. The T soil needs com mpost the sam me way the soil s needs orrganic materiial as naturallly occurs. Yo ou simply ca an’t take it aw way. In fact, this is a problem now with h biogas and d with the utilization of wo ood, people u using wood pellets p for heating. They take t the who ole tree with all a the green stuff, and th hey scrub cle ean the forest floor. But yo ou kill the forrest with thatt because you take off all the nutrition n from the so oil so that the e other trees, those left, will w have nothing to eat. With composting it is jusst the same as a a natural process p but a little more e effective. With compostin ng we e can accelerrate this proccess with the e heating that comes with h composting g itself. It getss very hot in a compost heap. It goes fa aster than the natural pro ocess. So byy proper composting meth hods you can n control the release of me ethane, CO2 and NO2. Now, N coming back to biocchar, we don’t use this co omposting prrocess for its production, of course, but we use the sam me organic material m that we w use for co omposting. For F biochar w we use pyroly ysis. The bio ochar machin ne is, in fact, situated or installed at a huge compo osting facilityy. It is an entterprise that, before they began working with us for the t productio on of biocharr, they did composting. So o, once the b biochar has been b producced we e mix it with organic o mate erial and starrt the compossting. Wh hat percenta age of the to otal mass off green was ste generate ed from a vin neyard is typ pically used d for co omposting and what forr biochar? PS S For the moment we testt additions of one to five percent bioc char to compost…. Just to o finish whatt I started explaining, whyy we put biocchar into com mpost. The compost beco omes much more m effectivve than comp post alone. In n facct, what we produce p is a kind of terra a preta. If you u put only bio ochar into the soil you ha ave a carbon n sink and some strructure but yo ou don’t have e all this bioa activity you get g with the addition a of co ompost. Jusst to give you u an idea, biochar has 30 00 m2 per grram of surfac ce area beca ause of its strructure, (dep pends on the wa ay you pyrolyyse). Composst has usuallly 1m2 per gram surface area. Adding g 0,1% of bio ochar increas ses the speccific surface of the compost c alre eady to 8 - 10 0 m2 per gra am. We are starting s new compost c testts now with biochar b concentrations from 1 up to o 20%. You get g ten to twe enty times more m surface area inside, not outside. Or a square e yard, if you pre efer, with a sllight recalculation. hat!? That is s incredible e. Could you u provide me e a visual aiid in unders standing this s increase? Wh PS S Fold a 300 m2 sheet off extremly thin paper about 1000 or 10 0.000 times an you get itt. 300 square e meters… it is inccredible! An nd all that add ditional spacce is available e for microbiial and chem mical activity. PS S That’s it. Th hat’s the poin nt. An nd of course e water reten ntion. PS S Water reten ntion and alsso the retention of minera als and even toxic residue es. With the increase of life space forr
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 bacteria you ge et hot spots of o activity insside and enhance the wh hole life of the e soil, not on nly bacteria but b nematode es and protozoanss. Ba acteria has ca arbon and nitrogen in its cells, of course. So when n it gets eate en by funguss or nematodes C and N gets back into the t soil. Plan nts then get their t nutrition n. ne often reads of the im mportance off vine stress s in the prod duction of high-quality h grapes. Is it i possible to o On ma ake a vineya ard soil too healthy? Miicrobial com mpetition forr nutrients appears a to o occur at the expense off the e vine’s own n search forr requiremen nts. One rea ads that mic crobial popu ulations actu ually have to o decline be efore a vine might m take its i fair share e. Could you u clarify this s seeming paradox? p PS S I wouldn’t say s ‘too healtthy’. For me ‘healthy’ means the soil is in balance e. You can ha ave a soil in balance with ha huge bioactivityy or with lesss bioactivity. Mineralogica al structure is s important, too. But, for sure, if you put a grape vin ne into compo ost and noth hing else you would proba ably not get very v good grrapes. If you put corn in the t same compost pile yo ou will get a good yield. So S you have to find an eq quilibrium, a balance. No ow, you can regulate r a vin neyard by gro owing other herbs, h with biodiversity b b between the vines. v There are many po ossibilities av vailable to dirrect the soil balance b you want w to have e. Ye es, biodivers sity. If one th hinks only of o mono-cro opping, vine es alone, the e vineyard b becomes mo ore difficult to ba alance. This is true, yes? PS S Yes. I am sure s about th hat. Indeed, iff you put too o much comp post and biocchar in the so oil the balanc ce may be upset. It’s like the t vegetaria an who eats too much; evven though they always eat e the best ffood possible e they will ge et as fat as someone who only eats at MccDonalds! (laughs) Too much m added to t the soil is not a good th hing. The soil is spo oiled. Arre there certtain microbe es associate ed specifica ally with the vine? PS S I don’t know w. There are millions and d billions of th hem. I don’t know k if there e are some sspecies which h are better tha an others. It would w have to t do with the e local micro obe mixture. You Y might well w find varia ations betwee en local vin neyards. Wha at you can sa ay is that you u must have mychorizzae e [fungal] sym mbiosis with the vine’s ro oots. This is a fun ndamental re elation. They exchange nutrients. The e roots give sugar. s The viine producess sugar throu ugh photosynthesiss, but down in nside the soil the mychorrizzae can’t produce p sugar. It has no light energy. So the vine e roo ot and the fungus do a go ood deed: Th he root givess the sugar, the t mychorizzzae gives ba ack minerals the root couldn’t assimilate otherwisse. With this exchange th he vine gets certain kindss of minerals, phosphate and olig goelements [trace eleme ents]. So o if you want to have a terrroir-driven wine, w to have e vines that really produce the terroir minerals in the t grapes, you y need this symb biosis. And one very interresting thing about biochar is that it enhances the e chemical sig gnals betwee en roo ot and mycho orizzae to fin nd each other. It’s like rad dio. Biochar plays p it loude er! (laughs) A healthy vin neyard soil req quires this syymbiosis. Wh hat is the re