Torres enhances water reuse to Combat Climate Change

Familia Torres, a renowned winery in Penedès, has significantly increased its reuse of regenerated water, achieving 45 percent in 2023. This water, essential for irrigation, cleaning, and cooling, is a crucial part of the winery's water management plan under the Torres & Earth sustainability program, initiated in 2008 to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects.

 The winery's water purification plant, launched in 2016, is likely the first of its kind in a winery. Alongside water reuse, Familia Torres collects nearly all rainwater from its facilities and plans to increase this capacity by gathering water from roadways. The winery also maintains approximately 45 ponds on its Catalonia estates, capable of storing 122,000 m³ of water.

 These initiatives, among other measures to enhance water efficiency in production, have enabled Familia Torres to cut its water consumption by 18per percent  since 2016. The winery aims to further this reduction in the coming years.

 To maintain grape quality and vine survival in an increasingly arid climate, Familia Torres is installing support irrigation across its Catalonia vineyards. Currently, about a third of the 900 hectares have drip irrigation systems, with plans to expand this to 600 hectares within three years, requiring an investment of over 5 million euros. Most systems are underground to minimize evaporation, and additional measures, such as nighttime irrigation, moisture probes, and water-retentive cultivation strategies, ensure maximum efficiency.

 In line with its climate change adaptation efforts, Familia Torres has also made strides in reducing CO₂ emissions. From 2008 to 2023, the winery achieved a 37% reduction in CO₂ emissions per bottle across scopes 1, 2, and 3, covering the entire production process. This progress is attributed to renewable energy generation, reduced bottle weight, decreased fertilizer use through regenerative viticulture, sustainable mobility initiatives, and CO₂ capture and reuse from wine fermentation.

The goal is a 60 percent  reduction in CO₂ emissions per bottle by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040.

 Miguel A. Torres, president of Familia Torres, emphasizes the potential of glass bottle reuse in reducing packaging and distribution emissions. "Glass is ideal for wine as it doesn’t release harmful substances like plastic. For markets such as the Scandinavian monopolies, bottle reuse could be a viable alternative to plastic-containing formats. We must eliminate plastic usage due to its petroleum origins, environmental impact, and health hazards," he asserts. He also notes the winery's interest in destination bottling, following a successful pilot in Quebec, with plans to extend this to Nordic countries.

Rooted in the Penedès winemaking tradition since the 16th century, the Torres Family established their winery in Vilafranca del Penedès in 1870. For over 150 years, each generation has upheld a passion for wine culture, land respect, tradition, and innovation. The fifth generation focuses on unique vineyard wines, ancestral variety recovery, and regenerative viticulture to address climate change. Regenerative Viticulture.