Everyday, people hear and read and talk of news of environmental issues as well as the consequences in media and newspapers and daily conversations but few of them take action to preserve the environment.
Not being an environmentalist or not working in an environmental protecting company, Sergio Cuadra, a Chilean winemaker, embraces an profound concern for the environment, sharing with Vietnamese people “Nature is inherently beautiful, clean and fresh, but human activities make it worse and worse so now humans need immediate and practical activities to protect it as well as to protect themselves. Do not think about the world, the planet, it seems to be unknown and giant with you, just think about your neighbours as you do not live alone on a far-away island but you live with people and nature including trees, land, water and many species.”
He added that if a person loves his neighbours, he/or she will not throw litter on the road but will try to use environmentally friendly products or if a company cares about its neighbours and targets sustainable development, it will make its operation less impacting on the environment as much as it can by not disposing industrial waste directly to the environment without a waste disposal system or recycling used materials such as paper, plastic and glass.
Talking about environmental protection and sustainable development, he shared practical experience that his wine company, Caliterra, in Chile is implementing that company makes wine bottles’ labels by recycled paper and makes lightweight bottles to reduce the carbon footprint. So the company in the Colchagua Valley is crafting environmentally friendly wines under the concepts of sustainable vineyard management where each variety stands out for its fruity, fresh and distinctive style, expressing the quality and pureness of Chile’s natural terrain and fruit.
Environmental issues such as climate change, global warming, pollution, waste, loss of biodiversity, violence of invasive species, release of genetically modified organisms and toxics are becoming more and more heated and are inspiring more debate and action -personal, political and corporate. However, most people ignore the issues
purposely to attend to their short-term benefits. This is why more and more excessive amounts of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide are accumulating in the atmosphere and trapping heat that normally would exit into outer space but instead increases the rate of deforestation.
Human activities impacting badly on the environment increase the rate of climate change and alter weather patterns, which may hasten species extinction, influence the length of seasons, expand deserts, increase the frequency and severity of droughts, heat storms, hurricanes and floods, raise sea levels and rainfall in some areas and give rise to infectious diseases and epidemics. Recently, some Asian countries, Vietnam included, were hit by two consecutive typhoons, Ketsana va Mirinae, causing hundreds of casualties and devastating loss of houses, assets and nature. “Do not blame nature. We have to blame humans,” said Cuadra.
Born in Santiago, Chile in 1970, Cuadra holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering and Enology from the University of Talca and has more than 15 years of experience in crafting fine wines from the most prestigious winegrowing regions in Chile as well as abroad. Sergio has led numerous tastings with distinguished international wine writers and has participated in promotional tours, seminars and conferences as well as educational tastings in the major wine markets.