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Domaine Bousquet rewarded for investing in people

01 February 2024 By Michael Huband

Mendoza’s Domaine Bousquet was named Ethical Company of the Year at December’s db Green Awards, recognising its work in the local community.

As a 25-year veteran of Mendoza’s wine trade, Domaine Bousquet’s contribution to the region is well known. In particular, the wine trade knows it as the biggest organic and regenerative producer from Argentina. Yet its win at the drinks business Green Awards 2023 demonstrates that its sustainable credentials go far beyond the vineyard.

The Ethical Company of the Year award recognises green and sustainable initiatives from a holistic perspective. The judges sought to reward companies “whose foundations are firmly in and dedicated to the community and environment where they are based.” In selecting Domaine Bousquet as Ethical Company of the Year, they praised the company’s focus on employment, education, training and leadership in a very rural area.

Respect for the environment is a recognised strand of Domaine Bousquet’s work. From the outset, the estate’s vineyards have been farmed entirely organically and each bottle proudly bears its organic certification. Less noticeably, but possibly more remarkably, Domaine Bousquet has converted 1,000 hectares of partner vineyards to organic viticulture.

In its work to protect the environment, Domaine Bousquet has pushed itself to the forefront of the organic movement. Its initial adoption of organic farming practices was well ahead of the global trend.

More recently, it has led the pack by becoming the fourth winery in the world, and the first outside the USA, to gain Regenerative Organic Alliance certification. The alliance recognises the importance of protecting topsoils through organic viticulture, as well as caring for animals and workers. As further evidence of its ethical approach, Domaine Bousquet achieved B Corp certification at the end of 2022.

Caring for workers and for the community has, in fact, emerged as a central concern for Domaine Bousquet. Since setting up home in Tupungato in 2008, co-owners Anne Bousquet and Labid Ameri have made the local community a focus of their work.

The municipality is rural, a relatively flat area directly to the east of the Andes. Its main settlement, also called Tupungato, is typical of the agricultural region’s small towns, a collection of low-slung buildings less than three kilometres across. As a remote community, business investment can hugely benefit the local economy.

Domaine Bousquet has therefore focused resources on education and training in that local community. Alongside capital investment in local schools, the winery’s team has taken an active role in teaching the next generation. They run open days every year, focused on providing tangible experience in viticulture. The sessions explain the importance of organic practice to students and give them hands-on experience so they can grow their own organic produce.

The Green Awards judges were impressed that education and training initiatives also extended into adulthood. The company has shown a commitment to offering opportunities to the local community. For instance, it organises micro-loans to fund education and car-pooling to ensure access for all.

Moreover, in partnership with the Tupungato municipality, Domaine Bousquet launched the ENLACE job training programme. This prioritised local people who had been out of work for months but could not receive benefits. The four-month programme provided them a much-needed economic opportunity, including a work certificate at the end.

Domaine Bousquet’s focus on training has significantly aided the company itself. It makes efforts to train and promote internally rather than hire from elsewhere, meaning that talent remains within the company.

Soledad Baigorria, for example, joined the bottling line straight out of high school in 2008. After a string of internal promotions, she is now responsible for multi-million dollar budgets as head of purchasing. Meanwhile, Adrian Baggio, a Tupungato local who is now executive chef at the estate’s Gaia restaurant, has had the opportunity to train in New York and Miami over the course of his career at Domaine Bousquet.

These concrete examples of its positive impact ensured that Domaine Bousquet impressed the judges at the Green Awards. With local people participating at every level of the company, and the next generation supported through education, Domaine Bousquet has proven that ethical practice is key to continuing success.

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