EcoStep Certification

Our wine estate is EcoStep certified since the 3rd of June, 2008 as one of the first in the Rheingau. The EcoStep business management system was designed for small and medium-sized enterprises and was developed at the initiative of Umweltallianz Hessen (Hessian Environmental Alliance), a partnership between the state government and representatives of the industry and trade in Hesse.

We at Balthasar Ress will continue to submit to periodic audits to ensure compliance with certification standard. After al, nothing is perfect to begin with - there´s always room for improvement. The concept unites ecology with economy and thus corresponds with our long-term philosophy of handling resources with care.

In Germany, the earliest discussions about a "state environmental policy" date from the 70s, when they comprised isolated environmental protection measures. Today, through a professional business management system, EcoStep comines on-the-job safety, ergonomics, health protection an denvironmental protection into a transparent business organization.

As such, EcoStep is bades on the classical principles of modern business management systems, including:

• Communication and transparent description of company-specific processes,
• structures delegation of responsibilities,
• legally recongnized documentation of the company´s organization, and
• ongoing improvement of all processes in the company.

For more detailes information on the individual certificates (ISO 9000; 2000, ISO 14001, and ISO 22000), please see here.

PS: the 11th September a German TV channel sent a report about preparing for harvest at our estate. Click here to watch the broadcast.