Do it Sustainable: Sustainability as meeting point between present and the future

With the aim to assessing the success of the present only according to its consequences on the future, Arnaldo Caprai produces wines whose quality is not measured solely in terms of "final taste" but that includes the application at any stage of the ecofriendly and sustainable philosophy.
Starting from the first half of the 90es, we work with the intent to minimize the environmental impact and, since 1995, we apply long-term practices focused to maintain the environmental integrity and to ethically meet the needs of the society.
As every agro- system overlaps an existing  "natural ecosystem"  some environmental impact is inevitable: our challenge is to minimize that impact  working in defense of the biodiversity and to preserve the soil and to avoid any waste of water. We take care about energy savings; recycling practices are carried out scrupulously and and we are progressively reducing the use of chemicals  spreading an ecofriendly message.

According to our philosophy,the production of grapes and wines of the highest quality, can not be something apart from :
- Protection and conservation of natural resources
- Implementation of economic and social well-being of all the people involved in wine production
- improvement of the research
- (try to) Convert the entire area of Montefalco to this "Do it sustainable" attitude  (Montefalco 2015 the new green revolution)

Defense and maintenance of biodiversity
- enhancement of local native varieties
- Annual vegetation restoration (ex-planting oaks) in proportion to the vines area planted

Conservation and soil management:
- Cover Crops: since 1994 has been adopted a permanent grass cover  in the vines to reduce the runoff and the soil erosion. planting  varieties like clover also contributes to enrich the soil and to ensure higher quality grapes. 
- Implement working hours per hectare: the application of manual techniques or mechanical (not chemical) to combat the germination,  in the vineyard, of varieties "enemies" of vines
- 
Water saving
- AC do not use any irrigation system for our vineyards and since 2003 we have two active water cleaners that allow us in reusing the water to irrigate the "green gardens" on the estate (about 5000m2)

Reduce any chemical practices
- Climate Monitoring and installation of insect traps: a meteo station (able to control temperature and humidity ) was placed in the mid of the vines so that we use  pest only in times of need; 
- use of traps for insects to combat some vines sickness
- Use the minimum levels of sulphites in wine production
- Use of “sulfur based” detergents to clean the barrels
- Use of press in the absence of oxygen to reduce the impact of the clarification process

EARTH FRIENDLY, reuse and recycle:
- COMPOST: suitable waste materials are transformed and reused as fertilizer in the vineyard
- Since 2007, all the materials in plastic used for catering and hospitality services (cups, paper napkins, cutlery ..) have been replaced by materials 100% recyclable
- In our offices we apply “separate refuse collection” for all materials widely used such as paper, plastic, scrap computer.
- in 2008 we started a process to replace all the materials used for our communication and marketing activities (such as cotton for t-hirt or aprons, paper for brochures and labels..)  in “recycled materials” or otherwise “100% bio-degradable ones”.

short FOOD CHAIN
- for our own meals (wine maker dinners, wellcoming lunches..) we only use our own managed vegetables and the meet just comes from our home raised animals.

YOU BUY WE  DONATE:
For over 10 years, a portion of the proceeds received by the organization of AC events are donated to organizations involved in social and territorial defense

CERTIFICATION
- Since 2000, the company is certified ISO 14001 in order to improve the environmental management of its activities, products and services.

Studies in progress:
- Since 2004 we are researching about the effects of GLOBAL WARMING on the vines and on grape' maturation 
- Since 2008 we are collecting data to assess the carbon emissions (with the intent to reduce them in the future)
- Assessment of the costs for the conversion of all the printers machines in “soy ink”- printers machines
- Assessment of the costs for the use of tree free paper instead of regular paper.


Insights: Sostenibilità e green economy. Quarto settore. Competitività, strategie e valore aggiunto per le imprese del terzo millennio by Paolo Ricotti – Inside this book (in Italian)  Case Study -  Arnaldo Caprai [buy the book]