Status and Vision

Sustainability in action: driving change in Alentejo

BY JAMES LAWRENCE

“Collective sustainability plans are common practice in some world wine regions and have been gaining importance in markets where Alentejo wines have also been gaining position”

There is much to tempt oenophiles in the Alentejo region; winegrowers have become fantastically adept at exploiting their varied terroir – rich loamy soils interspersed with limestone and metamorphic rock – and Mediterranean climate. Indeed, the rising prominence of organic viticulture, facilitated by the dry summers, provides ample evidence of Alentejo’s outstanding potential. The region enjoys about 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, producing concentrated wines of real distinction. As a result, exports continue to grow and the message is starting to hit home: Alentejo is the land of diversity and premium quality.

Yet the increasingly hot and dry growing conditions do present significant challenges and a potential threat to the region’s development. Taking a collegiate approach, Alentejo’s community has committed to a pan-regional sustainability programme, to ensure that viticulture remains sustainable and profitable in the 21st century. Launched in 2015, the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP) is a broad initiative, organised by the Alentejo Regional Wine Growing Commission. “Collective sustainability plans are common practice in some world wine regions and have been gaining importance in markets where Alentejo wines have also been gaining position,” explains coordinator João Barroso.

“There was a clear urgency to create a regional movement towards best practices, resource savings, efficiency increases and prosperity aligned with the adaptation to climate change. Our programme includes

themes as varied as sustainable viticulture, water, energy and waste management, pests and diseases, human resources, air quality, ecosystem management and community involvement.”

The scope and ambition of the project is considerable. Encompassing a very heterogeneous group of members, including large-volume producers and small growers, Barroso is adamant that every participant should be allowed to implement the programme at their own speed, to ensure good levels of engagement and retention. Knowledge sharing is at the heart of WASP – there is an extensive database of best practice materials to help producers learn from their peers about issues that range from soil erosion to energy efficiency. “Five years after launching WASP, we launched the Sustainable Production certification, based on third-party assessment,” says Barroso.

He continues: “This is key for the producers to have a competitive advantage in the global market. A rigorous certification process ensures that consumers are given a guarantee of authenticity – no one can ‘breeze through’’ the requirements.” According to Barroso, an overriding goal has been to “increase the number of members and spread the sustainability ethos advocated by WASP. We want Alentejo to become a sustainable wine-growing region of excellence”.

Of course, expanding the programme’s membership is only the beginning. The project’s directors have created a very comprehensive metric for assessing the level of attainment, analysing the various strands of eco-friendly strategies, unified under the umbrella

“ I believe that we should go far beyond a negative carbon footprint. We need to showcase a vineyard that has all the necessary tools to be as robust as possible in a changing climate - a model for others to follow. An inspiration and a charter of hope”

term ‘sustainability’. Digital tools are widely employed, to map out the region’s overall progress. “We have identified producers that have reduced their water use by over 60%. We see growers reporting a reduction of around 20% of energy consumption, achieved via the adoption of energy efficient practices. But I would argue that our main tool for measuring success is the steady growth of third-party certified members in our Sustainably Produced scheme,” says Barroso.

WATER CONSERVATION Echoing the experiences of many regions, water conservation is now of vital importance in Alentejo. The project’s leaders are fighting to stop soil erosion and promote water retention, promoting regenerative agriculture strategies aligned with “precision irrigation methodologies and tools”. Barroso describes it as “the perfect wedding between old and new,” adding: “This way we promote water retention, fight against erosion, increase organic matter in the soil, boost synergies between the surrounding ecosystem (regarding both fauna and flora), and reduce the risk of pests and diseases inherent to drier environments.”

The Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme has been tasked with a number of important roles. It is helping to coordinate and steer best practice in the Alentejo region. It is also responsible for providing invaluable support and advice to individual wineries who wish to up their sustainability game. But most crucially, the project has set out a pioneering vision that will define and safeguard Portuguese viticulture in a fast-moving and volatile age.

“Our long-term goal is to have a region that is resilient to climate change. An area that will be able to endure dry summers, more regular, longer and more intense heat waves, shorter winters and intense short rainfall periods, and still make the unique, stylish and beautiful wines that our customers expect,” says Barroso.

“I believe we should go far beyond a negative carbon footprint. We need to showcase a vineyard that has all the necessary tools to be as robust as possible in a changing climate – a model for others to follow. An inspiration and a charter of hope.”