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Alta Alella, committed to Sustainable Wine Tourism

2023.10.15

Alta Alella is a member of the Barcelona Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism, a distinction that recognizes tour operators that are committed to: environmental sustainability, culture, working conditions, gender equality and social and economic return. In order to obtain certification, the applicant institution must demonstrate that it exhibits the following five principles:

  1. Commitment to a sustainable mission, vision and values of the organization, with an annual improvement plan in different areas.
  2. Ongoing training of our team to learn how to communicate and apply sustainability to the sector and the company.
  3. To support the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism, and contribute to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
  4. Anticipate the negative impacts of our facilities and activities, and seek to benefit from their positive impacts.
  5. To take responsibility for visitor satisfaction and communicate our winery’s sustainable principles and initiatives.

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Alta Alella gives wine bottles a second life

2023.06.29

Reusing bottles is not a new thing at our winery. Perhaps you were not aware of it, but all the natural wines of the Celler de les Aus have been released on the market in reused cava bottles since their beginnings. Until now this was not always communicated, but it has recently been included on the labels of the wines and cavas so that our customers can enjoy the wine twice as much, knowing that they are making a conscious choice to support sustainability.

From now on, at Alta Alella and Celler de les Aus we are taking another step forward in our commitment to the environment and sustainability, and we introduce a new system to recuperate and reuse our bottles. This process not only reduces waste but also support a circular economy by giving wine bottles a new life.

How does it work?

Through this initiative, our Wine Tourism Centre will collect all the bottles that visitors consume at our winery and afterwards they will undergo a rigorous process of cleaning and sterilization, which will be carried out by POTS, a company from Barcelona. Once they are as good as new -better than new, as they will now be more sustainable-, the bottles will be returned to the winery so that we can bottle new wines and they can be enjoyed again by our visitors.

In 2022, we received 10,000 visitors to our winery. In addition, we will also recuperate bottles that our distributor in the province of Girona supplies to the HORECA channel, a collaboration that increases the amount of bottle that will be reused. With this, we aim to make a significant difference to reducing waste, cutting down on the need to produce new glass and decreasing our carbon footprint.

Growing a more sustainable future

As a family-run winery, we are very aware that we must contribute to a more sustainable future, so that new generations can enjoy the land as much as we do. That’s why we will continue to explore new ways to reduce our environmental impact and inspire others to do the same.

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Alta Alella participates in the Sensoreg project

2023.05.22

Sensoreg’s integration of sensors and remote monitoring allows efficient irrigation management in vineyards through continuous control of the soil, the plant and the weather conditions

The main goal of the project is to optimize water management in vineyard cultivation through the digitalization and optimization of all the production processes, following criteria of efficiency and water saving, defined in a decision-making protocol/strategy that ensures annual production and improves the quality and oenological potential of the grape harvest.

In order to achieve this main objective, more specific objectives are defined in the wineries that present the project:

  • Segmentation of the vineyard plots to optimize water management according to the microclimatological, edaphic and agronomic characteristics of the different parcels. 
  • Optimization of water management in the vineyard, with the application of technology that gives a clear support in the decision of the following points:
    • Soil management for maximum use of the soil’s water reserves.
    • Timing, dosage and overall irrigation strategy.
  • Correlating plant development, soil humidity sensor data, plant hydric stress data, and remote sensing images with the conditions of the farms where they are installed. This will help determine useful algorithms to automate the processes.
  • Introduction and validation of “Saturas” technology, which allows the monitoring of plant water status.

Project financed through Operation 16.01.01 Cooperation for innovation of the Rural Development Programme of Catalonia 2014-2022

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Alta Alella investigates on resistant grape varieties

2023.05.15

The VRIAACC project aims to develop new plants that are resistant to the climate change effects and diseases such as powdery mildew and downy mildew

Since 1999, Alta Alella has been participating in the experimental vineyard project of Resistant and Autochthonous Varieties Adapted to Climate Change (VRIAACC, acronym in Spanish), which aims to obtain vines that do not need any type of treatment and are naturally resistant to plagues such as powdery mildew and downy mildew. In addition, the VRIACC also have more drought tolerance. These new plants are obtained by floral crossbreeding (and not by genetic manipulation) between autochthonous varieties –at the moment we are working with Pansa Blanca (Xarel·lo), Macabeu, Parellada, Ull de llebre and Garnatxa negra- and other already resistant varieties.

