Our desire for natural things is growing, as is the passion for the search for genuine and environmentally friendly products, capable of enhancing the territory and, above all, protecting our health. It is increasingly important to know what we choose, what we eat, to know where it comes from and who brought it to us. It is essential to become aware of all these things: we are what we eat … and drink!
Our well-being stems from here, from this awareness, perhaps once superfluous, today essential to writing together a sustainable future, more on a human scale.
That’s why we decided to produce organic wine. Natural result not only of the work of previous years in the vineyard, but of the philosophy that guides the entire company, this important goal is the seal that finally consecrates the extraordinary quality of the fruits of this generous territory. From the faunistic-hunting reserve, to agriculture, to catering, Torre a Cenaia pursues the enhancement of the ancient winemaking tradition of these “Terre di Pisa” increasingly excellent.
The precious collaboration of the oenologist Graziana Grassini, pride of Italian wine, has allowed us to achieve results that, many years ago, many would have sworn impossible: the Pisan plain not only expressed its great potential “in the glass”, intuited with foresight from Terzi Coppini families more than a luster ago, when they bought this great estate, but now shows not to fear the bets of the future, allowing an excellent management of the vineyards with the organic method.
But let’s try to understand better what this – for us – small-great revolution represents.
What does organic farming mean?
It is a natural method of cultivation that, thanks to a scrupulous planning of the vineyard, can do without chemistry, in full respect of the vine and the territory.
Thus chemical fertilizers and systemic pesticides are avoided, ie those products whose active ingredients are absorbed by roots and leaves, and put in circulation to be distributed in all the components of the plant, including the fruits. The chemical treatments represent a “shortcut” that can stimulate the quantitative production of the plant faster to the detriment of quality and, just as quickly, deplete the soil by breaking the relationship between this, the plant and the climate, or compromising the natural ecosystem of the vineyard.
A healthy and balanced ecosystem, guaranteed by the biological management of the land and the vineyard, is the necessary prerequisite for the development of a strong plant, capable of producing healthy and rich grapes with the typical scents of the terroir, ie the truly unique features, and characterizing, of a territory.
What does organic wine mean?
Organic wine is the result of this method of working in the vineyard and in the cellar, or rather it is a wine whose production follows very precise rules, established by EC Regulation 203/2012. As we said, all pesticides and synthetic chemical fertilizers are banned.
How can we then proceed with fertilization and the defense of fungal and parasitic plants?
With organic fertilizers and through preventive reinforcement of the immune defenses of plants, for example through targeted and balanced fertilizations, and using natural pesticides such as copper, sulfur and active ingredients obtained from other plants, or using biological control, such as use of ladybugs and other insect antagonists of the most common parasites.
In the cellar, we proceed in the same way, ie excluding synthetic chemicals in the vinification process. The list of oenological products and authorized processes can be consulted in Annex VIII bis of EC Regulation 203/2012: in particular, a maximum limit has been established in the use of sulphites, ie total sulfur dioxide, at 100 mg / L for dry red wines and 150 mg / L for dry white wines.
All this is ratified and recognized by the certification of conformity by a certification body recognized by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies
Sulphites in organic wines
A clarification is a must on this aspect. The threshold now recognized as the maximum limit of total sulfur dioxide for organic wine by the European Union, in fact, is the result of a long and complex debate among the various member countries; outside Europe, the thresholds change, so maximum attention is recommended and reference should be made to the regulations of the individual countries.
We often tend to think that organic wine is not “natural” as much as biodynamic or, indeed, “natural wines” as it contemplates a small threshold of added sulphites, mistakenly believing that these other “greener” types of wine do not they contain at all.
It is a mistake to believe it, because wine naturally contains sulphites, which develop during the natural fermentation processes: it is thanks to these substances that, since ancient times, it was possible to make wine. Endogenous sulphites, are therefore also present in wines that have not been added sulfur dioxide, which has always been used in enology for its important antioxidant, preservatives and antiseptic actions, indispensable for the health and quality of wine.
For those who drink, what is the difference between traditional wine and organic wine?
As can easily be deduced from what we have just seen, the main difference is that organic wines do not contain synthetic chemicals and, precisely for this reason, compared to traditional wines have an indisputable added value: they protect the health of the environment and respect that of the consumer.
In addition to traditional wines, they bring important substances useful for the proper functioning of our organism: one above all, the resveratol (a polyphenol compound found in certain plants and in red wine that has antioxidant properties and has been investigated for possible anticarcinogenic effects; It is a molecule – a phytoalexin – produced independently by the vine to protect the grapes from the attacks of bacteria and fungi. This compound has important anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning properties, which are able to prevent the onset of thrombosis). In addition to this molecule, organic wine also preserves other natural phytoalexins, which contribute to the removal of atherosclerotic deposits, providing a little further benefit to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Naturally, Pitti
And so, from the 2017 harvest, we can finally offer you our organic wines.Let’s start with the organic wine which, for obvious chemical-physical reasons, is the first to conclude its natural vinification process: the Pitti Rosato 2017. Following, in a few weeks, we will be able to offer you our whole range of Pitti organic wines and, when the vintage 2017 concludes its aging process, also the Cenaja Vermentino Late harvest and our most famous reds, the Torre del Vajo and the Per Non Dormire.