elation betwe een the dep pth of a vine root system m and the ap pplication o of compost and a biocharr with respect to t terroir exp pression? PS S In our vineyyards roots can c get down n to a depth of o 10 meters, 15 meters. In California a I’m sure you get down to t 10 meters. It de epends on th he kind of vin ne but you ca an easily gett down to 10 meters. Dow wn there, eve en if it’s very dryy, you get wa ater. With wa ater you get minerals. m The e most nutrittion, nitrogen n, phosphate e, potassium etc., usually the e vine gets frrom the uppe er soil, in the first meter, the t first 50 ce entimeters. There T you ha ave the mostt carbon. Forr pro oducing suga ar, grapes, wood, w the esssentials of the vine, the first 50 centim meters are the most impo ortant. But witthout the roo ots getting de eeper you pro obably won’tt get as much h mineral upttake, and the e hydric stres ss would be too mu uch. The vine e would die without w irriga ation. He ere in Califorrnia drip irriigation is no ot uncommo on. The diffiiculty is that such techn nique encou urages sh hallow rootin ng….Your th houghts? PS S If you were here I could d show you, as a I do when n conducting guided tourss of our vineyyard, what ha appens when n you put a mine eral manure [chemical [ ferrtilizers] in yo our vineyard. The roots off the vine go o down to 30 centimeters or so and then gro ow horizonta al, and then the t root come es up again because it gets nutrition from nearer the surface wn deeper in n the soil. Thiis phenomen non you find only with thiss kind of irrattional agriculture. With ratther than dow irrigation it is th he same. The e roots grow back up to nearer n the su urface ratherr than down. To o have a terro oir wine you would w neverr do this. Terrroir is not in the t first 30 centimeters, c tthe terroir is not in the ferrtilizers, not in drip irrigatiion. Terroir iss down deep p in the soil, and a mychorizzzae help lib berate the minerals for the e vin ne’s assimilattion. An nd you need the t earthworrm. The earth hworm eats through t the soil s and ejeccts castings. Inside its sto omach is an
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 acid which makkes a mixture e with the arg gil, a clay-hu umus comple ex, an organo o-mineralogicc compound very importa ant forr plant nutritio on, produced d by the earthworm (and some other worms), and d minerals. The earthworm m has two fun nctions. The first is to turn n and re-turn n the earth. Through T such h turning it mixes m the soil elements, th he char, the arg gil, and humu us with minerals. This mixing is very important, ottherwise the plant could n not assimilatte as well wh hat the e soil may prrovide, the nu utrition and the elements. To oo much pestticide into the e soil will elim minate earthw worms. Usua ally you shou uld have 100 00 earthworm ms per cubic me eter. For a vineyard workker, they shou uld take a sh hovel or a spade. You can n only make good wine with w a spade!! On nly then can you y see wha at is happening in the soil. When I do consulting I take a spade e and look in nto the soil. Wh hen I don’t fin nd earthworm ms that is alrready a bad sign. s Wh hat about tra ractors and soil s compac ction? PS S In our agricculture we ne eed tractors. We try to usse machines that are not too heavy, th hat have more tires, are wid der…. Sorry to come bacck to earthwo orms and the eir activity, bu ut with them you get a so oil that is not as compacte ed. An nd you get oxxygen to the soil. If you have oxygen you have bre eathing; you get bacteria a that are aerrobic, not anaerobic. If yo ou have anae erobes you get g methane and other to oxic gasses (but ( no N20 w which is prod duced close to the e surface and d needs oxyg gen). This whole process is very,, very compliicated! And if I’ve explain ned just a littlle bit in the la ast half hour you should not think that I know very much h about it. I know k just a litttle bit. Not many m people know a lot! IIt is an endle ess science. So oil is an endle ess science. And we, collectively, don n’t know muc ch about it. But B the more we learn the e better will be b our agriculture.. Then we ca an work with natural proccesses to imp prove how crrops are grow wn. elightful, Petter. Is there anything yo ou’d like to add that we e haven’t at least l touche ed upon? De PS S In your ema ail you mentiioned aroma atic profiles and biochar. We W do aroma atic profiles iin our project. We take aro omatic profile es from wine e and grapes. We are looking at the development of these aro omatic profile es through the utilization of bio ochar or not. It will take about a three to o five years, at least, until we can sayy something,, if there is an n aro omatic chang ge. For the moment m we don’t d know. We W can’t say nothing will happen to th he wine. Wh hat we attem mpt is to get more m terroir through t bioch har because we enhance e the bioactivvity and the balance b of th he soil. But what could c happen n if you use too t much, yo ou could desttroy your ressults. You cou uld unbalanc ce the soil. This T is what w we hop pe to learn wiith our projecct. Bu ut we don’t ad dd biochar evvery year. Yo ou can’t add it endlessly into your vin neyard. If you u are only loo oking for a carbon sink the en it is best to put biocha ar deep inside e the soil and d forget abou ut it. You alw ways have to distinguish ese two usess of biochar, for agriculturral enhancem ment and for a carbon sin nk. the Lastly, with bio ochar you can n fix pesticide residues. This T is very important for vineyards w with a ‘history y’. In Europe we have very old vineyards v tha at in the sixtie es and seventies used pesticides, orrganochloric c pesticides. They are stiill insside the soil. Even 40 yea ars later you find them. They T are still active. Theyy are persiste ent. We’ve do one experiments that showed you y could fix pesticides with w biochar. We’ve W since extended ou ur research to o copper and d to oth her products used as pessticides in org ganic farming g. We e’ll see what develops. Th hank you, Pe eter. PS S Thank you, Ken http://www.swisssinfo.ch/eng g/front/The_cclimate_farm mer_who_gro ows_a_mean n_pinot.html? ?siteSect=10 07&sid=102079 23&cKey=1232 2126955000& &ty=st January 16, 20 009 - 6:30 PM M
