Maso Martis has launched an innovative agroecology experiment in the Trentodoc vineyards

The new approach to regenerative and organic cultivation focuses on the health of plants, soil and the ecosystem. The aim is for long-term sustainability through recycling and promoting a circular economy as well as a network of collaboration among local companies, considered the future of agriculture. The good news is that agroecology is also starting to make its way into the wine world, where, at the beginning of 2025, the Maso Martis Winery launched a new experiment in regenerative viticulture. The Trentodoc sparkling wine house has been certified organic by ICEA, since 2013, and now has decided to take a further step forward, embarking on a new path to create a more resilient agro-system. They plan on reducing phytosanitary interventions 50% by 2027, optimizing economic resources to save around 15.000 euros per year on product and treatment purchases. They are also promoting a virtuous system of circular economy and zero waste in the territory. Specifically, the agroecology experiment is currently being tested on 8 rows of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, under the technical consultancy of Mattia Brignoli, technician of Fattoria Radis. Two thousand square meters of vineyards have been dedicated to this experiment, led by Maddalena Stelzer, who runs the company with her older sister, Alessandra. This new regenerative approach also reuses some food waste to produce preparations and treatments used on the soil and foliage. Using waste as a resource, rather than just as waste, is one of the basic agroecological principles of these innovative techniques centered on the mutual relationship between microbiology and vine.
Maso Martis has always made sustainability and caring for the land a priority. Today, “I recently approached regenerative viticulture after attending an EITfood Education course”, Maddalena Stelzer explained, “with which we want to integrate beneficial microbiology into our cultivation, and through the analysis of the soil, water and leaf sap during the vegetative cycle, create an ecosystem that is as natural as possible. We will use some natural biological preparations for treatment in the vineyard that reactivate the soil/plant microbiota and integrate the plant, helping its immune system to combat fungal diseases or other pathologies to which the vine is subjected. Some of the biological preparations that we are developing are created using food waste from local food companies. For instance, we receive fish waste from a nearby company in Trento that offers it to us for free. It is mutually beneficial, as they save on waste disposal and we give new “life” to a food waste, reintroducing it into a virtuous circle and a short food chain”. The use of fish hydrolysate as a “supplement” for viticulture is not a new technique, but it has been refined, starting from ancient farming customs used in the crops of the Egyptian Empire as well as the Roman Empire. “Sugar, by osmosis, extracts all the liquids inside the carcasses and fish waste, then a bacterial fermentation begins, lasting 6-8 months that transforms this waste into a sweetish liquid, amber in color, a kind of teriyaki sauce for the vine”, Mattia Brignoli, technician at Fattoria Radis, explained. Through the fermentation process, all the beneficial elements in the fish, which is ,very rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and also have a perfect mix of all 18 essential elements for plant growth, are extracted. In addition to this, fermentation bacteria produce vitamins, enzymes, growth hormones and amino acids that are incredibly valuable for plants.
The first agroecology procedures were carried out in February, and others will follow in the spring and summer months, because some preparations require 6 to 8 months of fermentation before they can be applied. “We sowed cover crops (crops used to ensure that agricultural land is not left uncovered, ed.), in the Martignano vineyard, and added a microbial soil improver made of the forest litter layer, unrefined sea salt and starch. It contains enormous quantities of bacterial, fungal and yeast populations that promote plant growth (PGPB and PGPF) and biocontrol agents (BCA)”, Brignoli explained, “it is scientifically proven that 90% of soil mineralization comes from microbiology. Without this nourishment, plants cannot obtain what they need to be healthy, and make their photosynthesis process, protein synthesis and metabolic processes more efficient”.
If climate change forces us to find new solutions, Maso Martis will remain faithful to organic,“ working with the organic method means exploiting the natural fertility of the soil, promoting it using limited interventions, limiting or excluding the use of synthetic products and genetically modified organisms (GMOs)”, Alessandra Stelzer added, “ it is important for us that each bottle reflects the year in which it was produced and the terroir in which it was created. This is the reason why we have undertaken this experiment, through which we are taking care of the healthiness of the vineyard in a group effort involving the workers in the vineyard as well as our winemakers in the winery. We are all an integral part of the project”.