About Salcheto

Salcheto Carbon Free

On September 29, 2011, less than two years since the ground braking, the new 3400 square meter (37,000 square foot) winery was inaugurated. Designed after 15 years of experience and experimentation, it is the result of a study to create the “idealistic cellar” for its Sangiovese but also a perfect “green building”, one that will allow the winery to become the first off-the-grid project ever.

To enable the wine consumer to directly measure the environmental impact of the wines produced in its new cellar, Salcheto has developed a complex study of its entire process. Starting with raw material supply to delivery of the finished wine, passing by the agricultural production, wine processing and bottling, the research accounts for all direct and indirect emissions of CO2. The result was the first European Carbon Footprint for a bottle of wine, thanks to a scientific committee established around the company's projects and coordinated by Prof. Domenico Andreis of Siena University. The result of this research which constitutes a first benchmark for the industry is 2.02 kg CO2 equivalent per 750 ml bottle of wine, first index of such a kind to be certified worldwide inside an inventory based on ISO 14064 standard.

The new cellar has been designed around the cornerstones of technical processing of the Sangiovese grapes of Salcheto, featuring: the selection of grapes coming into the cellar with a wide triage area on the roof; the gravity driven system of loading grapes and moving wine, in order to maintain the skins integrity and minimize the stress on the wine; the wine fermentation held in Slavonian Wood tanks for the Vino Nobile; aging in small and large barrels in a specially equipped room for wood storage which is also very convenient and secure for workers; and a large bottle refinement area so as to make it an integral part of the wine making process. The cellar was also designed to be open and accessible to visitors, with dedicated paths along throughout and a visitor center (with restaurant and tasting room/shop) directly adjacent to the working areas.

The design of the new winery, planned on the cornerstones of sangiovese best winemaking practices but also over an ideal comfort and safety of its workers, was then fashioned with the aim of creating a “closed” energy system in order to create the best possible synergies between the winery’s agricultural system and the existing environmental resources, although not converting any agricultural field to this scope. There are dozens of technical solutions employed in the new cellar that provide for the winery’s energy needs as a whole (100%). First and foremost, these allow for a reduction of 54% in energy consumption (for example, the use of natural lighting only, thanks to a system of mirrors and light conveyors). Then, the cellar can provide for its consumption needs by the conversion of biomass (29% of its needs) from pruning wastes for, by the cold geothermal temperature exchange (15% of its needs) and by the production of electricity by solar photovoltaic cells (2% of its needs). 

From the creative impetus of this project a stable research group has been raised, the Salcheto Carbon Free Working Group, whose aim is to promote environmental ethics in wine with respect to energy efficiency and the definition of an environmental impact measuring system, through research, research coordination and communication. The WG is composed of Prof. Domenico Andreis (coordinator), Prof. Riccardo Basosi, Dr. Francesco Miglietta, Dr. Antonio Ferro, Dr. Michele Crivellaro, Eng. Leonard Bernardelli, PhD Paolo Fulini and is chaired by Michele Manelli (Salcheto President). Current objectives of the working group are: the definition of a framework of comprehensive and comparable analysis of the Carbon Footprint of Wine; the search for alternative to glass packaging; the definition of tools for environmental impact analysis of the wine sector with reference to water management, hydrogeological organization and the preservation of biodiversity; the development of an agricultural machinery system powered by an alternative to diesel.

We would like to stress that the Carbon Free name given to this project has been chosen as evocative of the route that Salcheto has undertaken. Nonetheless, it is important to note that there is no activity which is "carbon free" or "without carbon dioxide", it would be a negation of life itself. There is also, unfortunately, not even a law governing the use of this term, which is often abused. Our goal is the continuous improvement of our environmental performance and we believe in the utility of the unit of measurement of CO2 for its calculation. 

Check out the photos of our winery project and Construction.

Check out a video on the new cellar from TeleIdea