8th Jornada DIAM

In France, there is not a magazine edition without an article or a paragraph talking about organic wine. Many vineyards are considering initiating the organic certification process. When we see the supply of organic wines in shops, it could be said that France is ahead in this area. Yet, in terms of organic viticultural area it is only third in Europe; so, which is the first country?

With 100,000 hectares producing organic wines, the European leader in organic wine is Spain; in terms of absolute area (9% of vines are organic). The trend has accelerated in recent years through the work of the Castilla la Mancha vineyards (50% of vineyards are organic) and other large vineyards whose produce is destined for export. In second place is Italy, with 10% of its vineyards consistent with organic farming.

How does Spain valorize its organic area? Are winemakers aware of the importance of sustainably growing their vines? Are their cuvées valorized? Do these wines have a consumer base? Understanding and analysing Spanish sustainable production during this 8th Jornada Diam:

Without sustainable development, there is no future for wine production.

Throughout the morning, the various speakers established the key features of sustainable production through several themes:

Ms. Esperanza de Marcos, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment

Mr D. Josep Ribas, Renewable Energy Technical Manager, Torres Family.

Ms. Trinidad Márquez, Technical and Environmental Manager of the Spanish Wine Federation. 

Mr Tomás Camarero, expert in marketing and sustainable communication. Founder and director of the consulting firm FOCO and author of the book ‘The sustainable advantage. How to build differentiation marketing from sustainable development’. 

Two roundtables arose from this assessment How to adapt to a sustainable future? and Does sustainable development sell more? Is the consumer willing to pay more for a sustainable product?

These debates were followed by a tasting of Diam sealed Spanish wines and commented by Antonio Palacios, oenologist. Red and white wines from different Spanish regions and different price levels were compared during the tasting with nearly 110 participants.