An eco-sustainable winery: with nature, for nature

In the mid ‘90s, the concept of eco-sustainable wine cellars was not as popular as it is now, but for us it was essential: it was the expression of our lifestyle. So, when we restored Masetto, the cellar’s historical site, we decided to respect the environment and the natural resources we care so much about, thereby becoming one of the first eco-sustainable cellars. Here are some of the technical details that help us minimize our environmental impact:

• the building in which we make our wine is below ground level. This provides a dual advantage: it doesn’t occupy any land and it maintains a constant temperature


• the grass roof of the most recent part of the cellar increases thermal insulation, just like the historical building below ground level


• most of the energy used by the cellar is passive or generated by solar panels


• with the building below ground level, grape delivery and vinification take place by gravity flow. The grapes “travel” in the cellar through a network of tubes that exploit gravity and save a great deal of energy. This natural method significantly limits the use of pumps and, therefore, reduces stress on the grapes


• friendly nitrogen: we use a special machine that separates nitrogen from oxygen so that the must does not oxidize, which significantly reduces the use of sulphites. In addition, the filled bottles of wine can stay open longer without any alteration of taste


• we employ mating disruption techniques to avoid the use of insecticides, herbicides and weed killers


• we have placed 20 nests for birds that eat insects which are potentially harmful for the vines and grapes


• we cut the grass without using weed killers