CHIANTI CLASSICO
Where sustainability is a way of life
An astonishing 52.5% of Chianti Classico’s 7,200 ha vineyard area is now certified organic
Interviewed by wine journalist Monty Waldin, the President of the Chianti Classico Consorzio, Giovanni Manetti, tells him about the Consorzio’s focus on sustainability and the projects the Consorzio are developing to assist its members. Manetti is clear that each step to greater sustainability “should be agreed by us all”, an approach that seems to be working.
Certainly, this initiative enjoys the overwelming support of its 500 or so wine grower members, and an astonishing 52.5% of Chianti Classico’s 7,200 ha [18,000 acres] vineyard area is now certified organic, compared to 6% globally and 15% in Italy overrall.
The high take up by growers stems in part from the extremely suitable terroir found in Chianti Classico where bright and breezy conditions are found in a range of altitudes from 250–700m. This promotes air flow and vine health.
A diverse range of soils including calcareous clay, schistous clay (‘galestro’), and clay-limestone (‘alberese’) fit the fussy Sangiovese grape, which is a constituent part of 80-100% of Chianti Classico wines, like a glove. And Chianti Classico’s natural biodiversity means 80% of the DOCG territory comprises mainly forests of evergreen oak, chestnut, pine and other trees, plus the vineyards and olive groves, of course.
The creation of a viticultural research station in Panzano in Chianti, a village within the commune of Greve in Chianti, just south of Florence, was instrumental in fuelling Chianti Classico’s sustainability drive.
This sounds a bit dry but winegrowers must master biology, chemistry, geology and a range of other science-based disciplines to make great wines, and even more so to do it with fewer inputs less often.
PRODUCER PARTICIPATION
Glowing tales of organics spread by word of mouth are nice to listen to, but hard data presented and discussed openly at a round table, and small group workshops in Chianti Classico were seminal in changing growers’ mindsets regarding sustainability in general, and any thought of jumping to full organic certification status in particular.
Now over 70% of Chianti Classico estates work to audited spray schedules based on common sense “use only what you need” protocols. This also reduces fuel use, tractor maintenance hours and soil compaction. Streamlined spraying saves money that can be better used elsewhere. And yes, Chianti Classico’s certified organic estates are required to sign up to this protocol as well.
DATA SHARING - THE KEY TO PROGRESS
Another initiative Giovanni Manetti sees as fundamental is the development of a centralised online register where Chianti Classico winegrowers can immediately log signs of active pests or fresh evidence of any new infections in their vineyards.
“Sharing this data collectively means it might help your neighbour more than it might help you this week, but of course the following week the reverse can also be the case, depending on the pest, the weather, a change of wind and so on,” Manetti says.
“The system saves time, money and worker hours whilst creating more certainty and maintaining quality. If it means staff no longer come in on Saturday and thus can catch up on family time both you and your respective families gain priceless wins in time, money and goodwill. This is the essence of sustainability,” Manetti concludes.
Another benefit is seeing the local picture in its widest form, an example of which is investment in local skills, such as building and repairing the dry-stone walls that keep wild boar and deer out of vineyards - skills that seem unimportant at the time, but which are sorely lamented once lost.
“There is also a vital cultural aspect to this work,’ says Manetti. “Once your terroir starts bleeding its local folk, their skills, traditions and know-how, then your tribe becomes poorer at every level. Having a working lunch in a local restaurant with your wine importer, cooked by a fourth generation local using zero-miles wild boar and following a family recipe is socially, envionmentally and economically priceless, and uplifting on a human level too.”