Sustainability

/sus·tain·a·bi·li·ty/
noun

Sustainability means maintaining our current wellbeing (environmentally, socially, economically), even improving it if possible, and ensuring a quality of life no worse for future generations.

Sustainability in the world of Italian Wine production

The Equalitas-Vino Sostenibile standard enables wine producers to implement a Sustainability Management System and publish an Annual Sustainability Report, assuring customers and stakeholders in general that standards of sustainability are continuously improving. The Equalitas Scientific Committee, comprised of experts from the relevant technical-scientific community, ensures the standard is updated with the latest knowledge and acts as an impartial panel for managing the standard.

The Equalitas standard focuses on sustainability across three social, environmental, and economic pillars.

For each pillar there are verifiable and measurable requirements and indicators.

Hillside, Sun, Stone, Wind!

Not a slogan but the component elements of our terroir and the foundations of sustainable production.
Such elements mean that we rely on precision agronomic techniques for a natural defence against the main adversities, minimising the use of chemicals and ensuring quality production.

Each of our Vignerons (winemakers) benefits from Permanent Free Technical Assistance, including annual checks on phyto-sanitary products at the beginning of the year and identification of the products we are going to use on site, and weekly vineyard health evaluations. Treatments are only applied under the worst adverse conditions. Communication to winemakers (even non-members) is through bulletin boards scattered around the areas under our responsibility or via WhatsApp messaging.

During harvest, deliveries from each partner are sampled to check for any residue on the grapes. The assemblage of cuvées is preceded by chemical analysis, including a screening for 134 pesticide molecules, to ensure the healthiness of our products and their consistency with the action protocols. Ever since these protocols have been in place, the instrument readings of residues in our wines have been either at zero or negligible, well below the stringent legal limits.

In the winery it has now been a decade since we stopped adding sulphites in the mashing and vinification processes. We therefore avoid the phases in which sulphites are more invasive in terms both of quantity and of interaction with the components of the musts/wines. Sulphites are instead used in far smaller amounts during ageing and bottling, where they interfere less with the wine’s natural development.

While cleaning and sanitising rooms and equipment is essential, we have gradually reduced chemical and water usage by applying steam to replace the harsher sanitisers and using recirculating systems for products cleaning the equipment to avoid water wastage.

Our electricity supplier only generates energy from renewable sources.

Over the years, the company has worked to ensure that a corporate self-checking manual (HACCP) that was suited for our production structure, certifying the healthiness of our wines and grappa, was carefully and precisely drafted. The analytical plan goes beyond the minimum standards required so that the evolution of the products during the processes can be monitored, to reduce any decline in quality.

All employees, partners providing their services and external collaborators are duly trained on the rules relating to safety in the workplace. Employees are also trained in first aid and fire prevention.

The company organises visits to production sites, tastings of wines and typical products from nearby producers. It offers specific training to bar staff and sommeliers, and works with the hospitality sector for training front-of-house staff.
We also provide internship opportunities at our production and commercial sides to students from a variety of schools.

La Crotta di Vegneron is a founding member of the Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste DOC (Consortium for the Protection of Designation of Origin).