A strong team: the "Unione Viticoltori di Panzano"
The winegrowers of the Unione Viticoltori di Panzano
If you are interested in wine in Panzano in Chianti, you cannot miss the "Unione Viticoltori di Panzano". This is the association of winegrowers in Panzano, which organizes the annual "Vino al Vino" wine festival in the piazza of Panzano in Chianti, which is famous far beyond the borders of the region. And it was also Unione that was instrumental in Panzano becoming the first organic district in Italy. And none other than Cosimo Gericke, owner of the Fattoria di Rignana and also a good friend of mine, recently became the new president of the Unione di Viticoltiori di Panzano.
1995: The year in which the success story began...
More than two decades have passed since the winegrowers of Panzano decided to found the "Unione Viticoltori di Panzano" in the hilly Chianti Classico region in 1995, and the trigger for this association - which initially also included other agricultural producers - was a very simple but at the same time very important one: they wanted to organize a joint festival at which only wines and local products could be tasted and promoted.
Regular meetings were held in the following years as part of the preparations for the festival. The winegrowers not only talked about the upcoming event, but also exchanged wine knowledge and experiences. Friendships were forged and people moved closer together. The producers began to develop more and more joint projects. And finally, they officially joined together to form the "Unione Viticoltori di Panzano".
There are currently 22 wineries represented in the Unione. A winery can only become a member if the grapes, the winery and the bottling are located in Panzano. Cosimo Gericke - with whom I have worked closely and amicably for many years and whose wines from Fattoria di Rignana can of course also be found in my store - has been President of the Unione since the beginning of August this year. His task over the next three years will be to represent the interests of the Panzano winegrowers to the outside world and, of course, to make the excellent wines of the village known beyond the borders of the country.
Cosimo Gericke from Fattoria di Rignana has been President of the Unione Viticoltori di Panzano since August 2019
Panzano Sostenibile: More sustainability = intact nature = more quality
From the very beginning, one of the Unione's goals was to improve the quality of its wines. It was gradually agreed that the best way to achieve this was through sustainable and, above all, organic viticulture. The "Panzano Sostenibile" project - i.e. sustainable Panzano - was initiated by the winegrowers with the agronomist Ruggero Mazzilli, which is fully committed to organic cultivation and was founded in 2005. And it has truly fallen on "fertile ground": Sustainable thinking and management is now firmly anchored in the minds of the winegrowers.
The majority of wineries are certified organic. Some even go one step further and work biodynamically. The conversion to "organic" is supported by the specially founded company "Stazione Sperimentale per la Viticoltura" - SPEVIS for short - with technical means, advice and assistance. More than 90 percent of Panzan's vineyards - around 500 hectares - are now certified organic, and the winegrowers are more convinced than ever that sustainable thinking and action protects and conserves natural resources in the long term and ensures even better wine quality. U
nd there is another wonderful, positive organic side effect that becomes apparent on my walks through the vineyards: You can once again see countless fireflies and butterflies dancing through the air of Panzano!
More than 90 percent of Panzano's vineyards are now cultivated sustainably
Vino al Vino - an autumnal celebration for the winegrowers of Panzano!
Highlights of the wine year. Every year, the Unione winegrowers organize this event on the third weekend in September - this year from 12 to 15 September 2019, next year from 17 to 20 September 2020. If you want to stay up to date on "Vino al Vino", you can find the next dates here.
The "entrance fee" for this festival is paid by purchasing a Vino al Vino glass directly on the piazza. With this glass, you can taste the wines of the Unione winegrowers over a total of four days - including many well-known and excellent wines. The Wall Street Journal recently named this family gathering of Panzano wineries as one of the "top five" wine festivals in the world! So let's go!
Vino al Vino 2018