VSPT gains sustainability certification for a fourth time

Chilean wine giant VSPT Wine Group, which was named Ethical Company of the Year at The Drinks Business Green Awards 2018, has been re-certified for the fourth time under the National Sustainability Code.

The code requires a producer to perform across three areas: Green, orange and red, relating, respectively, to the vineyard, corporate and social activities, and winery operations.

During the first half of January 2019, VSPT Wine Group was re-audited for the 4.0 version of the National Sustainability Code (Código Nacional de Sustentabilidad, CNS), which was established in 2013 and is enforced by Wines of Chile.

The code requires a producer to perform across three areas: Green, orange and red. Green concerns the vineyard, orange related to corporate and social activities, and red regards winery operations.

In this fourth re-certification of the code, the VSPT Wine Group successfully passed the independent audits, which are carried out by the Ecocert Group.

These audits also include its long-term grape suppliers.

This re-certification involved assessing a total of 3,464 hectares planted across Chile, including eleven of VSPT’s own estates and eleven long-term grape suppliers, as well as the group’s offices and operations.

“VSPT continues to take concrete steps through its sustainability program, strengthening its commitment both in terms of the environment and that of corporate social responsibility,” the group said.

Last year the wine group committed to producing all of its wines using 100% renewable energy by 2021, while in the UK, it announced a new extended partnership in the on- and off-trade with Enotria & Coe which will “challenge the perception of Chilean wine in the UK market”.

Previously, VSPT announced the acquisition of a number of wine brands and vineyards, as well as a winery, from Pernod Ricard Argentina.

The brands involved in the deal are reported to be Graffigna, Colón and Santa Silvia. VSPT will also be taking control of the Graffigna winery and vineyards Pocito and Cañada Honda in San Juan and La Consulta in the Uco Valley in Mendoza.

VSPT has referred to the deal as a “strategic acquisition to continue the development of its product portfolio”. The wine group already controls Argentine wine brands Finca La Celia and Bodega Tamarí.

VSPT’s Chilean portfolio includes San Pedro, Tarapacá, Leyda, Viñamar, Casa Rivas, Misiones and Santa Helenes. The group was formed in 2008 through the merger of Chilean wine groups Vina San Pedro, controlled by beer and soft drinks giant Compañía de las Cervecerías Unidas (CCU), and Viña Tarapacá Ex Zavala.

It is the second largest exporter of Chilean wine and the leading wine producer in the domestic market. It manages over 4,000 hectares of vines and produces 16 million nine-litre cases a year.