Quinta dos Murças recognised with the 2020 Vintage IVDP Environment and Sustainability Award

Quinta dos Murças recognised with the 2020 Vintage IVDP Environment and Sustainability Award

Quinta das Murças, owned by Esporão no Douro, was recognised by the IVDP – Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto – with the 2020 Vintage IVDP Environment and Sustainability Award. After having its entire area certified as organic production, Quinta das Murças receives recognition for its work in the implementation of better quality agriculture. 

“We started the “PGBE-QM Quinta dos Murças Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management Plan” in 2017, together with ADVID, the CFE Centre for Functional Ecology at the University of Coimbra, the Portuguese Botanical Society, CIBIO-InBio, FCUL, and more recently with NBI. We focused on the various biodiversity indicator groups and the ecological status of the vineyards and their surrounding area, in order to understand the impact of good agro-ecological management practices on the biodiversity of flora and fauna, and the dynamics of interactions between potential pests and auxiliary fauna. This recognition by the IVDP further motivates us to continue the work we started in 2011, contributing to a more ecological and sustainable Douro”, says winemaker José Luís Moreira da Silva.

According to João Roquette, Esporão´s CEO , “we thank the IVDP for recognising Murças and the important journey that this project has made in the search for improved standards, in this incredibly unique region.” 

The IVDP Vintage awards were created to encourage and recognise people, institutions and projects that are directly or indirectly related to the Demarcated Douro Region. Having various categories, they aim to “stimulate technological innovation, technical and scientific development, the advancement of knowledge on social dynamics, entrepreneurship, environmental, economic and social sustainability, the study and preservation of heritage as an essential cultural asset and as priority areas for the progress of the Demarcated Douro Region, its territory, people, vineyards, wine and markets.