Nachhaltigkeit

Our path to climate neutrality

The triad of sustainability

nachhaltigkeit ist in aller munde - doch was bedeutet das für uns?​

The current model of sustainability is based on three aspects: Namely, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. How can we as a winery develop our business management, the environment and society in a sustainable way? What are we already doing today and what is still a dream of the future?

Less is more

  • Nur few cellar aidsof which there are around 70 substances that do not have to be declared, help us and nature.Only the essentials go into the wine, including the feed for the yeast, which consists mainly of nitrogen.The fact that we only ferment spontaneously reduces the production of industrial yeast.However, it takes more time, which is why our wine is finished so late. The waiting time definitely makes the wine better.
  • Kein Dünger im Weinberg. Als wir den Großteil unserer Weinberge 2018 übernahmen, waren einige davon überdüngt, was zu überhöhten Erträgen führen kann. Deshalb haben wir das Düngen komplett eingestellt, weder mit mineralischem Dünger noch mit Pferde- oder Kuhmist. Auch das reduziert unseren CO2 Fußabdruck

Maximise what you've got

  • ‘Maximise the use of your vehicles and your journeys’. We share the vehicles and equipment for the vineyard with another very good winery. As the vineyards are all in Hallgarten, the distances are very short. This reduces our diesel consumption and secures jobs
  • 100% electricity from renewable energyanyone can actually convert this, it may cost a few cent more per KWH
  • Reusable packaging for our wine since the launch of BIBO RUNGE. Now also with FSC-certified paper. Our beautiful grey wine box can be easily stacked horizontally and the wine can be removed and refilled again and again.

climate neutrality - the difficult issues

Some issues are very difficult to resolve because there is no simple, quick solution or the positive aspect unfortunately also brings something negative with it. These are the paradoxes that concern us:

  • Verzicht auf Glyphosat. Das hört sich erstmal einfach an, aber leider zieht der Verzicht darauf mehr Schlepperfahrten nach sich, da man unterhalb der Reben regelmäßig den Boden bewegen muss. Nutzt man stattdessen Glyphosat ist der CO2 Fußabdruck leider besser. Trotzdem haben wir darauf verzichtet, weil solch eine Chemikalie einfach nicht in einen Weinberg gehört, in dem regelmäßig Menschen umherlaufen.
  • Lower yields were and still are a cornerstone of quality viticulture. For example, our Großes Gewächs may not yield more than 5,000 litres per hectare, although 8,000 litres would be possible in the vineyard site. We have a solution to this that we have been practising for three years. As soon as a scientific study confirms this, we will report on it.
  • Organic viticulture and/or sustainability.
    Ecological certification companies and Fair N'Green are sometimes hostile to each other. The ‘ecologists’ describe FNG as greenwashing and FNG criticises the use of copper as a toxic heavy metal. The arguments are many and varied, and both sides are somehow right. Both sides have proactively decided in favour of a good path, which is definitely much better than doing nothing.
  • If you only look at Co2-emmisions organic viticulture is at a clear disadvantage: more tractor journeys due to inefficient spraying agents and an approx. 15% lower yield (meta-study by the University of Geisenheim) increase the CO2 footprint by more than 20% to 40% in organic viticulture.

Climate neutrality - What's next?

  • The glass bottle Why is there actually no deposit system for wine bottles? The possible reduction of CO2 through a returnable system is immense, only a quarter of the current CO2 would be consumed. It would be easy to wash used wine bottles, e.g. there is a professional washing line run by the organisation for the disabled in Oestrich-Winkel, which could easily be used to start a pilot project in the Rheingau. To make this possible for all our customers in Germany, we need a Germany-wide deposit system for winegrowers who care about the environment. We are actively campaigning for this.
  • Prunings are a valuable sink for CO2; if these prunings were not simply left to rot but turned into charcoal, this charcoal would store the CO2. Sounds like a dream of the future, but it is no longer. The University of Geisenheim is working on such a project, in which the charcoal would be crushed and then scattered again in the vineyard. The charcoal can store water and pass on minerals to the plant. We would also like to test this in our vineyards.

Unser Nachhaltigkeits Netzwerk