The First Regenerative Viticulture Conference held in Vilafranca del Penedès on 17 June, under the wing of Familia Torres, will boast the presence of ecologist, Allan Savory, co-founder and president of the Savory Institute, which advocates the regeneration of pastoral ecosystems on a worldwide scale. Savory is a pioneer of regenerative agriculture and holistic management, a systems thinking approach to managing resources to reverse desertification.
Author of various books on holistic management, Allan Savory will deliver the conference’s keynote speech, which will be broadcast live via www.viticulturaregenerativa.org. The aim of the conference is to raise awareness about the potential of regenerated soils to stop climate change and the need to adopt a holistic approach to land management. This would create a new equilibrium by increasing biodiversity and organic matter in harmony with nature, thus converting vineyards into huge carbon sinks.
The Regenerative Viticulture Conference will also feature the presence of another global expert in the field of regenerative soils, Australian land manager and international trainer, Darren J. Doherty. Doherty is one of the world’s foremost experts in Keyline, a methodology that combines water conservation with land regeneration. His live-stream talk will be followed by Pilar Andrés, senior researcher at CREAF (Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications) and expert in soil ecology and biodiversity. Andrés is currently working on the definition of indicators to assess the biological quality of soils and soil regeneration.
Several participants will share their experiences with regenerative viticulture, including Australian winegrower and owner of Cargo Road Wines winery, James Sweetapple; farmer, co-director at Agroassessor Consultors Tècnics, and author of the book Arrelats a la terra. Propostes per a una agricultura regenerativa (Tales from the Land: Approaches to regenerative viticulture), Francesc Font, and Miguel Torres Maczassek, fifth generation Familia Torres, who has adopted regenerative viticulture as part of the group’s commitment to fight against climate change.
And last but not least, regenerative agriculture experts Josep Ramon Sainz de la Maza and Manel Badia will both take part in the final debate, which will be moderated by nature and environmental journalist and author of the book Si el cel es tornés vermell (If the sky should turn red), Cori Calero. The Mayor of Vilafranca del Penedès, Pere Regull, will also be in attendance to open the conference, while the Regional Minister for Agriculture and Livestock for the Generalitat de Catalunya, Elisenda Guillaumes Cullell, will grace the conference with her presence at the closing event. Familia Torres’s aim in launching the First Regenerative Viticulture Conference is to disseminate this particular style of viticulture. This model is the perfect antidote in the current context of climate change, because of its capacity to regenerate soils, sequester large quantities of atmospheric CO2, and benefit biodiversity. The Penedès winery strives to reduce its CO2 emissions year on year in its fight against global warming via its environmental programme, Torres & Earth, launched in 2008 with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality before 2050.
