Secret Sommelier - Wine On The Frontline

In this final Sustainability in Alentejo episode, I speak with João Barroso, manager of the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP). We discuss how the programme evolved from a need to respond to worsening climatic conditions, into a solid certification programme to help communicate the measured results of producers who take sustainability seriously. João also discusses how the programme consciously developed a knowledge-sharing network to accelerate the uptake of best practices. Some of these best practices include the use of regenerative farming which, in a drought-prone region like Alentejo, is showing very positive results. The difference here, as João says, is between trying to survive in a desert, or, thriving in a garden of Eden. Either way, viticulture at higher temperatures has to mean working with nature, as Professor Kimberly Nicholas has said earlier in the series. The last point, as Dr Gregory Jones mentioned earlier, is about finding ways to expand these best practices beyond the regional level to the national and international levels. This is where the wine producers and journalists and communicators interface to tell those stories. It seems to me that it is up to all of us to try and decode what is behind the certification labels. We do this best by telling the stories of a contemporary viticulture that respects nature, promotes stewardship of the land, and ultimately inspires trust in consumers that the wine industry is on a sustainable pathway. 

In this episode, I am speaking with Luis Patrão, director of enology and viticulture at Coelheiros, a stunning 800 hectare, historic estate, north of Evora, in the centre of Alentejo. When I visited the estate, Luis gave me a guided tour to demonstrate how the 600+ hectare cork oak forest, 50 hectares of vines, and the 40 hectare walnut orchard are being transformed into a regenerated resilient, and balanced ecosystem that is simply glorious. It wasn’t always like this. The estate had more of a focus on hunting, running all the way back to 1467. It was only at the end of the last century, that Coelheiros started to be transformed into what is now a buzz of biodiversity. Luis explains how their biggest challenge has been small birds and bugs, that eat everything from the plants themselves to the fruit they produce. Wetland restoration and ending centuries of hunting have seen the return of birds of prey such as eagles and falcons. These in return have driven away the small birds that eat the fruit, and the introduction of bats is proving effective at balancing the bug population. Luis also talks about the increased use of grapes more suited to the climate. Alicant Bouschet is again a favourite for this purpose, where the berries have proven to be more resilient to heatwaves, as well as having a later ripening period. A feature of this conversation is that Luis talks about the positive impact this process of ‘working with nature’ has had on the wine quality, which he describes as being “ more pure and with greater richness on the palate”. This kind of readiness for the new cycles of hotter and intense climatic conditions mean that Coelheiros is one of the leaders in Alentejo in starting out on the pilgrimage towards a truly sustainable viticulture.

In this interview with climate and wine scientist, Professor Kimberly Nicholas, we discuss the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to scale up mitigation and adaptation in the wine industry and beyond to avoid catastrophic impacts of climate heating. Kimberly is originally from Sonoma in California’s wine country and is currently based in Sweden at the University of Lund. She has also recently published a book titled ‘Under The Sky We Make’ highlighting the agency available to all of us to contribute toward a better world. Kimberly also produces a monthly advice column called We Can Fix It sharing thoughts and engaging in broader discussion on this complex subject. With the lens focussed primarily on wine, we look at the benefits of using a wider range of grape varieties, as well as the growing trend towards regenerative agriculture, to restore soil carbon and build resilience. To give some context to why there is an emphasis on words like urgency, catastrophe, and resilience, is because the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC), a scientist-led division of the United Nations, have in 2022 stated that we need to reduce our emissions in developed nations by 10-12% per year, in order to have a 50% chance of holding warming from rising above 1.5ºC global mean average. Reducing emissions this fast is a colossal task and is why so many people now agree we are in a climate emergency. Action must start now across our society if we are going to stand a chance of succeeding in sustaining a liveable climate. The world of wine may only be a tiny percentage of global agriculture but it is also a very sensitive crop and widely regarded as a cultural and luxury product. It is also greatly exposed to the risks of a changing climate and is widely seen as a leader in taking the actions required to transition towards true sustainability.

In this episode of Sustainability in Alentejo Wine Series, I am speaking with João Roquette, CEO and Chairman of the Esporão group about the company’s transformation to organic and resilient production. Esporão is one of the most famous brand names in Portuguese wine and especially in Alentejo. João has played a leading role driving the company’s move towards organic viticulture. During my visit I saw huge amounts of effort going into researching indigenous varieties for adaptability to the new climate conditions which are extreme today but will rapidly become normal tomorrow. The extent of this work has made Esporão a phenomenal success. The company owns 623ha of organic vineyards – the biggest ownership in Portugal, representing about 18% of total organic production in the country. Here João talks us through how the company reoriented itself as a pioneer toward sustainability goals before the WASP programme was established. He also says the Alentejo region as a whole should be proudly waving the flag as leaders in Portugal in taking bold environmental action.

During my trip across Alentejo, it was a pleasure to visit the cooperative Adega de Borba. Winemaking in and around Borba has a long pedigree and is even mentioned in ‘Murray’s handbook to Travels in Portugal’, published in 1864, with reference to ‘A considerable quantity of wine is produced at Borba..’ Visit: https://secretsommelier.com/wines-alentejo-sustainability And so it is to this day with Borba producing around 10 million bottles per year. The co-op is also renowned for its quality with their very popular Adega de Borba Reserva being a top seller with its iconic label printed on cork. During my visit I was given a tour of the winery and the cellars by Helena Ferreira, the director in charge of production and quality control. Helena has been implementing an impressive suite of sustainability protocols right across the organisation. These include training the 300 growers, covering over 2200 hectares of vineyards, to improving energy, water, and waste management. All of this work is to ensure that the one thousand families who rely on Adega de Borba for their living, have confidence that they will be producing wine there in the years and decades yet to come. https://secretsommelier.com/wines-alentejo-sustainability