Th he climate e farmer who w grows a mean pinot p Ha ans-Peter Schmidt uses techniques t th hat remove greenhouse g gases g from the atmosphe ere (swissinffo) Hig gh on a hills side in the Alps, A Hans-P Peter Schmiidt has begu un an experrimental vine eyard where e ancient clu ues for solving climate change may y lie buried in the soil. "Lo ook at this," he h says, stoo oping low to claw the earrth. "See how w black it is? This soil is a alive. It could d have a hug ge impact." That's because e Schmidt is no ordinary winemaker. w Here in canton Valais, where about 1 140 producerrs make som me of Switzerland's most popular wines, Scchmidt runs a vineyard where w the soil captures to ons of carbon n dioxide and d me ethane gasess each year while w nurturing rich pinotts noirs.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 He e is what agro onomists calll a climate fa armer, seekin ng to restore e the soil's na atural biodive ersity while simultaneous s sly pre eventing gree enhouse gasses from ente ering the atm mosphere. What's W more, the t techniques he's using g could soon n generate more than SFr100 0,000 worth ($89,730) off electricity ea ach year alm most entirely ffrom renewa able sources – mo ore than enough to power his operatio on. "His idea as are very, very v interesting," says Fra anco Weibel, a lead agronomist at the t Research h Institute forr Organic Ag griculture, Eu urope's largesst centre for organic farm ming, based near Basel. "One of the big g challenges for future farrmers is how w to get carbo on in soils su ustainably fixed and at durable levels. We need more research h, but there iss big potentia al." Po ower of Myth hopia Scchmidt is now w a research consultant fo or Delinat in St Gallen, one of Europe e's largest orrganic wine distributors d th hat has interests in n about 40 vineyards sca attered all ove er the continent. Most of the work he does with climate farmin ng takkes place in a small vineyyard called Mythopia M thatt he started four f years ag go on the terraced slopes s above Sion n, in the e southern ca anton of Vala ais. When he e bought the vineyard the e soil was de ead, Schmidt says, the prroduct of decades of che emical fertilissers and intense farming.. "The proble em with vineyyards is that they create a monoculture tha at leads to th he destruction n of plants, in nsects, birdss, animals an nd thousandss of organism ms living in th he soil," he sayys. "You kill all of that to make wine when w that isn n't necessary y. Without ch hanging the q quality of the wine you ca an kee ep it all alive e." An n anthropolog gist at heart, Schmidt beccame interessted in ancien nt agricultura al methods o on small, ecologically divverse farms. He drastically reduced th he number of vines, introduced beehiives and plan nted bushes,, apricot tree es and herb garde ens. "My ne eighbours thought t I was w crazy,"" he says. In return, thoug gh, he made significant h to sprray againstt bees because bees feed on th heir grapes," he says.. "Here, I gains. "They have ha ave bees bu ut they don n't eat the grapes, g the ey go to the e flowers because b Ih have flowerrs." Today his h pro oduction is small, just 1,0 000 bottles a year, but ea ach fetches up u to SFr33, twice what his neighbo ours can charge. Bio ochar, the carbon c answ wer? Bu ut the most siignificant ste ep Schmidt has made cou uld rest in the e soil. His ha ands cup chu unky, black dirt d that conta ains sm mall bits of ch harcoal, such h as you migh ht find in a ba arbecue. "In fact you cou uld use it for a barbecue,"" he says. "B But thiss is biochar. You can ma ake it from an nything organ nic, clippings s, grass." Or even the skiins from pres ssed grapes.. Scchmidt started d making bio ochar about two t years ag go using a tes st machine th hat heats org ganic materia al up to abou ut 550 degrees without w oxyge en using a me ethod called pyrolysis. Th he end produ uct is biochar, as well as gas and hea at tha at can be use ed to generate power. Fa armers in the United State es have been n dabbling with w the pyroly ysis, but Sch hmidt and De elinat are the e first to do it in Sw witzerland. Th he implications are far reaching – and d ancient. In the 16th cen ntury a Spaniish explorer found f an Am mazonian civiilisation that enjoyed land d far more fe ertile than it ould have be een. The seccret was onlyy discovered centuries latter when a Cornell C Unive ersity profess sor found a sho tra ack of rich bla ack soil seve eral metres deep right nexxt to poor, th hin soil. It wass biochar, wh hich could prrove to be something of a wonder sub bstance for co ountries with h poor soil. "T Think of it ass a dynamic ssponge," say ys Simon Ab biven, a resea archer at Zurrich University studying biochar. b "It ca an store minerals, hold w water, retain pollutants p an nd house micro-orrganisms." That's T not all. When organ nic material rots r in the op pen air, it rele eases carbon n dioxide and d me ethane, two contributors c t global warrming. Comp to posting helps s reduce the amount of gas released but pyrolysiss is eve en better sin nce it stops organic materrial from in th he first place, thereby kee eping gassess from being released intto the e atmosphere e. Exactly ho ow much gass is captured is still being g researched. "A lot of people are very y optimistic about biochar,"" Abiven says. "I'm not be ecause we ju ust don't know enough ye et but we do have hope." « It's a way to pro oduce energyy that isn't ju ust climate ne eutral, but cliimate positiv ve. » Ha ans-Peter Schmidt Ex xpanding Scchmidt's expe eriment has attracted a atte ention from all a over the world. w Schmid dt says the te est machine worked so well w tha at Delinat now w plans to pu urchase a much larger machine m for about a €335,000 that will p produce 500,000 tons of bio ochar. In add dition it could also genera ate SFr120,000 worth of electricity e a year. y "It's a way to produce energ gy that isn't just climate neutral, n but climate c positive," Schmidtt says. Carbo on would no lon nger be relea ased by powe er generation n, but placed d in the groun nd. While the e machine re equires energ gy to run – wh hich can skew w the carbon n equation – Schmidt is quick to say that it require es relatively little power to o heat it up.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 On nce that temp perature is re eached, a ch hain reaction unfolds and, as in composting, the o organic materrial begins to o generate its ow wn heat. The new machine should be b operationa al in June and could supp ply vineyardss and farms a all over Euro ope with bio ochar. In the meantime, Schmidt S has wine to checck on, so he wanders dow wn to his cellar where he e extracts a sample of his la atest pinot noir from an oak o barrel. It is rich and zesty, z like the e ground from m which it wa as grown.
