Description

The European wine sector is one of the sectors most affected by the threat of climate change, but also has great potential for major improvements in sustainability. However, mitigation measures are being taken too slowly in this sector. This is due to the scarcity of available information on industry-specific mitigation measures, as well as the lack of clear cost-effectiveness of some of them.

The CLIMAWIN project therefore addresses the problem of climate change by involving the wine sector in its mitigation. This is done by converting wineries and vineyards into a compendium of climate change mitigation actions, including emission reductions, carbon capture and use, sustainable land use in agriculture and forestry, and avoidance of fossil fuels and fluorinated gases. Thus, the main objective of the project is to demonstrate that wineries and vineyards can become a model of sustainability, encouraging them to adopt measures against climate change, including mitigation, adaptation and circular economy.

Specific objectives

• (1) Assess the impact of land use change (from traditional cereal monoculture to ecologically managed vineyards combined with forestry) on GHG mitigation potential.

• (2) Increase long-term organic carbon stocks in the soil, using it as a carbon sink: the project will contribute to reducing non-CO2 emissions from livestock manure and soil management, as well as CO2 emissions from pruning and burning of forest residues, by reusing vineyard prunings as biochar, to be incorporated into the soil in organic management practices (manure composting), thus improving nitrogen use efficiency.

• (3) Introduce in the wine sector two innovative techniques to reduce emissions caused by cooling in wineries, avoiding CO2 purchase and the use of HFCs, based on the capture of the CO2 produced by alcoholic fermentation and its use for cooling, and the use of irrigation water to increase the efficiency of the heat pump to cool fermentation tanks and winery facilities.

• (4) Reduce emissions associated with energy use in the winery and vineyard by greatly increasing the renewable fraction of the energy consumed. To this end, a microgrid with an intelligent controller will be implemented. This device will be able to manage the energy used and produced in the winery facilities, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels.

• (5) Help winery managers identify the most effective and efficient mitigation measures in each case and promote their implementation by providing a comprehensive analysis and guidance to decision-makers.

• (6) Show the great potential of the wine sector to become a model in the fight against climate change, producing environmental and socio-economic benefits in rural areas, communicating and disseminating project activities and results.

All these actions will be carried out in the facilities of the Bosque de Matasnos Winery, located in the region of Burgos, Spain, in the area of the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin. It has its own vineyards, some of which replace old unirrigated cereal fields. In addition, hectares of forest have also been replanted. Bosque de Matasnos viticulture is committed to restoring the former health of the land. It is based on criteria of sustainable agriculture and low environmental impact.

For these reasons, Bosque de Matasnos is the ideal setting to host the prototypes and demonstrative actions of the project, turning the winery into an example of a sustainable vineyard-winery ecosystem in the natural environment. In addition, the climate and characteristics of the site offer similarities with other important European wine regions, allowing the project to be replicated and scalable.

Members of the consortium