Sustainability analysis by IFEU

In order to operate in an ecologically responsible manner, it is essential to keep an eye on plant protection and the biotope quality of the vineyards.

In both areas, enormous progress has been made over the past twenty years with organic plant protection measures and the plantation of cover crop in the vineyards. Climate change is creating new challenges for the vines. Pests, such as the drosophila suzukii, endanger the plants and the grapes, the yield of a whole year. In order to be ecologically sustainable and to protect and even promote flora and fauna, further research in the field of phytopathology or the biology of pests will be required in the future, as well as the application of mechanical processes, such as defoliation. A process, which both, fungal diseases just as well as drosophila suzukii are repugnant to.
Organic wineries are actively trying to foster biodiversity through targeted seedlings. In order to fulfill the practical implementation, offers from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, such as "Partnerbetrieb Naturschutz" (partner company for nature protection) can be used.

The social indicators of the observation aim at the working conditions of the employees, the workload of the entrepreneurial family, but also at education,  training and commitment to sustainability.

The Weinbauverband Rheinhessen provides a lot of support in the form of consultation and seminars. The fact that the employees in the family businesses find good working conditions is shown by the consistency with which seasonal workers come to the families for harvest each year and support them in the harvest. In order to relieve the burden on the family members and to shape the coexistence of the generations, the Weinbauverband Rheinhessen offers continuous education opportunities in corporate organization and generational change as well as other social topics. DLR Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück in Oppenheim is responsible for training and further education, integrating the topics of sustainability into vocational training as well as specialist training and technical training courses.