Visit to Tenuta Luce in the hills around Montalcino for the 2023 Harvest, set among the Tuscan hills. Full article: https://secretsommelier.com/wine-posts-reviews/red-wine/644-tenuta-luce-vintage-tasting Nick Breeze speaks with winemaker Alessandro Marini about the vintage, climate change, potential new grapes and the wines of Tenuta Luce ..read more

I am holding a glass of Contra Soarda’s elegantly perfumed ‘Terra’, produced within the vicinity of Bassano del Grappa. Terra is a wine blended from Merlot and Marzemino Nero. Marzemino is a very old grape variety first mentioned as part of a banquet wine list served to Pope Gregory XII on the 6 June, 1409 in Cividale, Friuli. Despite such fine lineage, ‘Terra’ is finding prestige as Europe’s first ‘carbon negative wine’. Before considering the quality of Terra, or even the ‘how’ in the carbon negative journey, a few thoughts on the ‘why’ are worth recapping: Full Article: https://secretsomme ..read more

The London Wine Fair 2023 (LWF23) is partnering with the Porto Protocol and Sustainable Wine Solutions to collect data by analysing the estimated 30k empty bottles consumed at the fair. The data sample will be used to inform reusable wine bottle schemes, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Reusing bottles is not new but is currently underutilised. It is also a pragmatic way to engage wine producers and consumers in moves towards sustainable and circular economy based solutions. Visit: https://secretsommelier.com for more information ..read more

In this final Sustainability in Alentejo episode, I speak with João Barroso, manager of the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP). We discuss how the programme evolved from a need to respond to worsening climatic conditions, into a solid certification programme to help communicate the measured results of producers who take sustainability seriously. João also discusses how the programme consciously developed a knowledge-sharing network to accelerate the uptake of best practices. Some of these best practices include the use of regenerative farming which, in a drought-prone region lik ..read more

In this episode, I am speaking with Luis Patrão, director of enology and viticulture at Coelheiros, a stunning 800 hectare, historic estate, north of Evora, in the centre of Alentejo. When I visited the estate, Luis gave me a guided tour to demonstrate how the 600+ hectare cork oak forest, 50 hectares of vines, and the 40 hectare walnut orchard are being transformed into a regenerated resilient, and balanced ecosystem that is simply glorious. It wasn’t always like this. The estate had more of a focus on hunting, running all the way back to 1467. It was only at the end of the last century, that ..read more

In this interview with climate and wine scientist, Professor Kimberly Nicholas, we discuss the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to scale up mitigation and adaptation in the wine industry and beyond to avoid catastrophic impacts of climate heating. Kimberly is originally from Sonoma in California’s wine country and is currently based in Sweden at the University of Lund. She has also recently published a book titled ‘Under The Sky We Make’ highlighting the agency available to all of us to contribute toward a better world. Kimberly also produces a monthly advice column called We Can Fix ..read more

In this episode of Sustainability in Alentejo Wine Series, I am speaking with João Roquette, CEO and Chairman of the Esporão group about the company’s transformation to organic and resilient production. Esporão is one of the most famous brand names in Portuguese wine and especially in Alentejo. João has played a leading role driving the company’s move towards organic viticulture. During my visit I saw huge amounts of effort going into researching indigenous varieties for adaptability to the new climate conditions which are extreme today but will rapidly become normal tomorrow. The extent of th ..read more

Mouchão is a great example of an integrated estate in Alentejo where different flora and fauna are interwoven to create the whole. The Sobreiro, or cork oak trees, are an integral part of the history of this region and yet, as Iain tells us, climate is one of the drivers that is causing a substantial die-off against which he and his team are fighting. For reference, the Arroba, mentioned in this recording is actually a measure used for weighing cork, equivalent to 15 kilograms. The story of Mouchao is one that really marries the past with the present in terms of identifying the moment where hi ..read more

In the second episode of the Alentejo climate and sustainability series, I’m speaking with winemaker and climate scientist Dr. Greg Jones, who has co authored climate and wine research papers looking at the vulnerability of certain regions to climate change. One in particular that is relevant to this series titled ‘Climate Change & Global Wine Quality’, published in 2005 states, “Other regions currently with warmer growing seasons, i.e. southern Portugal may become too warm for the existing varieties grown there and hot climate maturity regions may become too warm to produce high-quality w ..read more

This podcast media series focuses specifically on sustainability in Alentejo, a wine producing area covering nearly all of southern Portugal. The project includes interviews with a number of winemakers including Iain Richardson from Mouchão, the team Herdade dos Grous, Luis Patrão from Coelheiros, and João Roquette from Esporão. I also speak with Helena Ferreira, Director of Production at Adega de Borba, where a thousand families are dependent on the sustainability of the cooperative, as well as the American climate scientist and wine producer, Dr. Gregory V. Jones. And of course, I speak at l ..read more