Producing wine is no easy prospect given the constant environmental threats. In recent years, however, the pressure has increased for wine-makers to adopt sustainable practices.
For the booze business, going “green” is now a matter of survival, Popular Science reported. “In an industry that’s dependent on healthy ecosystems for good ingredients, turning a blind eye to wasteful practices, unsustainable agriculture, and the effects of climate change on crops isn’t an option,” Eleanor Cummins wrote.
This is true for Banfi Vintners, a leading US wine importer founded in New York in 1919 by John F. Mariani, Sr. The Mariani family continues to run the business, which includes the Castello Banfi vineyard estate in Montalcino, Tuscany.
“As a company whose product comes from the earth, we know that our success goes hand-in-hand with respect for the environment,” says Cristina Mariani-May, president and CEO at Banfi. “We’re also particularly cognizant of the savings and efficiencies that are realized with a solid sustainability plan in place.”
We caught up with Mariani-May to learn more about what is happening in the wine industry, and how her company is working to minimize its environmental footprint throughout the wine production process.
How does sustainability fit into the winery?
We’re on a mission to reorganize our wine production to use fewer agri-chemical products. This approach to vineyard management is directed at real environmental sustainability values that impact every step of the production chain. In order to accomplish this, we’ve taken many factors into consideration such as choice of plot, vines, form of cultivation, and fertilization.
What are the biggest sustainability trends you’re seeing in the wine industry?
Global warming continues to impact agriculture and results in inconsistent vintages. Alcohol and tannins rise rapidly in our grapes, which can throw off the taste profile. To combat that with our grapes, since the 1980s we’ve collaborated with experts at the University of Milan to grow specific clones of the Sangiovese grapes that are both consistently delicious and well acclimated to the sun.
This can take years, however, and winemakers face astronomical technical challenges with this. We’ve started trellising our grapes differently to provide a bigger canopy to the sun-sensitive fruit, and we are also implementing a fermentation process that can accommodate more delicate grapes. As we monitor these changes we’ll be looking for other ways to adjust to the ever-changing environment.
What is the biggest challenge involved?
The main challenge in order to stay successful for generations to come is to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Our sustainability efforts must continue to evolve, taking into account that every action must be socially equitable, safe for the environment, and economically viable. However, this is easier said than done. Sustainability efforts need to improve environmental implications without hindering production quality.
How are you working to address this?
We’re constantly reviewing everything we do and we’re experimenting in order to be more efficient and responsible. One initiative has been the move to lightweight glass, toward the goal of minimizing our carbon footprint. In the past 10 years, we’ve reduced the weight of our bottles by nearly 40%.
Castello Banfi has one of the highest ratios of forest-to-cultivated-land among European wine estates. We plant local species particularly adapted to the environment, constantly cultivate our forests and scrub to clear fire lanes, and maintain small water basins to fight forest fires and provide drinking water for wildlife.
To reduce the point source pollution caused by plant protection treatments, in 2008 we developed a system for washing agricultural machinery denominated bio-bed. The project, created in collaboration with the Department of Agronomy and Agroecosystem Management of the University of Pisa, completely eliminates the environmental dispersion of oily residues from agricultural applications that remain in the wash water. During the last three-year period, the processing involved 172,000 to 195,000 liters of wash water, with a total reduction in accidental leakage of oil residues and agrochemicals.
After each chemical application, tractors and sprayers are washed in a specific zone where the wash water is collected and transferred to a biological bed. This bed is formed from a mixture of straw and manure, inside of which colonies of bacteria develop that decompose oil residues and active ingredients. The bio-bed wastewater is periodically analyzed and, based on the results of the analysis, the bed is regenerated with new organic material to constantly maintain the bacteria colonies at peak efficiency.
What’s next for Banfi, and sustainable winery operations in general?
Vineyard irrigation management is at the forefront of Banfi’s continued sustainability efforts, as our objective has been to carry out deficit irrigation in the most sustainable manner possible, with micro-irrigation, since 1986. Micro-irrigation is practiced in more than 50% of vineyards, making it a priority across sustainable winery operations that are paying special attention to the refinement of water stress control systems in the ground and plants.
We’ve gradually increased the capacity of artificial ponds or pools to serve as the largest production areas for their water supply, as well as designed micro-irrigation plants in 2010 to overcome self-compensating drip pipes and increase efficiency. However, there’s always room for improvement and innovation in order to best conserve our natural resources and see this practiced in 100% of vineyards.
The 3rd Annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference takes place May 15 – 17, 2018 in Denver. Learn more here.
