SUSTAINABILITY
Tuscany is a land of rolling hills, woodlands, rows of cypresses and olive groves. We have our share of all of these things and are happy to be part of this picture-perfect landscape.
Farming on this beautiful hillside location requires an understanding of our role as custodians of the natural environment and our duty to leave it as we found it, or maybe even better! When we acquired Tenuta Cappellina, the vineyard was using chemical fertilizers and pesticides in common with most farming endeavours. A decade of work in the vineyards with sustainable organic farming practices has removed all trace of chemicals and you will now find a haven for wildlife both in the rewilded areas of the estate and between the vines in the vineyard.
SUSTAINABILITY
IN THE VINEYARD
Sustainable farming practices require a balance between intervention and letting nature take its course. We monitor all of our vinyards to ensure a healthy environment for beneficial insects and wildlife, as well as testing soil to ensure the correct levels of nutrients for the health of our vines. Cover crops sewn between vines improve the soil and promote biodiversity, and where we see poor soil quality we use cow manure from local organic farms to fertilise and promote soil health.
CONSERVING SCARCE RESOURCES
The complexity of flavours in any wine can be attributed to the terroir in which it grows. We do not by choice irrigate our vines and this encourages them to send their roots deep into the ground where mineral deposits from millions of years ago influence the style and flavours of the wines. Where we do require water is in the winery, lots of it, to wash and maintain a clean environment; and in the beautiful gardens of the Borgo which we irrigate throughout the Summer months.
To achieve this, we only use the natural water taken from our land from wells dug deep into the earth and stored in large tanks at the top of the hill – using the natural fall of our estate to bring water to where it is needed.
REWILDED FORESTS
Over the past few years we have allowed the forests to thicken and move back to the more natural dense thickets that allow animals to thrive in their natural landscape. Here we find wild boar, deer, porcupines, pine martins, red squirrels and recently for the first time we have had sightings of the Eurasian wolf.