Thinking about the legacy they will leave to future generations, the Pujol-Busquets family has always worked respecting the territory and preserving biodiversity (organic winery from the origin), and the VRIAACC project is another step forward to produce more sustainable wines.

WHAT DO WE ACHIEVE WITH VRIAACC?

  • Eliminate treatments in the vineyard (copper and sulphur) and produce cleaner wines
  • Less soil compaction
  • Healthier working environment (we avoid the exposure of the vine grower to treatments)
  • Reduction of CO2 emissions
  • More quality (ripening in periods of greater temperature difference day/night)
  • Less losses due to mildew, powdery mildew, botrytis, Drosophila Suzuki, drought, etc.

Other partners in the project are Celler de les Aus, Albet i Noya, Celler Josep Piñol, Institut Català de la Vinya i el Vi and VITEC (Centro Tecnológico del Vino).

Grant “Creación de nuevas variedades de vid autorresistentes a enfermedades criptogámicas y sequía (VRIAACC 2022-2025)” funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”.

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Alta Alella consolidates its commitment to the territory and invests in new vineyards

2023.04.28

  • The winery announces a 52% increase in overall turnover, rising from 3.3 million euros in 2018 to 5 million euros in 2022

  • 45% of sales come from international markets such as Canada, the United States, Germany and Finland

Alta Alella, an organic family winery since its origin, continues its commitment to the territory and announces an investment of 2.5 million euros in the development of its winemaking activity, destined mainly to the acquisition of new hectares of land in Alella-Tiana, as well as technical facilities and tools to preserve the vineyard. “What excites me most is that my parents started with just one hectare in 1991 and in 2024, we will reach 70 hectares. We could have chosen another business model based on volume, but our path was and is to focus on the land, the vines, and to lead and control the entire winemaking process,” says Mireia Pujol-Busquets, co-owner and second generation of the winery.

This investment comes after years of growth and consolidation of the brand. The Pujol-Busquets family has announced a 52% increase in turnover in just five years. Specifically, its global turnover has risen from 3.3 million euros in 2018 to 5 million last year. From these, national sales represent 55% (with Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Valencian Community, Andalusia and Madrid mainly), and exports 45% (with Canada -Quebec-, United States, Germany and Finland as the largest international markets).

The Value of the Territory

Alta Alella is the culmination of a family project that was born more than thirty years ago by Josep Maria Pujol-Busquets and Cristina Guillén. After making wines all over the world, in 1991 they acquired the modernist Can Genís estate where Alta Alella is located, just 14 km from the city of Barcelona and less than 2 km from the Mediterranean, in the privileged agricultural area of the Serralada de Marina Natural Park. “It is a miracle to be able to develop this project so close to Barcelona. All our family’s efforts are dedicated to it”, says its founder, Josep Maria.

The investment in new vineyard plantations represents a very positive impact for the ecosystem in the peri-urban area of Barcelona and contributes to the organization of the territory, providing landscape value, as well as acting as a firebreak. The winery works with small parcels, which respect the orography of the territory as much as possible, maintaining the areas of forest between the vineyards. This enhances biodiversity, prevents the appearance of plagues and soil erosion, and has a positive impact on the quality of the wine, as “we plant the varieties that are best suited to each plot of land so that they express their full potential and uniqueness, taking into account the distance and height above sea level, and the orientation with respect to the sun”, explains Mireia.

Imagen de la finca con vistas al mar donde se aprecia la bodega, el viñedo y la casa modernista Can Genís

Taking care of the vineyard in 2023: digitalization and environmental responsibility

Loyal to its values, “dedicated to transparency and committed to nature“, the family’s priority has always been the responsibility towards the territory (born organic) and the production of high quality wines and cavas that express their origin to the fullest. Following the premise of sustainability, part of the investment has also been destined to renewable energies and the digitalization of the vineyard. Alta Alella has been working for 8 years now with digital tools that increase traceability in the field, provide greater efficiency and optimization of the work in the vineyard, and minimize the environmental impact.

