Certification level

Introduction

Being certified by a sustainability scheme is not a requirement of regenerative viticulture. However, certification schemes are highly recommended as they:

  • Ensure vineyard managers are complying with high environmental standards
  • Inform the consumer that the grapes have been grown according to stringent standards
  • Are a way to avoid ‘greenwashing’ and provide validity

Individual countries have their own sustainability schemes. The requirements vary widely.

Organic/Bio/Eco and Biodynamic are highly regarded certification programs globally. They have much in common with regenerative viticulture.

There are now regenerative accreditation schemes which are becoming widespread:

  • Land to Market (USA)
  • Soil Carbon Initiative (USA)
  • Savory International (USA)
  • Regen 1 (USA)
  • Regenefied (USA)
  • A Greener World Certification (USA)
  • Regenerative Organic Certification (USA)
  • Regenerative Viticulture Association Certification in Europe

In detail

There are many accreditation schemes with different requirements.

Some are global and some are national.

Some focus on reducing GHG emissions and carbon footprint across the whole supply chain.

Some focus on only the farming aspect. Of these, some cover all agricultural sectors.  Others are viticulture specific.

Some focus on the whole ‘3-legged stool’ of planet, people and profit. Others only on the environmental aspect of sustainability.

Some have very exacting standards and are audited by a third-party certifier frequently. Others are self-audited and have a lower entry point.

It is therefore difficult to compare them, although some organisations are taking steps to do so.

Organic and biodynamic accreditation have long been considered the ‘gold standards’ in the environmental aspects of farming.

Regenerative farming has a high degree of overlap with organic and biodynamic farming. Therefore vineyards which are already certified under these schemes often have a head start on regenerative viticulture.

However, regenerative viticulture emphasises improving soil health. It is highly recommended to consider certification under one of the regenerative viticulture schemes available.

Regenerative certification schemes

Regenerative Organic Certification from the Regenerative Organic Alliance Regenerative Organic Certified: Farm like the world depends on it (regenorganic.org)

Asociacion Viticultura Regenerativa International Certification Regenerative Viticulture Alliance (viticulturaregenerativa.org)

  • Land to Market (USA)
  • Soil Carbon Initiative (USA)
  • Savory International (USA)
  • Regen 1 (USA)
  • Regenefied (USA)
  • A Greener World Certification (USA)

Further information

Toolkit

Monitoring soil health

Introduction A fundamental principle of RV is good soil health, therefore it is essential to monitor: Soil samples should be taken for all the blocks which have different conditions or are subject to different management operations. They should be sent to specialist soil sampling labs for analysis. Regular testing should be undertaken of samples taken […]

Soil organic matter

Introduction An important biological property is the soil organic matter (SOM) content. SOM is the foodstuff for a large variety of soil organisms ranging upwards in size from bacteria, archaea, and fungi (the microorganisms) to earthworms, ants, termites, and wood lice. This hierarchy of organisms constitutes a soil food web. As SOM is consumed by […]

Interrow Tillage

Introduction Tillage exposes the soil to the air so that it breaks down and enables CO2 to be released back into the atmosphere. Deeper tillage leads to more carbon lost to the atmosphere. It also damages the microbes in the soil and breaks up the mycorrhizal relationships between the plant roots and the beneficial fungi […]

Undervine Tillage

Introduction Many tools now exist to manage the undervine strip mechanically, and without resorting to herbicides, and these all have their advantages and disadvantages. An intervine plough that turns the soil may be the most effective in removing weed roots, but will cause the most damage to soil biology. Tools that cut weed roots without […]

Decompaction

Introduction Compaction in vineyards is a common problem, frequently caused by the regular passage of heavy machinery. Compacted soils perform poorly, waterlog easily, and do not support healthy microbial populations. The best way to avoid compacted soils is to develop a healthy soil biology, and use plants with deep root systems, and encourage earthworms. In […]

Soil/ground cover

Introduction One of the key principles of regenerative viticulture is to avoid bare soil – keeping the ground covered (see cover crops) also reduces soil temperature during hot periods. Living ground cover also provides habitat and biodiversity within a vineyard. Furthermore, photosynthesis captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A higher percentage of the ground covered […]

Cover crops

Introduction Some of the key principles of regenerative agriculture are: Cover crops / ground cover can help achieve these objectives. Plants in the vineyard (which can be naturally generated and/or sown cover crops) can be grown within vine row alleys, in the under-vine strip, in headlands, and surrounding the vineyard. They can offer multiple ‘ecosystem […]

Vine fertility/nutrition and composting

Introduction The annual removal of crop and prunings also removes nutrients from the vineyard, depleting their availability within the ecosystem. Some vineyards rely on synthetic fertilisers to ‘fix’ issues related to nutrition. However, reliance solely on these applications creates a short-term feedback loop that can: In such cases, it becomes necessary to provide increasingly further […]

Animal Integration

Introduction There is great potential with animals to accelerate soil health and regeneration through planned, strategic grazing management. Livestock also have the potential to reduce machinery movements throughout the vineyard at certain times of the season. This can reduce costs and time spent doing tasks, but it also limits the damage to soil from machinery […]