Mouchão is a great example of an integrated estate in Alentejo where different flora and fauna are interwoven to create the whole. The Sobreiro, or cork oak trees, are an integral part of the history of this region and yet, as Iain tells us, climate is one of the drivers that is causing a substantial die-off against which he and his team are fighting. For reference, the Arroba, mentioned in this recording is actually a measure used for weighing cork, equivalent to 15 kilograms. The story of Mouchao is one that really marries the past with the present in terms of identifying the moment where history and tradition are faced with the need for non-linear responses in order to achieve sustainability. It is the story that really connects the glass of wine, or jug of olive oil, to the seemingly infinite physical and chemical interactions within the biosphere. It is also the great human challenge to adapt to these changes, regenerate our soils, and build resilience while learning to live in a different world. This feeds back into the importance of what programmes like WASP can achieve when they provide the framework for measuring change and disseminating knowledge.

In the second episode of the Alentejo climate and sustainability series, I’m speaking with winemaker and climate scientist Dr. Greg Jones, who has co authored climate and wine research papers looking at the vulnerability of certain regions to climate change. One in particular that is relevant to this series titled ‘Climate Change & Global Wine Quality’, published in 2005 states, “Other regions currently with warmer growing seasons, i.e. southern Portugal may become too warm for the existing varieties grown there and hot climate maturity regions may become too warm to produce high-quality wines of any type.” A couple of factors that are important in responding to this deduction are as follows. Mitigation is still essential. Every one of us, every business, every wine business, must play a part in the decarbonisation of human systems. Doing so is a collective responsibility that runs all the way through the wine business, from the vineyards, to how wine is communicated and consumed. But this alone is not enough wine producers have to go further in building resilience, regenerating soils, and ecosystems. This is as much about stewardship as it is about survival. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC recently released a report that states adaptation is critical, because climate impacts due to human-caused global warming, are now unavoidable. Here, Dr. Jones outlines some of the impacts we can expect in regions such as Alentejo, which are among the world’s most vulnerable to heat increases and drought conditions. He also gives us his view on why regional certification programs such as the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme play a crucial role in the sharing of knowledge, as well as providing the framework by which actions and progress can be measured. This second episode represents a broader view before we zoom in and meet the producers in Alentejo and hear their fascinating stories about the actions they are taking to boost resilience and protect the quality and reputation of the region. 

This podcast media series focuses specifically on sustainability in Alentejo, a wine producing area covering nearly all of southern Portugal. The project includes interviews with a number of winemakers including Iain Richardson from Mouchão, the team Herdade dos Grous, Luis Patrão from Coelheiros, and João Roquette from Esporão. I also speak with Helena Ferreira, Director of Production at Adega de Borba, where a thousand families are dependent on the sustainability of the cooperative, as well as the American climate scientist and wine producer, Dr. Gregory V. Jones. And of course, I speak at length to João Barroso, who has been a key force in developing the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program, or Wasp, and who has been my guide on the road trip across the region in September 2021. The aim of this work is to identify the characteristics of the challenges winemakers and estate owners are facing and their responses to those challenges. Additionally, I'm looking at the role WASP has played in transforming the response to the climate emergency and really paving the road to a more resilient future. Dr. Gregory V. Jones drew attention to Alentejo in his study dating back to 2005. And it's striking how wine producers have internalized what this research means in terms of risk and how they are responding to it.  This is where WASP has emerged, learning from other regions but also taking time to develop a thorough and robust framework for producers to operate whilst transforming to a range of practices including organic and regenerative that together constitute a true pathway to creating a fully sustainable region. This introductory episode begins with producers talking about how they experience and perceive the threats. Starting with Dr. Greg Jones, recapping on the vulnerability of Alentejo to a heating climate.

Tenuta di Arceno is situated just north east of Siena and south of Florence in the Municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the Chianti Classico region. The area is picture book Tuscany with rows of vines, orchards and a relentless daubing of Cyprus trees completing every perspective of the landscape. Visit: https://secretsommelier.com to view the full article and also watch the video version. We are in Sangiovese country but as with all things modern, diversification is much in evidence and Cabernet Franc is flourishing, as well as more expected varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In my interview with winemaker Lawrence Cronin, we discuss how Arceno is working with these varieties in the face of advancing climatic pressures. The estate of Tenuta di Arceno was among the first vineyards purchased by Jess Jackson and Barbara Bank outside of the United States. Their portfolio today is enormous and there is an embedded consciousness across the business for taking decisive action on climate change and respecting nature. Despite this broader international perspective, I get the impression from the team that I meet that they work with a great deal of autonomy to achieve the best they can from learning and experience. We check into our apartment in San Gusmé, a tiny village a few kilometres from the winery but with blocks of vines stretching away both steeply upwards to the right and more gently downwards to the left. Standing in front of the main entrance to the small walled village that has a natural elevation from which to survey the vista, there is a warm breeze blowing a mixed scent of the rich curated landscape across our senses. There is a hypnotic and seductive calm, especially now that I have learned of a local vermouth that promises to gently knead away the tensions incurred by the long drive from Liguria. Before aperitivo, we walk the circumference of the tiny walled town. On the outside of the walls, erected in the 14th century to defend against mercenaries, there is the stone carving of a man in squat position obviously relieving himself, apparently to alert the townspeople where best to defecate so that the waste can be reused as fertiliser (no longer compulsory).

In this short interview with Ventoux AOC President, Frederic Chaudiére, we discuss the climate imprint so far and also the efforts that are now underway to join global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. View on Secret Sommelier: https://secretsommelier.com/wine-and-climate-change/617-ventoux-interview-president Frédéric Chaudiére: So the DNA of our terroir is very much linked to our mountain, and that mountain creates a kind of cooler climate all around the AOC.