"W We're not doing d this s just beca ause of ou ur heart fo or nature,"" he says. "We're do oing it be ecause it also a make es good wine." sw wissinfo, Tim Neville in Arrbaz http://www.latim mes.com/fea atures/food/la a-fo-conferen nce20feb20,1 1,3861092.sttory
W WINE - Melttdown in your y wineg glass? A conference c in n Barcelona looks at the effects of glo obal climate change on the world of w wine. Byy Corie Brown n, Los Angelles Times Staff Writer Fe ebruary 20, 2008 BA ARCELONA, SPAIN -- TH HE "post-classsic" era of winemaking w is dawning, according a to experts at th he second Climate Chang ge & Wine co onference in Barcelona, Spain, S at the end of last week. w And it'ss going to be e full of nastyy surprises. Wh hat might "po ost-classic" wine w be like? ? Scientists to old winemakers and othe er industry prrofessionals at the gathering to ex xpect natura al acidity to drop, colors s to fade and alcohol le evels to rise e. Aromas co ould vanish. In short, wine ma ay gradually y lose the co omplexity wine w lovers appreciate. a And as risin ng levels of carbon dio oxide encou urage out-off-control veg getative gro owth, the gre een, herbace eous flavors s consumerrs deplore may m we ell increase. With so much potential p hum man misery predicted p as a result of climate chang ge, "it's almosst frivolous to o think aboutt win ne in the sam me context," said Australiian viticulture e consultant Richard Sma art. "Wine, however, is an early warning sig gnal of what is i to come," he said. "Win ne's past will no longer be b relevant [in n predicting its future] witthin 50 yearss. In only 10 yearrs, the palate e of our winess will change e." Atttending the conference c w were 350 peo ople from 36 countries, a five-fold incrrease from th he 70 particip pants at the firsst Climate Ch hange & Win ne conference held two ye ears ago, als so in Barcelo ona. Former U.S. Vice Prresident and No obel laureate Al Gore wass the closing speaker via a satellite tele econference.. The warmin ng global clim mate, thus far, has been good d news for winemakers in n some parts of Europe, where w recenttly, year after year of optiimal conditio ons forr grape ripening has mad de the phrase e "vintage of the century"" an annual marketing m slo ogan in Borde eaux. But if wa arming trendss continue (a an average te emperature increase of 2 to 3.5 degre ees Fahrenh heit by 2100 is i predicted), eve en in those regions, r grow wing conditio ons will slide from that peak of perfecttion into wha at could beco ome an ove erheated eno ological disaster, scientissts said. The first Climate e Change & Wine W confere ence advanc ced the arg gument that the t Earth is warming w and d, in the proccess, changin ng the character of wine. Speakers att last week's eve ent (organize ed, as was th he first, by Wine W Academ my of Spain president p Pan ncho Campo o) went furthe er, offering ne ew details about th he specific ch hanges that can be expe ected in wine production and a suggestiing how the wine w industryy sho ould respond d. The lineup p included ce elebrated inte ernational winemakers su uch as Jacqu ues Lurton, a renowned Fre ench winema aker with pro ojects in Fran nce, Chile, Argentina and d Australia. Joining Lurton n were influe ential German n win nemaker Ern nest Loosen, former Châtteau Cos d'E Estournel owner Bruno Prats P who no ow produces wine in So outh Africa and a Portuga al, and star Spanish S vintn ner Miguel To orres. Sh hifting flavorr profiles PR RATS and Lu urton predicte ed that, in Bo ordeaux, Merlot vineyards increasingly will be rep planted with Cabernet C Sa auvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Fran nc, Bordeaux x varieties that do better in warmer weather. The flavvor profile off Bordeaux will w change with w the loss of o Merlot, saiid Lurton, "bu ut these are still the traditional grapess of the e region." Alo ong Germanyy's Rhine Va alley, Loosen n said he exp pects more Cabernet C Sau uvignon and Syrah to be pla anted. If he hopes h to conttinue making g traditional Riesling R in Mosel M Valley, he'll have to plant new droughtressistant rootsttocks that pre eserve naturral acidity. Vineyard class sifications in Germany will probably shift. Grand cru c vin neyards treassured for their ability to produce ripe fruit f may be downgraded d to mere villa age status because they will produce ovver-ripe fruit. In Mosel, co ooler east-faccing vineyard ds in the regiion may be the new swee et spots. Se everal speake ers suggeste ed that rising alcohol leve els will have to t be controlled most like ely by using methods m succh as reverse osm mosis. To cap pture natural acids and aromas, a harvests will be staggered, s w with some gra apes harvestted
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 under-ripe to produce lots that t can be blended b with fuller-flavore ed lots from riper r grapes.. Together, th he lots may pro oduce a bala anced wine. Lurton said Europe will nee ed to relax itss regulations regarding irrigation. He and Torres a advocate irrig gation during g hot weather, a common pra actice in Ame erican vineya ards that is outlawed o in many m Europe ean regions. Torres T told th he gathering that he h is investin ng several millions m of dollars in research to find otther ways to mitigate the effects of clim mate change e on Spanish h wine. Research might fo ocus on findiing solutions to such prob blems as thriving populations of new insect pests, p increassed levels off volatile acid dity and bretttanomyces (a a spoilage ye east), exccessive vine vigor and su unburned gra apes. Meanw while, forward d-looking win ne producerss, including Torres, T are also invvesting in lan nd in cooler climate c areass. Eventually, the global map m of viable e winemaking regions will shift toward d the e poles, north hward in the Northern He emisphere an nd southward d in the Soutthern Hemisp phere. Warm m vineyards in tod day's warmesst areas, succh as those in California'ss Central Valley, may be abandoned.. And new pa arts of the glo obe inccluding Engla and, Denmarrk, Belgium and a the Patagonia region ns of Chile an nd Argentina a will emerge as high-qua ality pro oducers. Ne ew premier regions r TH HE narrow co oastal regions where cool ocean bree ezes provide relief from rising tempera atures, includ ding Russian n Rivver Valley, Tasmania and d Puget Sound, will be prremier wine areas a -- alon ng with high-e elevation des serts in place es as different as China and