SUSTAINABILITY
At KIR-YIANNI, sustainability is both a philosophy and a vital decision to be part of our business development onwards, entailing dedication, realism and systematic investment.
It embraces our commitment in:
Responsible winemaking
Safeguarding the land that houses so generously our vision and work
Protecting biodiversity, flora and fauna
Conserving natural resources
Supporting local communities
Ensuring our employees’ feeling of safety and economic security
STARTING OUR JOURNEY TO CARBON NEUTRALITY
In 2023, we set up a dedicated “Sustainability” team at KIR-YIANNI marking the beginning of our journey to carbon neutrality and our goal to work collaboratively and in the most efficient way possible to prevent future threats and promote sustainable growth.
We are delighted to see that our two major goals set for 2024 are either achieved or moving rapidly to completion within the 1st semester.
Our goals:
– ISO 14064 Certification that will help us quantify and record our GHG emissions.
– Joining “International Wineries for Climate Action” (IWCA), committed to reduce carbon emissions, while exchanging know-how and studying best practices across the wine industry.
Our practices from vine to wine and beyond
IN THE VINEYARD
Our backbone is the threefold “improve – preserve – optimize” where vigilance is key. We keep an open mind and, combined to scientific expertise and respect to local viti-traditions, we experiment with and gradually employ the set of practices that best suits our land. Our main priorities:
SOIL HEALTH
– Making compost from pomace for green manuring as a source of organic matter
– Planting crops of mostly endemic legumes and grain between and under the rows as a natural control system of vine vigor
– Mapping environmental features
– Letting perennial grass grow
PRECISE VINEYARD MICRO-MANAGEMENT
– Integrated Pest Management focusing on careful monitoring pests and their natural enemies to avoid crop damage
– Seeding with plants that attract beneficial predatory insects
– Maintaining vine balance with practices like careful pruning and green harvesting that take places on a vine-by-vine basis
– Drip irrigation system used for newly planted vines and in cases of extreme heat phenomena
– Old and in some cases pre-phyloxera vines preservation monitoring their characteristics and adaptation to climate change.
AT THE WINERY
Our goal is to transform our production into a cyclical process where the energy by machinery and buildings comes from natural resources and/or agricultural waste.
ENERGY
– Use of photovoltaic panels at both our Estates in Naoussa and Amyndeon, covering almost 30% of out total energy consumption
– Close monitoring of our machinery /equipment energy performance and gradual planning of replacing /updating to resource saving technologies (e.g wider use of variable frequency drives in conjunction with energy efficient electrical motors)
– Heat pumps installed replacing the use of heating oil and reducing CO2 emissions
– LED lighting system already installed
RE-USE SCHEMES
– Re-using clean winery water waste for irrigating our surrounding gardens and /or cleaning our outdoor terraces
– Re-using pomace for compost and for producing “tsipouro”, the traditional Greek grape mark spirit
RECYCLING
– We recycle glass, paper, plastic, machine oil and our restaurant’s cooking oil in collaboration with certified companies
BIOLOGICAL WATER-WASTE TREATMENT
VEGAN CERTIFICATION
All our wines are vegan certified as we do not use any animal products in our winemaking
PACKAGING
Among the most demanding challenges to tackle in the wine industry, we are constantly working on finding more responsible options in our packaging.
GLASS
A gradual plan to broader use light-weight bottles reducing the average glass weight of our portfolio and the consequent burden on transportations.
CORK /CAPSULES
Consistent to our guidelines of avoiding any non-recyclable materials, we use mainly natural corks but at the same time we are planning to further employ screw caps.
PACKING BOXES
We keep wooden cases for our premium wines, looking at the same time for alternatives. We are enhancing the share of recyclable materials in all our carton /paper boxes.
OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT
OUR PEOPLE
We have always believed that what makes us a great place to work for is our people that bring in everyday their ideas, backgrounds and spirit.
Today we have 80 permanent employees and over 140 in total. Staying true to our commitment towards the local community, 95% of our people come from Naoussa, Amyndeon and the broader area.
We foster longstanding relations with our employees, and at the same time we always create opportunities for younger generations.
Our goal is to grow together with our team, weaving diversity, inclusivity and equality into our culture and development.
SUPPORTING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
We understand that real growth is a two-way-street. Standing by local communities and contributing to their prosperity, is our commitment.
LOCAL VINE GROWERS
From the very beginning, our philosophy has been to cultivate long collaborations with local vine growers.
When Yiannis Boutaris started planting a total of 48 ha of Xinomavro in Yiannakohori, the heart of our Estate in Naoussa, it has been a force of inspiration and change for the region and beyond. He encouraged the local producers to start making their own wine, instead of just selling their grapes. He disseminated his vision and belief about the uniqueness of the variety and the region contributing immensely to the revival and the development of the region in challenging times.
Since then, we stand by local vine growers with commitment and dedication. Our viticulturist team assists them with specialized know-how and consulting all-year-round, while recording long viti-vini traditions and offering incentive to the next generations of the families to carry on.
Among our portfolio, wines produced by these collaborations are exquisite examples of the power of togetherness.
LOCAL ECONOMIES
Our Estates in Naoussa and Amyndeon are located in regions that are not considered major tourist attractions -with minor seasonal exceptions.
In the end of 2021, our Wine Tourism premises were completed in Naoussa. On our first year of full operation (2022) we had welcomed almost 10,000 visitors in our Estate from mostly from Greece. This number enjoyed the KIR-YIANNI world of experiences, but at the same time savored the hospitality and sights of the city of Naoussa and the broader area.
Our Wine Tourism facilities to be inaugurated within 2024 at our Estate in Amyndeon, are designed with the same purpose: to offer outstanding wine-related experiences, promoting a sense of place, local history and traditions, and most importantly to champion and support a sustainable green tourism flow to the region.
ARCTUROS
The need to stop the “dancing bear” phenomenon -very common at the time- mobilized Mihalis Boutaris, our founder Yiannis Boutaris’ youngest son and KIR-YIANNI Vice-President. He decided to take action against any form of captivation of bears and wolves.
It was in 1992 when Mihalis, together with his father, founded “ARCTUROS”, the non-profit environmental NGO, based in Nymfeo, in the region of Florina (20 km from KIR-YIANNI Estate in Amyndeon, Northern Greece. That was over 3 decades ago, when the notion of “sustainability” had neither substance nor a punch to the most; Still, it was an eloquent display of Yiannis Boutaris’ family philosophy of daring ingenuity and of a mindful holistic way of thinking and (re)acting. A trademark that is organically imprinted on KIR-YIANNI DNA since the very beginning, perceiving winemaking as part of a bigger picture.
Today, ARCTUROS is one of the most renowned and respected environmental NGOs in Greece and abroad with major work done and more to follow. Started from the need to save bears and wolves, it has managed to include a total of 9 species under protection status; even more so, a complete action framework has been formed under the umbrella of ARCTUROS. The goal remains solid: to protect the wildlife fauna, its natural habitat, the stunning biodiversity and to promote the harmonious co-existence of man and wildlife.
KIR-YIANNI has been always by the side of ARCTUROS, supporting and offering our resources as mediums of creating awareness and educating people about the mission, the work and the challenges tackled by the NGO.
