Familia Torres has launched the First Regenerative Viticulture Conference, which will be broadcast via a live stream on 17 June from 10am till 1pm (GTM+2) from the Vinseum in Vilafranca del Penedès. The conference aims to shed light on regenerative viticulture and explain its potential to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Regenerative viticulture is an approach to restoring soil health by imitating nature. The healthier the soil, the greater its capacity to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and the greater its ability to decelerate rising temperatures. Simultaneously, organic carbon capture in vineyard soil helps to improve the health of the soil itself and increase its resilience to erosion and water stress through enhanced water retention. This, in turn, benefits biodiversity and creates a balanced, favourable ecosystem for both the vineyard and the planet.

Local and international experts and winegrowers will share their experience and knowledge in regenerative viticulture to heighten awareness about the need for a paradigm shift in vineyard management via the implementation of regenerative practices that help to mitigate the climate crisis.

The line-up of speakers includes renowned figures such as revered Australian land manager, Darren J. Doherty, one of the world’s leading experts in Keyline design, a methodology that combines water conservation with land regeneration; Pilar Andrés, senior researcher at CREAF (Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications), expert in soil ecology and biodiversity, and Francesc Font, farmer and agricultural technical engineer, co-director at Agroassessor Consultors Tècnics and author of the book Arrelats a la terra: propostes per a una viticultura regenerative (Tales from the Land: Approaches to regenerative viticulture).

Miguel Torres Maczassek, fifth generation Familia Torres, will also talk about the company’s recent commitment to regenerative viticulture as part of its quest to intensify its fight against climate change. The family-run winery has launched an ambitious agricultural plan to implement regenerative viticulture practices in over 500 hectares of organic vineyards in Catalonia.

According to Miguel Torres, “The aim of regenerative viticulture is to create a new equilibrium by increasing biodiversity and organic material in harmony with nature. This enables the soil to capture the CO2 accumulated in the troposphere and sink it into the ground, which helps to slow down global warming. Vineyards with regenerated soils adapt better to climate change and help to mitigate its effects”.

He added: “By organising this conference, we want to help other winegrowers and winemakers to understand the potential of this style of viticulture to convert vineyards into huge carbon sinks to stop global warming. For us, it’s the only style of viticulture that makes sense in the current context of climate change”.    

For more than ten years, Familia Torres has dedicated energy and resources to adapt to the new climate challenge in order to mitigate its effects, reduce its own carbon footprint and, more recently, compensate its emissions via projects such as the reforestation of the Chilean Patagonia, CCR (Carbon Capture Reuse) technologies, and regenerative practices aimed at capturing and storing atmospheric CO2.