Arizona.As A fo or such seem mingly self-de efeating practtices as the w wine industry y's fuel-burning wo orldwide ship pments of hea avy glass bo ottles, for exa ample, some in the industtry are develloping more environmentally sensitive alternatives, a s such as lighttweight plastic containerss. "We have tto be able to o hold our heads up on ou ur packaging g," Smart said d. Whoa! Sccreaming Eag gle in a bag-iin-a-box container? Not while w inte ernational wine consultan nt Michel Ro olland countss that Napa Valley V wineryy among his cclients. The naysayer n at the t conference, Ro olland dismisssed concern ns about clim mate change. "Perhaps th he warming w will stop? We e don't know," he said. "So far, climate change has be een very good for us." Ro olland shrugg ged off the ha and-wringing g and dark fo orebodings th hat dominate ed the Barcelona event an nd instead le ead a blind b tasting of o wines thatt offered a diiversion from m the main ag genda. Whatt do America an vintners sa ay about clim mate change e? It was imp possible to sa ay from the conference. c Only O half a dozen d Americcans attende ed; there werre no American viintners on an ny of the pan nels, although h Campo iss sued invitations to represe entatives of American A wine tra ade associatio ons. It is an American, A ho owever, who o is leading th he research into the effeccts of climate e change on the e wine industtry. Gregory Jones, a clim matologist at Southern Oregon University, has pa artnered with Hans-Raine er Scchultz, a clima atologist with h Germany'ss Geisenheim m Research Institute, to produce p the b bulk of the da ata that conference spe eakers used to bolster their argumentts. Though Jones said sccientists in New Zealand,, South Africa a, Arg gentina, Ausstralia, Italy and a Portugal have contaccted him about conducting similar research in their countries, littlle follow-up research r hass been publisshed. Jones and Schultz''s data show w that through hout the worlld's winegro owing region ns, average te emperaturess, particularlyy at night, are e rising, and rainfall patte erns are incre easingly unpredictable. As a result, the t grapevin ne's growth cycle c has esc calated so tha at "bud break," the start of o the annua al cyccle, occurs as a much as a month earlier than it did d 50 years ag go. "It's a distturbance in tthe balance we w call terroiir," Scchultz told the e group. "The e wine indusstry has tremendous adap ptive capacity. But it musst agree there e is an issue and develop cle ear strategie es for dealing g with it." corie.brown@la atimes.com http://www.gua ardian.co.uk/sscience/2008 8/may/26/sciienceofclima atechange.climatechange e?gusrc=rss& &feed=enviro on me ent
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Viticulture may m have to shift no orth, says s academic c. Climate e in southe ern UK co ould be su uited to raisins Ian n Sample, sccience corresspondent The Guardian, Monday 26 May 2008 Rissing tempera atures could see parts of northern England growin ng grapes cu urrently produ uced in the warmer w clima ates of southern Fra ance and Chile. Photogra aph: Charles O'Rear/Corbis Pa arts of southe ern Britain wiill become to oo hot for win ne production n within the next n 75 yearss if summer temperatures t s continue to rise e as rapidly as a climate sccientists pred dict.Stretches s of the Tham mes Valley, H Hampshire and a the Severn alley are expe ected to warm m by as mucch as 5C by 2080, 2 making them too hot h to grow grapes. Instea ad, the areass Va
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 will be more su uited to curra ants, raisins and a sultanass, which at prresent are cu ultivated in th he hot climate es of the Mid ddle East an nd north Africca. Ho otter summerrs are also likkely to wreakk havoc in more traditiona al wine produ ucing countrries such as France, F Italyy and Spain. Butt the shifting climate could open up va ast areas of northern Eng gland to wine e production,, with Yorksh hire and Lancashire e able to produce grapess such as cab bernet sauvig gnon and me erlot, which a are traditiona ally grown in southern Francce and Chile. Pro ofessor Richard Shelley, who studiess the effects of o geology and climate change on vitticulture at Im mperial College London, combiined climate predictions from f the UN's intergovern nmental panel on climate e change and d the Met Offfice's Hadleyy Centre to examine e the likely impact of global wa arming on British vineyard ds. Hiss analysis pa aints a picture of shifting wine w production across the t country. For F the previious 100 yea ars, British vin neyards have e planted Germanic grape es that flourish in cooler climates and d are used in n wines such as rieslings.. Bu ut in the past two decadess, grape varieties such as chardonna ay and pinot noir, n typicallyy grown in warmer w climattes, have been intro oduced. If su ummer tempe eratures continue to rise in line with predictions, p S Shelley says grapes that now thrive in so outhern England will onlyy grow well on o the coolerr slopes of Sn nowdonia an nd the Peak District. D "If the predictio ons for future e warming turrn out to be right, r there will w be large areas a of the T Thames Vallley, the Ha ampshire bassin and Seve ern Valley tha at will be too hot for wine production,"" Shelley said d. "British vitticulture coulld cha ange beyond d recognition n in the comin ng years." Sh helley's analyysis appears in an update ed version off his book Th he Winelandss of Britain: P Past, Present and Pro ospective, which w is publisshed today. Ch hristopher Wh hite, general manager off Denbies Vin neyard in Dorking, Surreyy, said the winemaker ha ad already noticed change es. "We have en't been affe ected by frosst in the past seven yearss, we're getting lower acid dity in the juiice and higher sug gar levels, so o, generally, the t grapes are a ripening sooner. s We are a harvestin ng two weeks s earlier than n we e used to," he e said. Shiftss in grape sugar content can c have serious implica ations for how w wines are blended b to balance their alcohol a content. "If temperatures get as a hot as Pro ofessor Shelley suggests, it will be dra astic for all Eu uropean wine e-makers," White W said. Sir Brian Hoskkins, director of the Granttham Institute e for Climate e Change at Imperial Colleg ge London, said: "Increasses in temperature over the course off this centuryy could have a dramatic efffect on what can be grow wn here, inclu uding vines."
