Feudi de San Gregorio: it's about so much more than old vine wine
How a biodiversity protocol is protecting the future of old vines in Campania.
To make and sell old vine wines is rarely the ultimate goal of old vine wine producers. The driving forces at play are vast but often start with a deep sense of responsibility for the protection, preservation and guardianship of the old vines themselves. Such is the case for Feudi de San Gregorio.
Based in Irpinia in Campania, Italy, Feudi de San Gregorio is a leader in the Italian old vine movement. Led by Antonio Capaldo this family winery has been making and bottling old vine wines consistently since 1986 and they were one of the first wineries in Italy to do so. They are custodians of many pre-phylloxera vineyards, some over 150 years old and in continuous use.
Feudi own 300ha of vineyards divided into an intricate tapestry of 650 parcels, each a little ecosystem of its own where vines live and thrive alongside fruit, olive and hazelnut trees, flowers, shrubs, insects and animals. The respect for the heritage lying in Feudi’s land is held so highly that Antonio places the responsibility of its’ care in the most experienced of hands and makes no shame of shining the star-light on his trusted team of agronomists led by Pierpaolo Sirch of Vine Master Pruners Simonit&Sirch.
Patriarchi vineyards, Feudi de San Gregorio.
Feudi’s deep-rooted feeling of responsibility for the land and the guardianship of its ancient vines stretches to neighbouring plots owned and farmed by an aging local community. To protect and encourage the continued management of this land and under the expert advice of their agronomists Feudi introduced a ‘Protecting Biodiversity protocol’. The protocol centres around the preservation of soil quality through a series of low intervention farming techniques and an approach that encourages the ongoing biodiversity of the entire plot and viticultural care that allows every vine the best chance to become old.
Farmers that follow the guidelines receive a fixed value for their grapes, regardless of the quality and quantity that year. It’s a system Antonio estimates pays around one third more than if measured by the kilo but this only adds weight to his long-term vision, and two years into the project his winemakers testify that the approach is already paying back dividends in terms of quality.
The establishment of the protocol highlights the feeling of responsibility and respect that Feudi has towards the people in the region, its introduction has simultaneously raised the actual value and perceived value of working the land making it a more realistic and attractive endeavour for the next generation of farmers to continue.
The Protecting Biodiversity protocol is not a rigid set of rules, it’s respectful of the changing world around it, Feudi acknowledge that the guidelines will need to adapt for climate change, for the age of the vines and to ensure the young vines of today are nurtured as such that they become the old vines of tomorrow.
So you see, this is so much more than a love of old vines and a desire to make old vine wine it’s a bold and generous commitment to sustaining Irpinia’s wine producing future economically, environmentally and culturally and offers evidence and inspiration for old vine guardians around the world.