“A winery is a long-term project, and to ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits of the land, we have to take care of it today”, says Mireia. Already in 1999, Alta Alella began its participation in the experimental vineyard project with Resistant and Autochthonous Varieties Adapted to Climate Change (VRIAACC in Catalan). Reducing the carbon footprint is a priority task for the winery, which for the last three years has also been a member of the “Voluntary Agreements Programme” promoted by the Government of Catalonia, following the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Related news in the national media:

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Alta Alella joins the local community network ‘Caring Village’

2023.01.16

Alella, poble cuidador‘ (caregiver village) is a local initiative dedicated to the care and accompaniment of people suffering from loneliness and their families, either because of a chronic illness or because they are at the end of life. This caregiver network, open to the collaboration of institutions, organisations and neighbours of Alella, focuses on three basic principles: care and accompaniment, skills building, and education and awareness-raising.

The Pujol-Busquets family, from the Alta Alella and Celler de les Aus, have joined the initiative as partners, with the aim of contributing to improving and sustaining the work carried out by this network of carers in the town of Alella.

We invite you to become a member and work together for a more equal, supportive, respectful and affective society.

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“Alta Alella, pioneering radical eco-responsibility”

2022.12.13

SOMM TV, a streaming service dedicated to the worlds of wine and food, has published an article dedicated to Cava appellation, its quality regulations and production regions.

The full article includes an interview with Mireia Pujol-Busquets, where the author Kathleen Willcox highlights Alta Alella’s commitment to organic agriculture and sustainability, the aim of the winery to elaborate high quality Cavas, and their involvement in the project of developing disease-resistant grape varieties as a way to mitigate climate change.

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Alta Alella holds the Biosphere and Safe Travels stamps

2022.04.22

Committed to safe and sustainable wine tourism

At the beginning of 2022, Alta Alella joined the Barcelona Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism, a distinction that recognizes those tour operators that are committed to: environmental sustainability, culture, working conditions, gender equality and social and economic return.

Recently, the winery has also received the Safe Travels stamp, promoted by The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). This distinction recognizes safe travel protocols on a global scale and allows travelers to identify companies, entities, and destinations in any country in the world that have adopted security and prevention measures protocols against COVID-19.

With both mentions, Alta Alella reinforces its commitment to safe, sustainable and quality wine tourism.

Would you like to visit the winery? Check out our wine tourism proposal.

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Digitalisation of the Vine: better work control and respect for the environment 

Digitalisation of the Vine: better work control and respect for the environment

2022.02.22

At Alta Alella, we continue our commitment to adopt digital technologies in the vineyard, which simplify our day-to-day work and help us being more efficient, minimizing our environmental impact and reducing costs.

During the last year, Alta Alella’s technical team has incorporated the use of Auravant software for agriculture, which allows us to carry out Precision Agriculture. Specifically, this tool interprets nanosatellite images and translates them into simple and intuitive data, dividing vines according to vigor zones and plant water status. This enables us to know the status of each of our vineyards at any time and from anywhere, using a mobile device, without the need to visit each vineyard on a daily basis. Furthermore, it gives us considerable detailed information, which contributes to decision-making and permits us to act in a much more precise and selective way, even on different vines within the same vineyard. This makes it easier for us to manage our resources and use only those that are minimally necessary for cultivation. For example, we can use fertilizers in a more flexible way, apply plant protection products permitted in organic farming according to the sensitivity of the area, and save water, thanks to the fact that we can quantify the water status of the plant and therefore evaluate the irrigation need. Also, during ripening, it enables us to classify the zones within each vineyard and to harvest the grapes according to their state, thus obtaining a product with a high quality and a low environmental impact.

In addition to this news, it has been four years since Alta Alella began working with Agroptima, an application that provides us with greater traceability of the tasks carried out in the field and allows us to have a more rigorous control. By using this tool, we can record and consult all the tasks executed in the vineyard from anywhere in a quick and easy way, reducing the margin of error that can result from manual data entry. This way, we also have all the information updated instantly and we can extract profitability reports that help us being more efficient and reducing costs.

agroptima.com

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