Vin nho, Biodivversidade & & ‘Lifestyle’ http://www.gua ardian.co.uk/m money/2006 6/may/09/ethiicalmoney.fo oodanddrink
Etthical livin ng - Is it OK ... to driink wine? Leo Hickman's guide to a good g life B the e god of wine e, were to gla ance down upon Britain to oday, he wou uld surely raise a toast in n approval. In n 2004 If Bacchus, we e consumed 1.2bn litres of o wine worth h £9.3bn - a rise of 23% on o 1999 - me eaning that w we drink, on average, a ra ather sobering 25.4 litres l per pe erson a yearr. The UK is now the larrgest importter of wine in the world; we drink more m champagne th han any othe er country bar b France, but old alleg giances to European E viineyards have been dis splaced by our o new lov ve of New World wines. Bu ut without wanting to put a dampener on the partyy, there are some downerrs to discuss. The debate e about the social and health imp pact of alcoho ol consumption, including g wine, is we ell rehearsed elsewhere, but the produ uction of win ne also thrrows up a number of concerns, with the reality oftten far from the t bucolic id dyll of lore. Ma any of the wo orld's vineyarrds are now highly industtrialised. Of most m concern, perhaps, iis the increas sing reliance e on pesticides. Sevveral recent studies s have e discovered pesticide res sidues in win nes, including g some labellled as organ nic. This suggests that t vines co ould be particcularly vulnerable to conttamination fro om airbound d pollutants. One O study off Bu ulgarian wine e found that wine w from a vineyard v in a heavily pollu uted region contained c mo ore than dou uble the legall limit of lead. Mo ost vines are regularly sp prayed to pro otect them fro om pests suc ch as red spiders and fun ngal attack. Monty M Waldin n, the org ganic wine sp pecialist, believes that the worst offen nders in term ms of pesticid de use are th he high-yield wine regionss of Bo ordeaux, Burg gundy, Cham mpagne and Australia. He e says Chile and Portug gal rate partiicularly poorly because of o the ina adequate traiining of workkers using pe esticides.
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AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 This pursuit of high-yield crrops hasn't le eft Europe's wine w growers s a picture of financial ro osy health, either. Europe e's win ne producerss may have received r €1.2 2bn in Comm mon Agricultu ural Policy pa ayments in 2 2003, but ma assive ove erproduction n has caused d widespread d unrest amo ong farmers, particularly in France, wh ho face the threat of New w Wo orld competittion. Howeve er, wine is no ot subject to quotas, like some s other crops. c Uniqu uely, wine gro owers are pa aid to convert their su urplus into ch heap brandy or even fuell. So the cycle of overpro oduction conttinues - enab bled by the reliance on pessticides. Wa aldin is also concerned c a about the use e of additivess. Unlike food d, there is no o obligation fo or wine bottles to list all additives on the e label. (The e Co-op volun ntarily lists additives on itts own-label wines.) Thiss means that spotting "suitable forr vegetarianss" on a label can throw up p more questtions than an nswers. Wha at it is likely to o allude to is s that the win ne does not conta ain animal-de erived fining agents, a such h as isinglass s, which is made m from fish bladders, which w acts to o rem move the miccroscopic colloids that ca an cloud wine e. Clay or silica will proba ably have be een used insttead. Other additives includ de sulphur, which w is used d as a preserrvative, asco orbic or tartarric acid, and sugar to incrrease the alccohol content. Wh hile some co onsumers ma ay not see a problem in swallowing s th hese additive es with their w wine, they wiill do so unknowingly. Itt is a sweet irony that Austria has beccome a beac con of Europe ean organic farming toda ay largely because of the public ba acklash to a 1985 scanda al in which un nscrupulous Austrian win nemakers ussed an antifre eeze called die ethylene glyccol instead off a natural glucose sweettener on theiir grapes to cut c cost. The issue of ch heap immigra ant labour is something that has bligh hted the wine e industry, to oo. For example, last year Ca alifornia's E& &J Gallo, one the world's biggest b wine e producers, was the subjject of a thre ee-month boy ycott called by b the Un nited Farm Workers W union n. The boyco ott only ended when Gallo o agreed to new n 30-month contracts that guarantteed wo orkers $8.98 an hour and better healthcare terms.. Ou ur taste for New World wiine also raise es the issue of just how sustainable s itt is to ship a heavy liquid contained in n gla ass half way round the wo orld. We imp port twice as much green glass as we e manufacturre, mainly in the form of wine w bottles. Despite e our best effforts to recyccle more, we e still send 1,400,000 tonnes of glass a year to lan ndfill: glass now n acccounting for 7% of house ehold waste. Shipping cullet - crushed d waste glass - back to fa ar-off countries to be mad de into new bottles is one o answer, but there are e now calls, principally by y Wrap (Wasste and Reso ources Action Programm me), to bottle much mo ore imported wine here in n the UK, the ereby cutting needless tra ansport emisssions and in ncreasing the e ma arket demand d in the UK for f recycled glass g that rettails for £15-£30 a tonne. They'll have e to get past the wine sno obs firsst, though. And, A yes, co ork is bette er than scre ew-tops orr plastic "co orks" beca ause the co ork farms of o the
