“Organic” wine: 78% of Italians interested in buying it, between environmental and health care

The “green”, sustainability, are now fundamental values in society, in the market, and in the world of wine. And even the great wine brands are investing more and more in projects that combine production, product and protection of the territory. After all, the numbers speak clearly: between 2009 and 2017 the area of “organic” vineyards doubled in the world (403,000 hectares, of which 84% in Europe), and even more in Italy (103,207 hectares, +142%). Although the concept of “natural” wine is still far from clear, at least at a legal level, it emerges that 78% of Italians are interested in buying it, with 57% of them doing so with absolute certainty, and 31% showing a positive attitude, despite the “depends” linked to price, quality, and taste. The Valpolicella brand emerges from the Nomisma-WineMonitor’s research for Pasqua, which through the “Brasa Coèrta” project, starts its path towards the production of natural wine: “we are convinced that it can be produced, distributed and consumed in a sustainable way.
We want the ethical commitment realized. Brasa Coèrta is a flagship project for a 1.2 hectare vineyard (from which only 1.800 bottles) started over a year ago, which highlights the desire to answer to a increasingly ethical consumer and attentive to lifestyles and sustainable attitudes, a positive idea, aimed to protect the vineyard as part of the territorial heritage, which has been realized through the meeting with Diego Rossi, chef and owner of the restaurant Trippa in Milan, always passionate about natural wines, and Lorenzo Corino, agronomist, one of the leading experts on the subject in Italy and Europe, “explained CEO of the Pasqua Vineyards and Wineries, Riccardo Pasqua. An ethical boost towards the greatest possible sustainability and healthiness of wine production, which also meets the sentiments of people.
According to the WineMonitor survey, for example, the protection of the environment and the ecosystem is one of the main concerns of Italians (20%), then unemployment and the fear of losing their jobs (32%), but also health (12%). Respect for the environment and sustainability (22%) are features that have to be considered before buying food and beverages, second only of being “100% Italian”, typicality and tradition are also important. (16%).
It emerges that 83% of Italians have already heard of “natural” wine, and compared to 12% who say they know exactly what it is, there is 21% who do not know what it is, but say they are interested, and 50% who do not know its characteristics well, but want to know more, Interesting, then, is the fact that when a wine is defined as natural, the concepts that first come to mind are: handmade (19%), healthy (18%), quality (13%), environmental sustainability (12%) and authenticity (12%). More specifically, the naturalness of wine, according to consumers, provides greater value to the product (87%) and an additional reason to buy it (85%). In fact, more than 60% of consumers believe that a natural wine, compared to a conventional one, besides having greater health benefits and being more eco-friendly, has better organoleptic qualities.
In this context, therefore, is included the Pasqua project, which beyond the Veronese company (54.7 million euro turnover in 2018, with an export share of 88% in 61 markets around the world, 15 million bottles sold and 322 hectares of vineyards managed, between 100 owned and 222 controlled throughout Italy), as mentioned, includes the chef Diego Rossi, protagonist together with Giorgia Fincato, artist, and Lidia Caricasole, dancer, of the project “Talent, Never Tasted Better” that enhances Veronese talents who were brave enough to pursue their dreams, establishing themselves in their respective fields in Italy and around the world, to realize, together with Pasqua, his dream of a natural wine that reflects its origins and its sustainable vision.
The result is a sustainable wine project that expresses the voice of a territory. The name itself, “Brasa Coèrta” is borrowed from a popular saying that indicates an apparently quiet person who hides much more than what he shows. For Diego Rossi, Brasa Coèrta represents “the project of a wine that encloses the thought that inspires the dishes: it is necessary to simplify the processes and respect the product; it should not be elaborated too much, it has to remain more intact, and more authentic”. Brasa Coèrta comes from a vineyard chosen for its particularly suitable characteristics.
In the management of the vineyard, Pasqua has collaborated with Lorenzo Corino, who has introduced production processes that are sensitive to the environmental health, conservation of biodiversity and longevity of the vineyard. The vineyard, planted in 1985, is characterized by a clayey-calcareous soil of alluvial origin. The varieties of grapes grown are Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The grapes are harvested by hand with careful selection and then stay for about ten days in cases before being pressed. After being crushed, the grapes are poured into wooden barrels where the natural yeasts undergo alcoholic fermentation. At the end of this passage, the wine is placed in second and third passage French oak tonneaux for 6 months, where malolactic fermentation takes place. Finally, it is placed in stainless steel tanks for further aging. “I saw in Pasqua the vision of a great company that acts as a trailblazer - declares Lorenzo Corino - engaging in a concrete way in a project aimed at sustainability in viticulture and the healthiness of wine”, this is how the path of Brasa Coèrta begins.