About The Code

How was the code born?

The Chilean wine industry clustered in Wines of Chile, identified the need to deepen the sustainability of the sector. The Technological Wine Consortiums (Vinnova – TecnoVid) as its technical branch responded to this need with a program that includes several initiatives and / or projects.

The Sustainability Code is the cornerstone of the Sustainability Program, and has been designed in conjunction with the University of Talca. This code is based on the work done previously by Errazuriz-Caliterra Winery and Colchagua Wineries with the Unversity of Talca.

What is the code about?

The Code sets standards in the various areas of development along the entire value chain of wine making and identifies several practices that may exist from the point of view of sustainability. The code provides a tool for the wineries to measure their progress in the use of more sustainable practices.

To establish the code, the needs of the wine sector and the associated practices have been identified and grouped into: Green Area – Vineyard, Red Area – Winery, Orange Area -Community, understanding that sustainability is the convergence of production processes that are environmentally friendly, socially equitable and economically viable.

Having identified the three sectors and associated practices by area, a Checklist has been developed that includes the control points to be evaluated per area, and a Manual has been designed that shows recommendations per control point.

Who administers the code?

The Sustainability Code is administered by Wines of Chile and The Technological Wine Consortiums, the technical branch of Wines of Chile, born from the merging of vineyards and wineries with the five of major universities in the country for the development of R & D + i.

As a starting point, the implementation of the Code will start with the Green Area in January 2011 with its accreditation system. Then in a later stage during the course of 2011, the red and orange areas will be implemented.

How to participate in the code?

Participation in the code has two levels, one for Registration and Training in the Code and another level for Accreditation.

Continuous improvement is a fundamental part of the Sustainability Code, that is why these two levels have been defined:

Level 1: Registration and Training in the Code

Access to this level is through an annual fee, which grants the right to receive information regarding the Manual of Sustainability, the Accreditation Standards and other basic documents as well as discounts in training activities in the area of sustainability.

The prices to pay for this level are designated according to the exports of each company (Wines of Chile Range). A registration number is given as well as the documents mentioned above.

The companies that are at this level can report their participation in the Level 1 of the Sustainability Code, showing there training in sustainability and their willingness to make progress in this area, but can not report as an accredited vineyard in Level 2.

Level 2: Accreditation of the Code

This level is used in order to obtain the accreditation of the Sustainability Code which involves going through the whole process of the code: Complying with the control points, receiving the correspondent inspections and audits, and being approved by the accreditation committee of the Code.

The cost of accreditation will be given according to each company, that will request a budget to the Technological Wine Consortium using the Registration Form for Level 2.

All companies in this category will still pay for the annual fee of Level 1.

A determined percentage of Vineyards Type A have to be included as well as a percentage of Vineyards Type B, in order to be part of the accreditation of the Code.

The accreditation will entitle the obtainer to a certificate of the accreditation, a license to use the sustainable logo in posters, wineries, advertising materials, and will also allow the use of the logo on the wine bottles.

For more information see About the Accreditation.

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