We’re taking the next step
Our philosophy: We live Sustainability!
Anyone who knows us and our winery knows that we’ve always made an effort to save resources. That was “old-fashioned” for a long time and we were often asked “Why are you doing this to yourself?” Not everyone, including colleagues, could understand why we took back rinsed and refilled empty bottles without a deposit. Some also didn’t understand why we still use faultless cartons several times. On the other hand,generating our own electricity, was a strategy that was easily understood by others since it’s already a widely recognized eco-friendly approach. Maintaining a friendly working relationship with our employees has always been very important for us. Much like the land is a vital resource in life, cultivating positive relationships within our team is also just as valuable.
More than ten years ago, we started scrutinizing the plant protection management necessary for classical grape varieties. We found the answer to our question as to how the process can be shortened and more sustainable by using new grape varieties. We’re talking about the fungus-resistant “Piwis”, which are now becoming increasingly popular. They require only a fraction of biological or conventional crop protection. With PIWIs we don’t have to use tractors as often. As a result, there’s less soil compaction and diesel consumption, therefore less CO2 emissions. This is possible because the grapes have a thick skin, loose berries, the leaves on the grapes are strong, and are naturally resistant against fungal attack. Hence, less protective measures are needed to keep the grapes healthy until harvest. All this is made possible by crossing traditional European varieties, as we all know and like them, with strong and fungus-resistant wild vines. Proof of our success with Piwis like Prior, Cabertin, Muscaris, Johanniter, Cabernet blanc and Co. are the many awards we received in recent years. These sustainable varieties now grow on 40% of our vineyard area. It’s obvious, however, that this aspect is not enough if you want to work in harmony with the nature entrusted to you. Besides plants and our team, the soil must be in good health. The plants must be cared for, nourished and protected for a good harvest. We’re currently exploring different strategies to better protect the soil such as building up humus, thereby binding CO2. We’ve also decided to switch to legume fertilization instead of mineral fertilization, along with planting different greenery to support a richer soil. If you would like to learn more, feel free to reach out!
Can wine consumption be climate-neutral?
Yes – it’s possible!
There are numerous social and ecological challenges ahead of us all and their causes are due to human activity. There’s no more time to just discuss this, we need to act now! It’s time to invest our intellect and knowledge into a future worth living for future generations. Everyone can and must act. Even small personal changes in behaviour can contribute to a more sustainable future! To wait for politicians to act would be fatal.
Therefore we’ll actively take the next step to produce our/your wine verifiably climate neutral and environmentally friendly.
This means taking into consideration both old and new knowledge, and continuously getting more broad-based expertise. This will require new efforts, higher investments and also more work for us. Ultimately this applies to all of us, because there’s no alternative if we take the given state of our environment seriously.
The University of Heilbronn along with its DINE-experts (German Institute for Sustainable Development) turned out to be the right partner for us. They’re putting the future of viticulture to the test in terms of sustainability. Anyone who decides in favor of a comprehensive company analysis by independent environmental consultants called in by DINE, must be open and ready for further development and change. We’re currently in the phase of having our winery evaluated. At this moment our current ecologically sound strategies are looking to be expanded upon with the recommendations made by the environmental consultants. If this is successful, we’ll be able to label our wines with the “Fairchoice”, a recognised sustainability label.
It would be a great support and encouragement for us if you continued to accompany us on this path and recommend our wines to friends who also care about sustainability. By doing so, you’re taking part in ecological, economic and social sustainability development. Only together can we succeed in making wine fair, regionally produced and climate neutral.