La Rioja, Spain: Suterra Makes an Impact with Bodegas Muga

Bodegas Muga

Nestled in the scenic valleys of La Rioja, Spain, Bodegas Muga is a family-owned vineyard focusing on traditional winemaking practices. Over the generations, the family has perfected their technique, producing authentic, world-famous wine. All grapes used by the winery are native to the La Rioja valley, all cooperage is made onsite, and wine is aged in oak caskets, in the same manner, it has been aged for generations.

In addition to traditional methods, one of Bodegas Muga’s core values are taking care of the La Rioja landscape. The vineyard operators consider themselves stewards of the land and practice farming techniques that produce high-quality grapes and protect the surrounding environment for future generations.

Bodegas Muga and Suterra

As part of Muga’s commitment to the environment, the vineyard and winery extend their environmentally friendly practice to their pest management. The European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana is a widespread pest throughout European vineyards and can cause both direct damages to grapes and serve as a vector for fungal infections.

About three years ago, Bodegas Muga switched to Suterra’s pheromone-based aerosol mating disruption to manage Lobesia. By switching to Suterra’s innovative Puffer technology, Muga managed the pest without using pesticides that could lower the quality of their wine and hurt beneficial natural organisms. Pheromone-based mating disruption works by ‘blinding’ males to potential mates, inhibiting the adults’ ability to find females and reproduce.

As pheromone-based mating disruption is species-specific, organisms other than the target pest (in this case the European grapevine moth) are unaffected. The synthetic pheromone produced by Suterra is a perfect replica of the natural molecule, which is designed to break down quickly, so the pheromone leaves no residue on wine grapes and is perfectly safe for both the people and the natural life of La Rioja.

Both Bodegas Muga and Suterra focus on creating high-quality products that are gentle on the environment, whether that be wine or mating disruption. As such, Suterra’s products have proven to be a perfect fit for Muga. Suterra is happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the winery at one step of its process to produce traditional high-quality wine.