The news comes as the Bacardi-owned Italian sparkling wine and vermouth brand celebrates 150 years since Martini & Rossi produced its first samples of ‘moscato spumante d’Asti’.
“There is a deep connection between Martini, the land and the people – it’s a solid foundation for making quality wine,” said Giorgio Castagnotti, director of the Martini Operations Centre.
“We have worked closely with the same farming communities growing the finest Moscato grapes in the same beautiful hills for generations – in fact for the last 150 years – and we want to continue to do so for generations to come. It’s always made sense then for us to support our grape growers through our sustainability initiatives.”
Martini’s Santo Stefano Belbo winery, located in the Asti region of northwest Italy, was recently certified sustainable by Equalitas following an audit by certification body Valoritalia.
The Santo Stefano Belbo is responsible for 30% of the grapes used in the production of Martini Asti. Of the remaining 70%, two-thirds of the grape must suppliers have also been certified sustainable by Equalitas with the remainder on track to be certified this year.
“Equalitas only works with third-party auditors who are experts with a deep knowledge of the wine sector and the certification process is wholly holistic,” said Stefano Stefanucci, director of Equalitas.
“Equalitas embraces three sustainability pillars – environmental, ethical and economical – and takes into consideration everything from a winery’s carbon footprint and water consumption through to fair commercial terms for farmers and good social practices including training and welfare.”
This comes as another step towards Bacardi’s goal of sourcing 100% of its key ingredients from sustainably certified suppliers by 2025 having announced that ten botanicals used to create Bombay Sapphire will also be certified sustainable by the end of the year.
