Nobile di Montepulciano, from packaging to barrels, the sustainability of wine also passes through wood

Not only in vineyard, in the cellar, and in the chain of transportation of bottles: the environmental sustainability of wine also passes through wood, whether it is used in packaging, in the vineyards, in the production of barrels, or in the cork used for bottle stoppers. And the protocol signed between the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a territory that has been investing on the theme of sustainability in the wine production chain for years, and Pefc Italia, a non-profit and non governmental organization, committed to promote the sustainable management of forests through an independent third party certification. The objective is to support a new path of sustainability that also passes through an ethical use of forest raw materials. In summary, the agreement, explains a note from the Consorzio, provides for the promotion of training and awareness campaigns for potential operators in the wine-growing industry, of the potential related to the choice of certified products or the protection of forests and their ecosystem services for us and for future generations. “This initiative is part of a larger project that will lead to territorial certification according to the Equalitas standard – explains Andrea Rossi, president of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – and the collaboration with Pefc Italia, a unique reality in the sector, is fundamental because wood is one of the most used raw materials in the supply chain of our sector, a sign of attention to those which are the main themes of sustainability and which concerns not only our territory, in this case, but all those that are linked to a responsible and protective wood production for the territory and the communities that inhabit it”. “The link between the forestry supply chain and the wine world is stronger than one can imagine: think of the wood for barrels and poles in vineyards, cardboard for packaging and wood for cases, cork for caps or paper for promotional catalogs and labels, up to the wooden pallet on which you transport your wine all over the world – explains Antonio Brunori, Pefc general secretary in Italy - for a company of the Consorzio, choosing these products with Pefc forest certification means communicating to end consumers the choice of sustainability and quality that a winery undertakes. With this protocol, Pefc Italia makes itself available to a new sector with the intention of sharing sustainability paths that can pass through companies through the choice of Pefc certified products and the protection of national forest areas, heritage of all, that can become concrete act through the daily choices of the single buyer of bottles of wine”. Specifically in the protocol, the two companies undertake to stimulate companies to make conscious choices also through the use of certified materials that protect our forest heritage, ensuring the legality and sustainability of the material of forest origin (wood, paper and cork). In fact, products with PEFC certification guarantee the origin of the raw material from responsibly managed forests, with the obligation of reforestation of felled trees, and forests maintain high levels of ecosystem services, such as the mitigating action of climate change. In fact, the protocol foresees to give support to producers in order to inform them about the existence and potential of the use of products deriving from certified, sustainable and legal supply chains, combining this with the communication of the intrinsic values of the use of sustainable products that can give an added value to the wine production itself, starting from the use of wood packaging and production tools (such as barrels or vine poles). It is also an objective of the partnership to develop marketing and information tools aimed at the final consumer in order to promote understanding of the high social and environmental impact of particular attention to the use of sustainable local products with low environmental impact, as well as to develop projects to reduce its CO2 emissions or the adoption of certified forestry projects to neutralize residual emissions, promoting the positive impact through specific communications to the consumer. This is an important step considering the high use of wood elements even in the wine production chain in Montepulciano.