http://cortesdecima.com/general/how-green-is-our-winery/ Alentejo, Portugal Family Vineyards Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:26:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://cortesdecima.com/general/how-green-is-our-winery/comment-page-1/#comment-4598 Cortes de Cima » Blog Archive » Reforestation of the Alentejo Sun, 15 May 2011 11:42:48 +0000 http://cortesdecima.com/?p=4331#comment-4598 [...] been a great help  for our goal to increase our forested areas at Cortes de Cima by 25% this year. Since 1992, we have planted 90 hectares of mixed holm oak, cork oak, carob and pine in the areas surrounding [...] [...] been a great help  for our goal to increase our forested areas at Cortes de Cima by 25% this year. Since 1992, we have planted 90 hectares of mixed holm oak, cork oak, carob and pine in the areas surrounding [...]

]]> http://cortesdecima.com/general/how-green-is-our-winery/comment-page-1/#comment-2548 Cortes de Cima | Wine, Woman, Travel Sun, 30 May 2010 23:53:57 +0000 http://cortesdecima.com/?p=4331#comment-2548 [...] Departing from winemaking matters for a moment – I was very impressed by the consciousness of environmental and energy issues, and all the ways in which these were being addressed.  The solar panels generate enough power to meet all the hot-water needs at the winery, as well as contributing to the national grid, and they have applied to generate more.  In the winery is a metal box on the wall which looks like nothing special, but Hamilton explained it captures ozone from the air as well as generating ozone, all of which is then released into hot water – making an excellent cleaning agent.  The ozone is highly reactive with organic matter, so they can very effectively wash all their equipment without harsh sodas or detergents.  In the water, the ozone will naturally degrade to O2, so ultimately the effluent contains neither cleaning agents nor ozone.  All the waste water from the winery passes through a reed field for natural biological purification.  The Cortes de Cima blog has an entry which describes all their environment efforts in the vineyards, winery and throughout the production chain, with a great deal of technical detail:  http://cortesdecima.com/general/how-green-is-our-winery/ [...] [...] Departing from winemaking matters for a moment – I was very impressed by the consciousness of environmental and energy issues, and all the ways in which these were being addressed.  The solar panels generate enough power to meet all the hot-water needs at the winery, as well as contributing to the national grid, and they have applied to generate more.  In the winery is a metal box on the wall which looks like nothing special, but Hamilton explained it captures ozone from the air as well as generating ozone, all of which is then released into hot water – making an excellent cleaning agent.  The ozone is highly reactive with organic matter, so they can very effectively wash all their equipment without harsh sodas or detergents.  In the water, the ozone will naturally degrade to O2, so ultimately the effluent contains neither cleaning agents nor ozone.  All the waste water from the winery passes through a reed field for natural biological purification.  The Cortes de Cima blog has an entry which describes all their environment efforts in the vineyards, winery and throughout the production chain, with a great deal of technical detail:  http://cortesdecima.com/genera.....ur-winery/ [...]

]]>