The sustainability of wine is a topic dear to us. For years we have explored the role of organic agriculture, considering if there was any label that could accurately reflect the way we farm. We believe in clean vineyard management: we only do manual weeding; we have reduced the use of chemicals to a minimum. In the vineyard, the method of natural deterents is used to keep unwanted and harmful insects away from our plants. We plant field beans and legumes so that the soil stays healthy and is not depleted of substances useful for viticulture, with the green manure method. The grapes arrive in the cellar in a very short time during the harvest, so that there is no need to intervene afterwards, having guaranteed the quality and healthiness of the raw material.
We also believe that sustainability cannot be limited to caring for the environment and respect for nature, but we also pay attention to people and economic sustainability, the true engine of every company. We choose suppliers who guarantee an approach in line with our values: respect for the environment and people, of quality, at the forefront of best practices.
INTEGRATED VITICULTURE
Our approach to the whole farming system can be summarized with the concept of integrated viticulture. Each choice is framed in a holistic perspective, to reduce the environmental impact as much as possible. It is not just a question of what is “sprayed” or not in the vineyard. An example: is it better to go to the vineyard several times for a sulfur or copper treatment or to go only once with a chemical helper? Going into the vineyard means compressing the soil, subjecting it to stress, lowering its oxygenation. For this reason it is important to make broader, more reasoned reflections, choosing each time the most effective approach, with the least possible environmental impact. We favor biological control and the use of agronomic measures that can prevent problems from arising. Thus viticulture becomes a precision viticulture, with targeted interventions, that is, acting only when it is needed and where it is needed, treating each microzone in a different way, according to the needs and characteristics of the terroir.
PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY
‘Biodiversity in the vineyard is key to a better management of work in the field.Equally beneficial is the protection of the soil, where we find a significant presence of microorganisms useful for the life of the vines. Artimino is a unique ecosystem:the vineyards are surrounded by forest, far away from other crops or other farms, with the Arno river that flows through the estate and artificial lakes at the foot of Mount Albano offering protection. Good agronomic practices help the ecosystem and the vineyard: we must be even more careful and prepared today, in view of the climate challenges in the coming years. The vineyard is not an element extraneous to the environment but a component of an ecosystem alive in all its elements. Too often agriculture has been guilty of little attention to the environment: Good agriculture means thinking ahead and preserving natural resources for future generations.