Portugal is well known as an important wine-producing country. Yet its largest wine region, Alentejo, in the south-east of the country just north of the Algarve, is not so well known. An area of cork trees, vast open and relatively flat countryside under wide blue skies, the Alentejo has a wine history stretching back over 2000 years. Its wine-growing regions cover 25% of Portugal's surface area and contain just over 12% of the country's vineyards.
There are eight sub-regions within the Alentejo PDO, as well as three administrative districts for Vinho Regional Alentejano (PGI). Native and local Portuguese plus international grape varieties are planted in several different soil types, comprising clay, schist, granite, gravel and limestone.
Having the highest summer temperatures in Europe, the Alentejo has been experiencing the effects of climate change for many years. With the Atlantic ocean crashing on to its pristine beaches, the region is now making waves of a different kind, by virtue of its ground-breaking sustainability programme, WASP.
Sustainability is a buzz word at the moment, so what does it mean? According to the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, "There is no agreed definition of what constitutes environmentally sustainable agriculture. It encompasses a range of possible measures that aim to reduce the effects of agriculture on the environment and to conserve the aspects of the natural environment on which agriculture relies."
The same document also states that "Environmentally sustainable agricultural measures seek to minimise environmental damage and use resources and energy more efficiently."
So, it is clear that sustainability is in all our interests, especially given the climate emergency we are experiencing.
Wines of Alentejo recently held the international launch and presentation event of their Sustainably Produced Certification Scheme, Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP). The chosen location was Chef Sven-Hanson Britt's Oxeye Restaurant in London, specifically chosen because of its sustainable practices.
Joäo Barroso, responsible for the creation and implementation of this unique certification programme, along with representatives from seven wineries, spoke about its importance and benefits.
Joao Barroso talking to participants
"Wines of Alentejo: unique by nature, unique for nature"
In order to ensure better adaptation to climate change and for the region's wines to retain the same level of quality, Barroso explains, new sustainable practices had to be implemented, incorporating ecological, social and economic values (the Scandinavian model). These must respect the environment and biodiversity, reducing the carbon footprint while promoting regeneration and resilience of the surrounding ecosystem.
Within the many environmental considerations, removing pesticides and other chemical agents, saving natural resources, promoting healthy soils, reducing waste and improving energy efficiency are essential components.
The Alentejo has the lowest population density in Portugal. So, in order to retain people and to encourage others to come to the area, any system must benefit local communities, safeguard good working conditions and ensure fair wages are paid. Human resources should also be protected, creating a strong social fabric with "an integrated wine system where everything lives off each other in a very balanced [environmental] envelope", says Barroso.
With this in mind, the first sustainability programme for a wine region in Portugal with a certification seal was created.
WASP supports improvements in environmental and social sectors, as well as the economic performance of Alentejo's wine industry. The idea for the project started in 2013 and the scheme was launched two years later in 2015. Inspiration came from Chile and California, countries with similar problems of decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures. They also responded by instigating sustainability certification schemes. Such has been the success of WASP, that it is now ranked at the same level as the other two countries' initiatives in research carried out by industry-leading quality assurance and sustainability services specialists Intertek.
The process is concerned with the full wine journey - from planting a vineyard to shipping a bottle. Consequently, it incorporates strategies within a holistic framework covering soils, water, pests/diseases, air quality, eco-systems, biodiversity, community engagement, socio-economics, human resources and packaging. In summary, WASP aims to save natural resources, increase production efficiency and reduce financial, environmental and social costs.
The main goals of the programme link the community through knowledge sharing and peer engagement. "We managed to create a network of stakeholders that engage constantly with us from academia, civil society etc.", notes Barroso. He also reports greater staff engagement within member companies. Currently one in every three members of WASP has somebody in their organization responsible for sustainability initiatives.
Presently, eight Alentejo wineries have qualified for the certification, which is open to producers of all sizes. "It's a flexible and adaptive process", says Barroso. "There's a big diversity of producers in terms of size, technology, human and financial capacity etc., so we had to create a model to fit all."
Membership of WASP is voluntary. Wine producers and grape growers are eligible, but do not necessarily receive certification. They have to satisfy a list of strict criteria. If a winemaker buys in grapes, for example, then they are asked to buy from an eligible certified grape grower. Barroso describes further: "For certification, it will depend on [the business's] current level of sustainability practices, level of commitment to change and financial and human resources capacity. If it's a company that is starting from scratch, our experience shows something like 5-7 years. If it's a company that already has a good level of awareness of these topics, it can take 1-3 years to be eligible for certification."
