We "walk the vineyard" to rediscover these founding values, passed down in our family from generation to generation and re-interpreted in the light of a modern and rigorous approach, with strong scientific and technical foundations. This approach, together with scientific research, has led us to rediscover our environmental identity and to operate an agronomic and social management made up of good daily practices to take care of the environment, people and the community in which we live.

"Walking the vines" means embarking on a path of observation and planning that is attentive to the plant, its roots, the soil in which they live and take shape, and the surrounding environment of which we feel like custodians. Taking the time to observe it, assess and perceive its needs, analyse its criticalities and work out solutions. It means experiencing the vineyard and thus getting to know each row of it: the objective must be to guide each individual plant, and the vineyard as a whole, to express its potential to the full in the perspective of our oenological project.

THE SOIL

Page 45-46 balance

The soil is the home of the roots of our beloved vines, and our primary objective must be to make it welcoming to every form of life that resides there, so as to create the best conditions for the efficiency of the plant and respect the biodiversity of its habitat.

In fact, it is also one of the pillars of life on earth, and if we want to feel worthy of being considered custodians of the land, we must think about its health, its value for biodiversity and for every biological process that takes place in it.

Our aim is therefore to nourish it and protect it: the soil is at the heart of the vineyard system, too often forgotten. The plant is linked to the soil for life and therefore we must ensure that it is welcomed in a hospitable environment so that it can grow and work optimally.

Finally, a healthy soil hosts healthy vines that produce quality grapes!

It is not enough to look ahead, therefore, but we must also look where we put our feet: the soil is home to a quarter of our Planet's biodiversity (fao.org/soils-2015) and our responsibility must be to restore the diversity of species on agricultural soils to optimal levels, reducing the disturbance of human activities.

Our company adopts management practices that not only improve soil quality, but also protect the environment, the biodiversity of the area and the quality of our grapes.

IT WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL TO PUT THE PICTURE ON PAGE 46 OF THE BUDGET WITH THE GRAPE AND MAYBE MAKE BOTTLES, one for multi-purpose sowing that links to the green manure page I have already written, one for bees, etc., as on page 47. And then add "Look at the image below and click on the buttons to find out more!"

BIOPASS PROJECT (Page 42-43 of the balance sheet)

Venica&Venica's path of constant growth passes through interaction with different professional skills, and with SATA Studio Agronomico we have started a project of caring for our soils and vineyards.

BioPASS is in fact a project to safeguard and increase biodiversity in viticulture, with particular reference to the soil, understood in all its characteristics, but above all as the fulcrum of the production system in the aspects concerning its biological and structural fertility.

The monitoring and assessment of soil biodiversity are tools of exceptional importance for the sustainability of the entire wine-growing chain: they are essential for understanding the impact that our actions have on the life forms present in the vineyard ecosystem and in the spaces adjoining it.

The BioPASS project involves:

The assessment of the main indices of structural biodiversity (farm structure and distribution of areas that create biodiversity)

The analysis of the physical and structural state of the soil using the Visual Soil Analysis method (more hospitable soils guarantee better quality of life for plants and, consequently, the grapes they produce)

Soil microfauna analysis using the Biological Soil Quality method, which indicates the healthiness level of the soil environment. In particular, our QBS analysis showed scores from 133 to 197, when a value of 118 is considered normal for a vineyard.

Venica&Venica's specific project includes the study of biodiversity and the physical and structural quality of the soil. The results obtained were particularly satisfying (high biodiversity and good physical quality of the soil), and based on them, improvement measures were drawn up, such as the grassing over of the sub-rows (portions of land that are right at the base of the plants) with multi-purpose sowing and contributions of organic substance from compost produced in-house.