Morellino di Scansano, the future is sustainable and experiential tourism, in and around wine

The territory of Morellino di Scansano is striving to become a full-fledged “wine destination”, on the strength of its wine and agricultural territory, which is one of the most uncontaminated and intact in an area that from the slopes of Monte Amiata reaches the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is a territory capable of interpreting not only the trend linked to sustainability in a rich and varied area, with its famous and highly appreciated wines, but it also offers experiences related to wine, and more, ready to be further developed and put into a system. The Consorzio del Morellino di Scansano has declared that the objective of the www.visitmorellino.com project is actually “teaming up” and in addition to the member wineries, the project has engaged and will continue to engage all the players in the tourism supply chain in the area, such as, Enel X, to continue the process electrifying mobility in the area, the Terme di Saturnia, combining wine and wellness, the Maremma Natural Park, and companies such as BMC Switzerland, a world-leading Swiss firm that produces bicycles and e-bikes, Saturnia bike, which offers bike rental and guide services, and the Tuscany Wine Tourism Movement.
“It is imperative to team up. We have been on the path towards sustainability and wine tourism for quite a long time now”, emphasized Bernardo Guicciardini Calamai, president of the Morellino Consortium, “for example, we have installed charging stations for electric cars in various companies in the area, as well as in front of the Consortium headquarters in Scansano, in partnership with Enel-X. We started with the conviction that the strength of Morellino comes from the production area; i.e., from a unique terroir that must be preserved in every possible way. The Consortium was created for the protection and promotion of the wine denomination. It then decided to expand its actions to all the players in the area to promote sustainable tourism, which has already rewarded us, and in part, has saved 2020, during the summer reopening, when the Maremma and especially the Morellino area saw a high turnout that gave the territory a breath of fresh air”.
“Investing in sustainable tourism is a project that started long before the Pandemic crisis hit”, added Alessio Durazzi, director of the Consortium, “in support of the territory and the producers. Wine without a territory has no impact. When you drink Morellino or Maremma wines, you must be able to visualize the territory. We are following a path that has two key points at its core - creating a true tourist denomination in the Morellino area, and then creating a sustainable denomination. Maremma is an intact territory, where the human population is low, and everything that could have been a weakness before, in terms of infrastructures, today has left us an intact, preserved, unique territory. By forging partnerships with companies such as Enel-X, the Terme di Saturnia or the Maremma Park, we want to create a circular economy system that goes from companies to the territory. One strategic tool is the www.visitmorellino.com portal, which aims to incorporate all the tourist offers that the area makes available, but at the same time it lacks a central organization capable of communicating this fantastic offer. Obviously, there will be plenty of space for wineries to communicate what they do in the company, but there will also be space for all the various activities in the area, like spas, and sports, from cycling to horse riding, and so on. We want the tourist who chooses to visit our territory to experience it completely. Of course, there is a section dedicated to sustainability, and to the “Morellino Green” project, launched in 2019 as a sustainable mobility project. Today, we have 12 charging stations in companies and at the Consortium headquarters, and we want to grow with Enel-X again, involving not only wineries, to become a friendly territory for those who own electric cars, which is a rapidly growing segment”.
“Morellino is one of the excellent products in the territory, together with the Terme di Saturnia that has a 2.000 year-old history and 102 years of business management. We wholeheartedly believe in this partnership, and in the mixed network contracts that we will be drawing up utilizing the funds of the Recovery Fund to promote the territory”, added Massimo Caputi, president of Terme di Saturnia. Lucia Venturi, president of Maremma Park, is also enthusiastic about the project.> “Wine is, above all, a product of the territory that expresses and enhances it. We have wineries in the park that produce Morellino and more, because the Park is a reality in which safeguarding the “natural capital” is combined with a very dynamic farming activity, focused on innovation. We heartily welcomed the possibility of being in the portal, as the territory must be dynamic, towards the search for protection, but also for the economy. The network vision for the territory and sustainable tourism is in line with our vision, as we want holiday tourism as well as experiencing the area tourism”.
The path to turn the territory of Morellino di Scansano into a true wine destination, therefore, has begun, and the territory has all the credentials to achieve the goal, even though there is a lot of work to do, as Josep Ejarque, Destination Marketing expert and lecturer at the “Il Sole 24 Ore” Business School, emphasized. “A territory must have a why, there must be a reason for tourists to choose it instead of another one. In the case of the Morellino di Scansano territory, it is obvious that the former is linked to wine, but this is not enough to become a tourist destination, because many others are already linked to wine, from before. The territory is a container, which must be given content, a tangible and dynamic offer. The way to do this is to invest in four key elements: genuineness of everything offered; attentive to everything that is the world of "slow tourism"; obviously, investing to capture the great interest around food and wine experiences as well as the growth of tourism linked to well-being. These are all factors that must be put into the system. The territory of Morellino di Scansano has what it takes to do so, and to become a true tourist destination”.