Me editerranea an are susttainably ma anaged and d importan nt for the re egion's bio odiversity. This all might le eave you needing a glass of wine, bu ut there are some s positive e options. Bu uying organic c wine suppo orts a susstainable farrming system m. As does bu uying some of o the fledglin ng fairtrade wines w from S South Africa and a Chile. Su uppliers include Vintage Roots R (vintag geroots.co.ukk, tel: 0800 980 9 4992) an nd Vinceremo os (vincerem mos.co.uk, tell: 0113 244 0002). Also o, to keep th hose transporrt emissions down, suppo ort English wines w (visit en nglishwinewe eek.co.uk forr a full listt of vineyardss). Or just pu ull out that de emi-john from m the loft and d have anoth her go at makking your ow wn. · Next N week: Iss it OK to buyy shares. Sen nd your view ws to ethical.living@ guarrdian.co.uk http://www.contactmusic.co om/news.nsf//article/sting% %20to%20se ell%20wine% %20from%20 0his%20viney yard_109753 34 12//03/2009 07::01
Stting to sell wine from m his vine eyard Ro ocker STING is hoping to give Italian agriculture a boost by bo ottling and se elling wine made from the e fruits of his own Tuscan vineyard. The ex-P Police frontma an has announced plans to produce 30,000 3 bottle es of Chianti a year from his e Valdarno, south of Florrence, in an effort to "d defend Tus scan agricu ulture and biodiversitty". esttate in Figline The star began n bottling his first efforts in 2007 and those t crates are slated to o hit shelves in Septembe er (09). Sting g will late er market tw wo kinds of wine: a Chiantti DOC and a Tuscan red d. And it wa as his profo ound conc cern for the e
en nvironmentt that inspired the end deavour. He H says, "I always a use e traditiona al methods - no pe esticides. I am a farme er who loo oks after the e land to nourish it and not to p plunder it." Sting and his wife Tru udie Styler, who w bought the t vineyardss and the adjjoining wood ds in 2002, already sell ho oney and oliv ve oil from th he lan nd under the brand name e Il Palagio Sumner S Family. 12//03/2009 07:01
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 http://lusowine..com/displayyarticle4562.h html
W Wine greenw wash - Do oes being green ma ake better wine, or ju ust better bragging rights? Co olocado por: Lusowine em m Terça, Dezzembro 23, 2008 2 - 10:06 AM GMT These days, evvery winemaker is falling all over himsself to declarre how "gree en" he is. Are e they doing this to impro ove the quality of their wine, or havve marketers decided it's time to apply y a fresh coa at of green-w wash to the wine w industry? ? Ta ake solar. The e incentives to go solar here h are finan ncially attrac ctive and can n pay back on n the investm ment in five to o 10 yea ars. I like tha at return. It's also neat to generate cle ean energy and a negative utility bills frrom PG&E. But B should a win nery put "solar-powered" on its label? ? It appeals to t a certain psychograph p ic set of conssumers, but cues that the e win nery feels thiis should be one of the consumer's main m considerations when n buying their wine. How does solar ta aste? An nd organic farming? It's better for the plant, the so oil and the gre eater environ nment. It is m more costly, too, t and hard der to control outcom mes and avoid d threats in th he vineyard. The rewards s may be a healthier h vine eyard and be etter wine quality, aid in price pe er ton or a po oint of distincction when selling wine iff it is certified d and marketted on the label. an increase pa No ot everyone who farms organically,, however, is certified or o markets himself h as such. Why no ot? If the go oal is a healthy h vine eyard that will w make the e best wine, then tying your y hands by touting y your practic ces or paying for certification may m come att too high a price. Whatt if a fungus s that cannot be treated by an organic chemica al thrreatens your vineyard? ? If you farm m organically y for marketting purpose es, sticking to your gun ns becomes s your on nly alternativ ve, taste be damned. Sh hould winerie es tout farmin ng and energ gy practices to t attract "gre een consume ers"? These practices co ould signal an n inccreased atten ntiveness tha at leads to be etter-tasting wine. Or they could mean that wineries care more e about theirr positioning than the quality of the wine. To suss outt greenwashiing, look at how h much efffort is put into o selling tecchniques verrsus impleme enting them. In any eventt, the evidence is in the bottle. b
Vin nho, Cortiça a & Biodiveersidade
ww ww.peticao.e ecologicalcork.com Esscolher um vinho engarra afado com ro olha de cortiça é uma op pção que deffende a biodiversidade, protege p posto os de tra abalho nacion nais e reduz os efeitos do o carbono. Exxistem diversas razões qu ue nos devem m levar a optar por escollher vinhos com c rolha de e cortiça. Gra aças às diverrsas campanhas insstitucionais, aos a artigos e documentá ários indepen ndentes os co onsumidoress começam a estar cada vez ma ais sensibiliza ados para ellas. -Os montados de cortiça sã ão a base do o ecossistem ma da bacia mediterrânica m a e por isso o os responsáv veis pela pre eservação de e centenas de d espécies vegetais v e an nimais. -A rolha de corrtiça é o veda ante com a menor m pegad da de carbon no (CO2) na sua s produçã ão e utilização o. Se a isso jun ntarmos as to oneladas de CO2 retidass pelos sobre eiros então estamos pera ante um enorrme elemento o de “de escarbonizaçção” do nossso consumo. -A indústria da cortiça é ressponsável em m Portugal por p cerca de 12.000 posto os de trabalh ho directos. Além A disso, é dos poucos sectore es em que so omos lideress mundiais, com c mais de 50% da prod dução de corrtiça e das exportações do d seu principal produto (rolhas). -Po or muito que e queiram dizzer o contráriio, a rolha de e cortiça é o melhor amig go do vinho. Logo à partid da do ponto de vissta técnico/de esempenho, pois permite e que o vinho o mesmo depois de enga arrafado continue a evolu uir através de e uma miccro-oxigenaçção controlad da de forma natural. Mass também do o ponto de vissta de image em para o vin nho, pois os esttudos de opinião apresen ntam a rolha a de cortiça como c vedante e de eleição dos consum midores.
