Róisín Curley on a sustainable future for wine

For pharmacist Róisín Curley, a career in wine wasn’t always the plan but now she is one of Ireland’s most celebrated winemakers. Originally from Co Mayo, Curley splits her time between Ballyhaunis and Burgundy, where she has been making exceptional wines – including Bourgogne Cote d’Or, Bourgogne Aligoté, Fixin Rouge, and Saint Romain Blanc – since 2015.

A masters in viticulture and enology, and a BSc in pharmacy are just two of her impressive qualifications, and Curley is one of less than 500 people globally to hold the title of Master of Wine. This means that she thoroughly understands wine and is uniquely positioned to look forward to its future, something that was a priority for her when teaming up with Findlater & Co.

Findlater & Co, Ireland’s leading wine importer and distributor, are Curley’s only distributor in Ireland. Their portfolio exclusively features wineries committed to sustainability, those who prioritise environmental responsibility and sustainable practices. Findlater & Co’s Give Wine a Future movement was born from the realisation that Ireland’s wine industry needs to take action on climate change and lead by example.

“Sustainability is a huge thing for me and it was important for me to know that Findlater & Co felt the same when I decided to work with them,” explains Curley. “As they only work with people that are sustainably-focused, it’s been important for me to show that I’m actually doing that. It’s been very much a collaboration in that respect, as in both sides are doing their bit.”

“I will always look into more sustainable options. Reducing the weight of my bottles was important to me, even though some people associate quality wine with a heavier bottle – that's a mindset we need to change and hopefully with the right communication, we can do that. I’m really conscious about making changes even in my personal life to reduce my footprint too, I’m very aware of it because I travel between two different countries, so I’ve actually made the personal choice to stop eating meat – I'm very aware of what I eat. It’s important for me to personally do as much as I can.”

In terms of the future of wine, communication is something that Curley thinks will help to keep the sector growing. Noting that gen Z and millennials highly value sustainability in their purchases, Curley believes that communicating about sustainability in wine will become even more critical as winemakers try to target new markets and younger generations.

“Labelling in wine is very confusing, especially in some regions, and there are all these different certifications, but people don’t know what the difference is between one and the other – there are numerous for organic, numerous for biodynamic, and that is confusing for the consumer,” says Curley.

“Additionally, as we start to look towards new drinkers, we need to embrace the fact that more people are drinking in moderation but they’re drinking better than ever before. It means we need to give the consumer what they want, which is good wines, clear communication and simple education – not to overwhelm people, to let them dip in and out as they see fit. As sustainability is important to new generations, we need to make sure we’re all doing as much as we can, as this is what the consumer wants to see.”

As she continues to make wine, Róisín Curley is determined to ensure that her endeavours are as sustainable as possible. With that in mind, the one thing she believes can truly help give wine a future is for growers to turn to regenerative farming.

“I think regenerative farming is so important, this is the one thing that will change the planet. It’s so important to allow what’s beneath the soil to diversify and gain strength. All of the bacteria and micro-organisms that are under the soil are a million times more important than what’s above it,” explains Curley.

“I think regenerative farming is the way forward for us, it’s something the world needs to embrace as much as possible. Wine producing countries need to look at that, because wine is agriculture and this will help us to make sure we really have a future in wine.”

To see more about Findlater & Co’s sustainability measures, click here. Findlater & Co is the only distributor for Róisín Curley’s wine in Ireland. Her most widely distributed wines are Róisín Curley Bourgogne Aligoté and Róisín Curley Fleurie, both of which cost €42 - click here to see more.

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