Since a long time, Gruppo Mezzacorona has been heavily involved in reducing the impact of its activities on the local environment. In the early 1980’s, Gruppo Mezzacorona issued “The Protocol for a High-Quality Wine Production in Trentino”, a proposal aimed at regulating the cultivation, new vineyards, green care and other processes, in order to promote sustainable agriculture.
The facilities of Gruppo Mezzacorona have been designed with the environment in mind. Thanks to the collaboration with its member farmers, as they are the “guardians of the land”, Gruppo Mezzacorona has adopted a comprehensive approach to preserving the regional environment. The key components of our 360° approach to environmental sustainability are:
- Reduction of chemical treatments: the correct use of copper and sulphur (permitted in organic cultivation). Our objective is to have no residual in the wine. All of our vineyards are treated following the concept of “sexual confusion”, a modern biological system used to fight harmful insects, by limiting their reproduction through pheromone over-stimulation, avoiding extra treatments.
- Water management: water is a valuable resource (especially in Sicily). Gruppo Mezzacorona has adopted innovative irrigation systems, which maximise the use of water resources (for example drip irrigation system). Waste water is collected and treated with biological purifier (based on active mud technology) before going back to the rivers. In Sicily, Gruppo Mezzacorona created more than seven artificial rainwater reservoirs, in order to guarantee the supply only if and when needed.
- Balanced vineyard management: A lot of attention is dedicated to vineyard selection and positioning. Further, vigilant pruning allow the grapes to ventilate optimally and to be well protected. This results in healthier plants.
- Energy management: Gruppo Mezzacorona is actively engaged in increasing the production of green energy with the final objective of becoming energy independent. 70% of the wineries are underground, which helps reduce the use of air conditioning to keep the cellars cool. Photoelectric and solar panels, produce over 2 million kwh/year and the majority of the energetic needs are covered by hydroelectric supplies.
- Waste management: A lot of attention goes to recycling and sorting garbage. Furthermore, Gruppo Mezzacorona continuously tries to reduce its carbon footprint by using dry materials which are lighter and/or produced locally.
- Quality/Environmental certifications (IFS, BRC, EMAS, ISO 14000): All wineries adhere to the guidelines of the most common international certification institutes. Particularly, the Sicilian wineries were the first Italian wineries to receive the “Eco Management and Audit Scheme 2 Certification” (EMAS 2) for the entire production chain in 2002.