The Torres Family has just announced that it is revising upwards its CO2 emission reduction for 2030 and setting it at a minimum of 60%, with the aim of achieving a positive climate impact from 2040. The ecological effort of the Catalan winery began in 2008 within the framework of the Torres & Earth environmental program, which had an annual investment of more than 11% of profits. Meanwhile, the Penedès wine brand continues to increase its global prestige after being recognized as The World's Most Admired Wine Brand by industry professionals in the Drinks International ranking. The 150-year-old winery has achieved the first position for the fifth time and continues to lead the European list.
The use of organic viticulture, renewable energies, energy efficiency measures, sustainable mobility, and the reduction of bottle weight, among other actions, have allowed the Penedès winery to significantly reduce its CO2 emissions. Now, the Torres Family is focusing its efforts on CO2 capture and fixation, with projects such as the reforestation of two million trees in ten years in Chilean Patagonia; Carbon Capture Reuse technologies and, very especially, with the agrarian revolution that the massive application of the regenerative viticulture model entails, which will soon be supported by the sector and will radically change the practice of viticulture in the world.
The wine group now decides to play strong in its environmental commitment and in the fight against climate change, and adopts regenerative viticulture, already currently worked on in some vineyards, with the reconversion of more than 500 hectares of owned organic vineyards over a period of five years. As a starting point, trials will be carried out on the Mas La Plana estates, in Pacs del Penedès (DO Penedès); Mas de la Rosa, in Porrera (DOQ Priorat), and Milmanda, in Vimbodí and Poblet (DO Conca de Barberà), as well as in the Jean Leon vineyards.
"We are promoting the transformation of 500 hectares of organic vineyards in Catalonia towards a regenerative model that allows life to be created again in the soils and regenerate them, limiting nature from a holistic conception of the earth," defends the general director and fifth generation of Familia Torres, Miguel Torres Maczassek. Regenerative or holistic viticulture seeks to reestablish the ecosystem and increase biodiversity and organic matter naturally, with soil regeneration, boosting the activity of vineyards as carbon capturers. This viticulture starts from the precepts of organic agriculture, but goes further since it incorporates the objective of recovering soil life and, therefore, increasing its capacity to capture and fix atmospheric carbon and reduce the concentrations of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, which is one of the causes of global warming.
"We are aware that this is a long learning process in which we have to unlearn to seek a new balance," says Miguel Torres Maczassek. "It is a paradigm shift in vineyard management, but we believe it is necessary, since regenerative viticulture is currently the only solution that allows atmospheric carbon to be stored in the soil and fight against climate change." And, he adds: "Regenerative viticulture is the only model that has carbon capture in the soils as its main axis and this function must be promoted to contain the climate crisis and help the planet recover."
"Conventional agriculture destroys in five years the soil that nature takes 40 years to create," says engineer Francesc Font. Based on respectful techniques that share ancestral knowledge with modern technology, regenerative agriculture seeks to increase the organic matter of soils naturally; not tilling by turning the earth to avoid damaging the surface and preventing the release of carbon retained in the soil, and using cover crops to maximize the assimilation of atmospheric CO₂ and increase biodiversity.
"We are aware that this is a long learning process in which we have to unlearn to seek a new balance," says Miguel Torres MaczassekTo increase organic matter, organic compost and animal manure ---for example, sheep in the vineyards--- are used to promote natural soil fertilization. A more fertile soil facilitates the appearance of spontaneous or sown plant coversthat will improve carbon accumulation in the roots and in the soil. With the set of these actions, it is estimated that the soil could fix around three tons of CO2 per hectare per year.
For Miguel Torres Maczassek, the resilience of regenerative viticulture transfers more consistency to the wine. "The wine better reflects the fertility of the soil and, in years of drought, we can obtain more elegant wines," he adds. In addition, a soil with more life allows it to retain rainwater and better overcome periods of drought, thus preventing soil erosion. In the long term, it is expected to achieve a delay in grape ripening that will help mitigate in part the premature harvests caused by global warming. Finally, the increase in biodiversity as a result of a greater amount of organic matter in the soil promotes a better balance in the vineyard and the creation of a more stable ecosystem that will provide the vines with natural defenses against possible pests and diseases.
Other initiatives of the Torres Family against climate change
The Penedès winery has been developing other initiatives in favor of sustainability and against climate change for many years. For example, the Torres & Earth Program, promoted by Miguel A. Torres in 2008, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint; the recovery of disappeared ancestral grape varieties such as Forcada, Moneu, Garró, Gonfaus, Pirene and Querol; the Environmental Conferences at the University of Barcelona with meteorologist Tomàs Molina, or the Torres & Earth Awards for Environmental Innovation, which publicize and reward studies, projects, experiences and initiatives that preserve the environment.
Likewise, the awards for initiatives to combat the carbon footprint, or the creation of an association for regenerative viticulture, together with AgroAssesor and other wineries, which is intended to share information and experiences among winemakers and farmers who are working in a regenerative management model or who are willing to do so, stand out.
The wine group has also promoted the First Symposium on Regenerative Viticulture, where national and international experts and viticulturists have shared knowledge and experiences. And, finally, it leads important initiatives such as the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) association, founded by Familia Torres with Jackson Family Wines of California. This association seeks to promote the decarbonization of the sector worldwide and has been the first agri-food organization admitted to the United Nations' Race to Zero campaign.