Abadía Retuerta Winery: Excellent Wine and Excellent Management of the Forest and its Products

7 January 2015 News

Abadía Retuerta is a winery in Valladolid, Spain, with renowned expertise in the production of high quality wines. It is located in the town of Sardón de Duero, an area with a long-standing tradition of wine making, and its differentiating characteristic is the 12th century abbey, now converted into the first-class, luxury hotel Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine.

The excellent management of the forest and its products (wood, pine nuts, mushrooms and herbs) in line with the principles of Sustainable Forest Management has enabled them to obtain PEFC Certification. In addition, they carry out biological pest control projects and initiatives for natural fire prevention, etc.

“Some years ago, we took the decision to enhance our care of the environment by becoming members of initiatives such as PEFC and spending part of our time on maintaining the flora, fauna, forest, water,” commented Elena Revilla, Marketing and Communications Coordinator. “This is so important to us that we can state without hesitation that it represents one of the current cornerstones of the company as far as CSR is concerned.”

“At Abadía Retuerta - distinguished with a Q for Tourism Quality Certificate in the field of Wine Tourism – we work on the basis of a management scheme of which the workers are fully aware,” continued Ms. Revilla. “Our employees and customers, as well as wholesalers, importers, the press and visitors – know about our environmental projects and that we have been awarded as PEFC recognition. 

The use of the logo as part of our company’s corporate image demonstrates our contribution to the protection of the planet’s forest resources.”

The farm covers a land area of 700 hectares, of which nearly 300 are timberlands and forests replanted with native species. Within the property, there are two protected areas designated as Sites of Community Interest (Carrascal and Ribera del Rio Duero) that are covered by the European Natura 2000 Network project.

Thanks to its privileged location in a setting of exceptional natural beauty, the philosophy of the company is to maintain, care for, enjoy and take advantage of such unique natural and environmental wealth. 

The pines, the Holm oaks, the river bank, the wetlands and the vineyards contain a great diversity of flora and fauna. Preserving the environmental quality of the site is top priority.

Respect for the environment is a basic principle in their policy of corporate governance in order to ensure the sustainable development and personality of each terroir. For that reason, the winery has developed environmentally friendly measures that are implemented in all production processes.

With regard to environmental preservation, as well as participating in the Natura 2000 Network project, the winery has initiated a forest management project designed to provide care for the forest stands and promote biodiversity. 

Plantation work, pine grove cleaning, firebreak building, etc. have been underway since 1996 and to date 65,000 pine trees have been planted. The plan was launched in 2007 and aims to achieve the continuity, stability and improvement of the forest, a sustained output of forest products and enhanced biodiversity.