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 Essta é por isso o uma opção que deve se er feita por to odos nós. No o entanto ne em sempre e esta opção está ao nos sso alc cance, isto porque p quase e nunca exis ste qualquer tipo de infformação no o exterior da as garrafas sobre o tipo o de vedante por elas utilizado o. Pa ara tentar mu udar esta rea alidade o Eco oLogicalCorkk.com está a realizar uma a petição online ("abaixo assinado") que q deve ser assina ada por todo o e qualquer consumidor que queira fazer f valer o seu direito à informação o. Esta petiçã ão servirá para fazzer pressão junto j dos ressponsáveis pela p comerciialização de vinhos (prod dutores, enga arrafadores, vendedores, ettc.) no sentid do de que esstes mudem o seu compo ortamento. Para além dessta acção de e mostrar a vontade dos co onsumidoress aos produto ores, a petiçã ão servirá tam mbém para fazer f chegarr a vontade dos d cidadãoss à Asssembleia da a República para p que a mesma m tome iniciativas le egislativas no o sentido de obrigar a que e este tipo de info ormação con nste nas garrrafas. Essta é uma inicciativa que a todos diz re espeito, o dirreito à inform mação para tomar opçõe es é um dire eito de todos nós. De efenda o futu uro, defenda a o que é no osso, apoie e escolha a cortiça. As ssine e divulgue por tod dos os seus s amigos, co olaboradore es, funcionários, fornec cedores e cliientes: ww ww.peticao.e ecologicalcork.com http://lyke2drink.blogspot.com/2008/12//will-screw-ca ap-wines-destroy.html Friiday, Decem mber 19, 200 08
W Screw Cap Will C Wines s Destroy y Biodivers sity? I've e always felt a little strange opening a bottle of wiine that has a screw cap closure. In fa act, I'm not a big fan of syn nthetic plastic corks. It tu urns out I'm not n just a sno ob, I'm also an a environme entalist. A BBC B Natura al World doc cumentary is s set to air next n month that quotes s a World Wiildlife Fund study that suggests up to 75 percen nt of the Med diterranean''s cork fores sts could disappear in tthe next dec cade. The cu ulprit is not global warming. w It's s the screw cap. Ass wineries inccreasingly turrn away from m natural cork, the marke et has decline ed. Farmers facing econo omic ruin by the falling demand for corks are e ripping outt trees to plan nt other crop ps. Many of th he farmers a are then finding that the la and tha at used to support cork fo orests offers poor growing g conditions for other cro ops. Some off the areas have turned desertd like e. Wh hen cork tree es are removved, wildlife habitats h are also a lost. The e World Wild dlife Fund says species such s as the Ib berian lyn nx, black storrks, booted eagles e and European E cra anes are threatened by th he dwindling cork forests.. Wineries have been turning g away from natural cork for economic reasons an nd because o of the proble em of wines becoming "corkked" -- a con ndition where e wine develo ops an off fla avor as it age es. Scientistss have traced d this problem m to a che emical called d trichloroaniisol. Cork pro oducers in Portugal P are attempting a ne ew sterilizatio on methods to rid the corrk of the e chemical and eliminate the problem m. Co ork is harvestted by stripping off the ba ark from a livve cork oak, which w requires more than n four decades to reach ma aturity. The trree is left sta anding and th he bark grow ws back in nin ne years, wh hen it can be stripped aga ain. A mature e tree can yield 4,000 0 corks. http://www.wine e.co.za/New ws/News.aspxx?NEWSID= =13528&Source=HomePa age Bio o-Diversity Champion C G Graham Bec ck adopts Amorim FSC natural corrks We ednesday, April A 08, 2009 9 by Amorim Just like So outh African's Bio-Diversity and Wine e Initiative, aiming at minimising the e further losss of threatene ed natural ha abitat of the Cape C floral kingdom k and contributing to sustainab ble wine pro oduction thro ough the ado option of biod diversity guidelines, the FSC F certificattion in cork o oak forests also ensures ressponsible ma anagement and a commitm ment to forestt preservation, biodiversitty and the fig ght against desertification d n and clim mate change e. Both initiattives enjoy sttrong supporrt of by the WWF. W Grraham Beck Wines, W the second produ ucer to becom me a champiion of the Bio odiversity & W Wine Initiativ ve, awarded in Ma arch 2006, will w be adoptin ng Amorim's FSC corks in the Gamek keeper's Resserve Cabern net Sauvigno on. According g to Pie eter Ferreira,, cellar maste er at Graham m Beck Wine es, the use off FSC corks is an avenue e for wine pro oducers to demonstrate th heir commitm ment to susta ainable mana agement and production: "This fits our biodiversity y and conserrvation inittiative very well, w as we arre constantlyy aware of the importance e of doing things greenerr. "For Graha am Beck Win nes, it will emphasise the importan nce of our initiative as the ere is a conv vergence of interests i with hin the scope e of Graham eck's Businesss & Biodiverrsity initiative e, which is se een as a resp ponsible wayy of balancing environme ental, cultural and Be eco onomic value es," says Ferreira.
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom
AmBioNews new wsletter #4 E S P E C I A L ‘ V I N H O & B I O D I V E R S I D A D E ’ | 26 6 Abril, 2009 http://www.willa amettevalleyyvineyards.co om/whatsnew w/#news121 January 23rd, 2009 2
Co ork ReHarrvest Prog gram Laun nch No ow in a Who ole Foods Ma arket near you, y look forr Willamette e Valley Vine eyards susta ainable cork k recycling pro ogram, Cork k ReHarvestt. HE ELP PUT A CORK C IN GLOBAL WARMING Ass Oregonianss we treasure e our environ nment, our an ncient and managed m fore ests. The cork forestts of the Med diterranean are a second to o the Amazo on Forest in im mportance to o the world’s s biosphere. These forests are a in danger. The increa ased use of plastic p stoppers and alum minum screw w caps are red ducing the use of natural cork - increasing the danger of o global warrming. Co ork trees natu urally remove e carbon from m the air and d sequester it in their bark - and pump p oxygen bac ck into the atm mosphere. If we choose wine w sealed with natural cork, we help the environ nment. Convversely, alum minum ore mining and pro ocessing, using high levels of electriciity, is resultin ng in substan ntial negative e ecological effects. e The same is true off petroleum-b based plasticc stopper ma anufacturing. Thank you for choosing c (an nd recycling) the environm mentally sustainable choice - natural cork! m Bernau Jim Fo ounder P.S S. Plus, as wine w ages in the t bottle, high quality na atural cork is s the best for wine qualityy.
Tel: 217 7 975 132 Fax: 217 7 959 141
R. Filipe da Ma ata, 10, 1º Frente 1600-071 Lisb boa
ambiod div@ambiodiv.ccom http://w www.ambiodiv.ccom