Since it was founded in 1986, Viñas del Vero has been at the Forefront of sustainability and commitment to the environment. For more than ten years now we have been purifying and recycling all the water we use in our facilities, which means we are a dry winery. We also have our own photovoltaic array that provides us with 35% of the energy we use in our winery, saving 135 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. This green energy drives a charging point for electric vehicles and for hydrogen-powered vehicles too, as we have our own hydrogen generator, which has made us one of the few places in Spain that offers its visitors both forms of energy – electric and hydrogen. These milestones mean that in 2019 we became the first winery in Aragón to obtain “Wineries for Climate Protection” certification, which was granted by the Federación Española del Vino (Spanish Wine Federation) as an endorsement of Viñas del Vero’s commitment to sustainable development and the fight against climate change. In 2021, we were awarded the “Félix de Azara” prize for our sustainable business management systems.

With the “VIDAS” (“LIVES”) initiative you are going to see today, we are taking another step along the road to sustainability. With the help of the Ueco Association, we’re going to try to enhance the biodiversity that surrounds our vineyards, to create a richer ecosystem around us.

The biodiversity around the winery

The “VIDAS” project was launched in 2020 with the first in the series of initiatives analysing the sustainability of glaciers in the Pyrenees close to the winery and is part of an on-going commitment to support and protect the local environment

Working with UECO Association, a local environmental organisation protecting wildlife and in particular birds, Viñas del Vero has developed a network of bird’s nest boxes placed at strategic points around the winery and its vineyards. Each one is designed to blend into the natural habitat of each specific breed, creating a comfortable nest adapted to its needs. In this way, as well as promoting nesting and breeding, the insects and rodent population is guaranteed in the vineyards, helping to encourage a natural balance which will auto-regulate itself as time goes on.

With the installation and subsequent monitoring of the nest boxes we follow the effect that these species have on the environment in terms of natural pest and insect control throughout the vineyard. Viñas del Vero is fortunate to count on the following breeds: tawny and Eurasian scops owl, blue tits, swifts, bats, robin red breasts and black- capped chickadees. These species’ affectivity in insect control has inspired the team involved in the “VIDAS” project to develop an “insect hotel” in and old barrel which will improve the biodiversity even further at the Somontano winery. The move takes the winery one step further on the path to defend and protect the flora and fauna that surround Viñas del Vero, in fact, even in its first few months 80% of the box nests have been inhabited.

This initiative has been inspired by the González Byass Family of Wine “5+5 Caring for the Plane” programme and enables “VIDAS” from Viñas Vero to progress towards achieving the SDGs Sustainable Development Goal for the preservation of “Life and terrestrial ecosystems.