One of the key factors is to avoid 'greenwashing', the all too common practice of providing misleading information about a product or company's environmental credentials. Consequently, there are 171 criteria of evaluation, of which qualifying wineries have to meet at least 86% to be eligible for certification. The administrators of the scheme use various tools to check for greenwashing, requiring clear evidence of all sustainability claims made. Further information on the EU Commission's proposals on banning greenwashing and on new consumer rights promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable products can be found here.
Every year, Barroso tells us, WASP is growing. In 2015, there were 91 members, representing 20% of the vineyard area and four partnerships comprising 15 producers. As a result, four working documents were shared with the whole community.
There are now 513 members, covering grape growers and wine producers and 38 working documents. The project currently encompasses around 11,000 hectares of vineyards (50% of the vineyard area) with 25 partnerships involving 193 producers and 76 million litres of wine. Barroso explains that this does not mean that participants have already achieved sustainable certification, but rather that they are "working to be better".
One of the major benefits of the scheme is how members support and share information with each other. Barroso notes that they've had 69 knowledge sharing events with almost 2000 people from Alentejo directly involved in wine production. They have also run training events for almost 900 people in sustainability, water, energy and waste management and climate change.
Between 2019 and 2021, there has also been a 66% increase in producers using green purchasing components in their production with more knowledge now about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
(Note: the FSC is a global organisation that promotes and encourages well-managed forests, balancing environmental, social and economic benefits.)
So far, WASP has achieved nine awards, including a Liaison award for its knowledge sharing network, the 'Amorim Sustainability Award' 2020 from the Drinks Business and the 'Sustainability Initiative Award' 2021 from Deloitte Portugal.
On average, producers who have implemented these sustainability practices have shown a 20% reduction in water consumption and some have even reported a 64% reduction. More than 50% of current members monitor their water usage, while electricity consumption is also down by 30% on average.
At Herdade do Rocim, they use traditional building materials from adobe, a local technique that mixes clay, water and straw, saving energy through the reduced cost of raw materials and their good acoustic and thermal insulation properties.
They also installed sensors and timers in new light fittings plus solar panels. Everyone in the company then receives a monthly report on resultant energy savings. "Sustainability is part of our DNA as citizens, grape growers and wine producers", says Head of Sales, David Rego.
Savings in energy costs appear to have mitigated extra expenses incurred in transitioning to sustainability which are not then passed down to the consumer. Barroso stresses that wines command the same prices now and are not higher because of these initiatives.
At Herdade dos Grous, they've been implementing sustainable practices and calculating their carbon footprint since 2018. A partnership between them, WASP and a Lisbon University student has shown that every year their carbon footprint has been decreasing. Packaging is an important part of this, so they decreased the weight of each of their 430,500 bottles by 115g. This resulted in a reduction of approximately 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and, because of a wine bottle's lifecycle, led to a reduction of nearly 50 tonnes of glass waste too.
Anther improvement members of WASP have made is increased recycling rates, particularly composting. Almost 40% of members now have composting facilities and the use of organic fertiliser is rising too.
Adega Mayor was the first company certified for corporate social responsibility in Portugal. For CEO Rita Nabeiro, the social perspective lies at the heart of her company's ethos. "It's really important to have the whole team with us, which builds trust." As a result, they keep their viticultural team on all year long and even have a kindergarten school for children of employees.
"We believe that it's important to be a family within the company", says Nabeiro. "This means that we should create a safe space where our employees feel comfortable and respected and where we nurture their well-being … either because they have a day off on their birthday, or because we celebrate a new baby with a special present, or we provide professional psychological support. [We also have] a social fund for employees in need and many more initiatives, including a health program and other community support."
Nabeiro believes that this approach inspires the company's staff. "You end up creating good teams, a healthy culture and individuals who are motivated. This builds trust, long term relations and strong commitment."
WASP is free to join and the only cost for producers is a third party audit. It's a great deal for producers - "a no-brainer", as Barroso describes. "They get an on-call sustainability consultant whenever they need it, free workshops, free site visits and free training", he adds.
WASP is not standing still. It's a continuous improvement system and is currently being revised to make it fairer when evaluating the social component of different sized companies. Regenerative agriculture will also be explicitly included.
With the extreme heat across Europe this summer and climate change very much a 'hot' topic, any environmental initiatives are welcome. WASP is showing the way and it can only be hoped that other regions within and outside Portugal copy their example.
