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Fontodi, Tuscany, Italy

Fontodi is a certified organic estate which extends over 130 hectares, of which about 70 are planted with vines. The type of agriculture practiced is inspired and guided by the principles of respect of nature and sustainability. The organic methods of agriculture on the estate go beyond simply not spraying chemicals and include being as sustainable as possible and reducing the need for external inputs at all levels of production.

Giovanni Manetti, the winery principal, is president and founding member of the “Unione Viticoltori di Panzano”, which is a free and independent group of 20 wineries working towards advancement in sustainable practices and certifications by introducing organic as a whole concept and not just for every single winery, but as a larger territory.
The group was also instrumental to the birth of SPEVIS, The Experimental Station for Sustainable Viticulture (Stazione Sperimentale per la Viticoltura Sostenibile), a private institution that studies the most effective ecological solutions in viticulture. The project was created in cooperation with wine producers and scientific consultation with prestigious research institutes.
The station coordinates the various vineyards and their actions of defense in the vineyards, helps those wineries that want to convert to organic methods and works closely with the academic world on many researches and experiments that are helpful and aid to increase knowledge about better and more efficient methods and organic farming in viticulture. This project has as objective to make Panzano into the first Italian organic zone.