Caviro, Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano joins the members of the cooperative leader in Italy

A partnership under the banner of Sangiovese, linking Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, regions which have this grape variety in their Dna and represent some of the highest expressions of Italian winemaking. Caviro, Italy largest wine cooperative, a universe present in 8 Italian regions and including 22 member companies (20 of which are cooperative wineries), 11,500 winegrowers and 35,200 hectares of vineyards, with iconic brands such as Tavernello and Tenute Caviro in its portfolio, is strengthening its structure by announcing “the entry of Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano into its membership base”, through a collaborative project aimed at creating new synergies for Leonardo da Vinci SpA, a company of the Caviro Group. Vecchia Cantina, a historic winery founded in 1937 with its heart in Montepulciano, the homeland of Vino Nobile, of which it is the leading producer, and which today counts over 300 members, has launched a collaboration with Caviro with “the aim - explains Caviro - of generating synergies and efficiency in support of the portfolio of Leonardo da Vinci SpA, a Caviro Group company already involved in an important restyling project and an expansion of its product range”.
Giovanni Lai, dg of Leonardo da Vinci SpA - Tenute Caviro, told WineNews that the aim is “to grow over the coming years: the Sangiovese project is central for Leonardo da Vinci SpA”. For Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, therefore, which “will remain independent”, explains its president Andrea Rossi to WineNews, “this is a partnership seen as an important commercial opportunity, with Vecchia Cantina effectively entering wine territories where it previously had no presence. It also represents a solid step forward for the future strategies of Leonardo da Vinci SpA, which is aiming for a strong relaunch by looking at new commercial strategies and ideas, while remaining faithful to an iconic territory linked to the great genius of Leonardo”.
This development also conveys, indirectly, a significant message of confidence at a time which is certainly not easy for the wine world, highlighting unity as one of the keys to tackling the market, including at the cooperative level. The operation (concretely, Vecchia Cantina will oversee the entire production process, from grape delivery to bottling of wines from the vineyards of former Cantine Leonardo members, while the marketing of the finished product will take place partly through Vecchia Cantina direct channels and partly through the network of Leonardo da Vinci SpA, a Caviro Group company, with which Vecchia Cantina has established an important partnership for the relaunch of the project dedicated to the territory of Vinci and wines bearing the “Vitruvian Man” by Leonardo label) was announced today in Vinci itself, at Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, in the presence of institutions and representatives of the cooperatives involved: Carlo Dalmonte and Giampaolo Bassetti, president and dg of the Caviro Group, and Giovanni Lai, dg of Leonardo da Vinci SpA - Tenute Caviro; Andrea Rossi, president of Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, and Mario Marchi, vicepresident of Confcooperative Toscana.
A collaboration aiming to combine “strategic vision and operational oversight: continuity of the supply chain, protection of the membership base, and consolidation of production quality. In this new framework, Vinci and Montepulciano become the productive heart of Sangiovese, expressing the highest quality and territorial identity through Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano. Sangiovese takes on a central role as the leading protagonist and ambassador of excellence and value for the territories involved”. Carlo Dalmonte, president of the Caviro Group, highlighted that “this is an important project with Sangiovese at its core. The idea took shape when we met with Vecchia Cantina president Andrea Rossi. At the heart of this integration, there is the valorization of Sangiovese along a territorial axis linking Romagna and Tuscany, territories and communities alike. Romagna has its roots in the area dedicated to selecting the best grapes from Caviro members, while Tuscany brings together the areas involved to cover, with its wines, an even broader and more complete territory”. Caviro, as president Dalmonte told WineNews, “is ready to invest. We will commit resources and effort, and we will involve the territories”.
Andrea Rossi, president of Vecchia Cantina, added that this represents “a new relaunch project, market is changing, and being together means being more competitive. Vecchia Cantina together with Leonardo da Vinci SpA is becoming stronger; today we are producers and bottlers of the history of Sangiovese in Tuscany, from Chianti to Nobile di Montepulciano and on to Brunello di Montalcino. With the Sangiovese project, we want to add value to our membership base, strengthening Vecchia Cantina and the members of Vinci. By joining forces, we have also optimized our business processes. The strength of Tuscan cooperation, combined with that of Caviro, allows us to face the challenges of the global market without losing our identity”.
Giovanni Lai also recalled that “the Leonardo da Vinci brand has its roots in the places and in the experimental spirit of Leonardo, starting in Vinci and reaching Montepulciano today, via Romagna.
This identity brings together different territories in a single vision, transforming a cultural and wine heritage into a recognizable and distinctive proposal. The narrative thread today translates into a concrete model where agricultural tradition and contemporary vision meet to enhance the territory and its excellences. We have a social and economic responsibility; we want to bring value back to the land and to those who grow grapes”. Giovanni Lai highlighted the ideas of Leonardo da Vinci SpA, already strongly committed to international markets as well as to large-scale retail. Caviro is also working on the restyling of the Leonardo da Vinci SpA brand, with the return of the Vitruvian Man, one of the identifying works of Leonardo genius and of Renaissance art, on the label as a key distinguishing element.
Mario Marchi, vicepresident of Confcooperative Toscana, explained that “Confcooperative constantly promotes initiatives aimed at developing collaborations and synergies among member cooperatives, with the goal of supporting their growth and, consequently, enhancing the work of their members. Tuscan cooperative viticulture has a long history and deep roots, with major production entities distributed across the region, companies with a strong tradition yet open to innovation, capable of fostering relationships and projects of clear interest to their members”.
As mentioned, Sangiovese remains the cornerstone of the project: a versatile grape variety capable of expressing different identities along the Tuscany-Romagna axis, and on which the evolution of the entire portfolio is being built.