“GRAPES AND WINE WERE THE TIP OF THE DIAMOND FOR THE REGENERATION OF AGRICULTURE, BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT MUST TURN INTO A MONOCULTURE”: THE WORDS OF CARLO PETRINI AT THE SLOW FOOD KERMESSE SALONE DEL GUSTO

In the wine regions of Italy, the culture is dominated by the grape. This affirmation may be a given but it should not be underestimated: while vineyards continue to expand other crops are pushed out and the area slowly turns into a monoculture zone.

In a recent interview, WineNews asked Carlo Petrini, president and founder of Slow Food, the significance of this trend.

“I think that grapes and wine were the tip of the diamond” – responded Petrini – “for the regeneration of agriculture. Still, attention must be paid that this regeneration does not turn into a monoculture production system, not of the intensive type, but of great stress to the environment. I’m not saying this myself, but I read that there is too much use of chemicals in the world’s vineyards. And it is important to return to understanding that wine and agriculture, and the agriculture of wine still have a limit, which it is designed by the seasons, the land… and one cannot insist that it is a production line like in a factory”.

But the guru of the “good, clean, and fair” food movement is looking towards the future with optimism.
“I see that in the world of wine there is already a large component of people who have this aspect at heart, and that they are beginning to apply this philosophy to their realities, in their wineries. I am looking with great attention at this vanguard because it is at the beginning, when the goal of really making good wine began. Now there is the second vanguard, wine must also be clean. Then there must also be the third vanguard that will demand that wine is fair”.