Three years have passed since, in 2013, we started the process converting the vines and olive trees on our Can Martí estate to organic farming, although we have been using environmentally-friendly practices for over two decades. So the 2016 harvest which is taking place as we write, is the first that is 100% organic certified by the CCPAE (Catalan Council of Ecological Agricultural Production), the public body charged with supervising the fulfilment of the European legislation (Regulation 2092/91).

The organic farming  rules forbid the use of synthetic chemical products and fertilisers and provide for their substitution by others of a natural origin. On the Can Martí estate copper, sulphur and techniques of sexual disruption, as well as manure from organic livestock farms, are used. What is more, organic farming aims to increase the biodiversity in and around the vineyards. Inside, through the use of the technique of vegetation covering between the lines of vines, which improves the soil, supplies nutrients and increases the natural enemies that control pests. The bushy periphery zones around the plots also allow the proliferation of insects, spiders, birds and reptiles, natural pest controllers.

The Can Martí estate (Gelida, Alt Penedès) has belonged to the Torelló family since 1395 and covers an area of 135 hectares, 80 of which are planted with 11 different varieties of grape and 439 centenary olive trees.