Our sustainability path has reached a fundamental step this year: the publication of our first sustainability report.

Year after year, harvest after harvest, neither hailstorms, nor freezes, nor droughts have checked our dream of creating a company with ever-heightened respect for the area in which we live, protecting it as a heritage that cannot be degraded, and untiringly improving the quality of wines bearing the name Franciacorta.

Our 2019 Sustainability Report, developed and produced with the consultancy of EY Sustainability and with the collaboration of LifeGate, analyses a more than 20-year process and showcase the various quality achievements impacting the 85 hectares of estate vineyards belonging to the Franciacorta pioneer and category founder, as well as the approximately 450 hectares of those of its partner-growers.
Those achievements range from the campaign against soil impoverishment through use of avant-garde and experimental technologies; to adaptation
to climate change through the utilisation of new winemaking approaches and introduction of more appropriate native grapes, such as Erbamat; and reduction of resources consumption. But Guido Berlucchi’s vision reaches far beyond matters strictly and directly related to wine production, extending just as important to the complex impacts on the socio-cultural fabric of its overall area.

“We find ourselves at the moment at a very complex juncture, – stated Arturo Ziliani, Guido Berlucchi CEO and Technical Director – and, in addition, almost at the opening of a history-making year for Guido Berlucchi, since 2021 will be the 60th anniversary of the very first bottle of Franciacorta, which we created. We want to greet that milestone with a message of positivity, determination, and awareness: that we have no other choice but to treat our Planet and those who live upon it with exquisite care, each of us willingly doing our part.”

You’ll find here the summary… enjoy it!

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From the mists of antiquity on, man has savoured the delicious qualities of the grape and the inebriating effects of wine, which led to efforts to domesticate the vine, this rendering unnecessary the dangerous climb to the tree-tops to gather its precious fruit.

The specific form that characterises the vines in today’s vineyards has been designed by man, with the objective of maximising the quality of the vine’s near-magical grape-clusters. Winter, or dry, pruning is the operation that creates and preserves that distinctive shape over time, in addition to regulating the quantity of grapes that the vine will produce over the growing year. The previous year’s shoots are cut away in order to provide space for the new buds to emerge, and this operation will significantly impact the vine’s crop over the next few years. The cutting of the “canes” is always done by hand, and it requires great skill and long experience. This vineyard practice intimately binds the grower to his vineyard, and he will perform it with consummate dedication throughout the entire winter season, to prepare the vine as effectively as possible for budbreak in the spring.

The pruned canes are then broken up and spread in the vine-rows so that they can enrich the soil as organic material, thus perfectly “closing the life cycle.”

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In fact, the vine can be grown with excellent results over a very wide array of climates, and can even resist the intense cold encountered at the 50th parallel.

One of the primary mechanisms developed by the vine is the ability to respond to external influences and to synchronise its own growth stages with the most favourable external environmental factors.

For example, during the winter, the vine enters what is known as dormancy, a period, that is, of non-activity during which its metabolic functions are significantly slowed.

The vine’s exit from dormancy occurs only following its experience of a certain period of cold temperatures, called the “chilling hour requirement”; this term refers to the number of hours of low temperatures required before the vine will interrupt its dormancy and allow the buds to open in the spring.

This synchronicity between the vine’s growth stages and the rhythms of the growing season is crucial, to prevent the premature appearance of the green tissues of the leaves and shoots, which are very delicate and could be easily damaged by frosts. During the winter, on the other hand, a frost does not harm the vine, which is completely lignified after the previous season and therefore cold-resistant.

The correct proportion between winter cold and spring and summer warmth is of fundamental importance for regulating vine growth and for ensuring the quality of its future crop. Neither of the two factors may be neglected and neither may predominate over the other in this duet of balance that developed over the millennia to achieve the vine’s perfect synergy with the terroir in which it grows, a synergy that will be eventually reflected in the wineglass.

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The first Pinot Noir to be brought in is from the Brolo vineyard, which overlooks the historic cellars. Assisting in the picking this morning was Fabio Rolfi, the Lombardy Region’s Assessor for Agriculture, Nutrition, and Green Systems, since he wanted to speak personally about this quality of this year’s harvest with Arturo Ziliani, Berlucchi General Manager and Winemaker, as well as Board Member of Consorzio Franciacorta

“Last year was quite challenging, requiring very careful vineyard operations, with frequent and very meticulous pruning,” explained Ziliani. “But that paid off this year, with an ideal crop of grapes that are perfectly sound and healthy. And that was despite heavy rains during the summer, which could easily have negatively impacted the growing season, particularly since we practice organic viticulture on 91% of our estate vineyards.”

“But the physical ripeness, that is, the correct ratio between sugars and acids in the grapes, just reached its peak in the best-aspected vineyards, even a bit earlier than we expected, and the acids are nice and high, just what we need for making long-lived, well-balanced sparkling wines.

“We are expecting a lengthy, painstaking picking season. Crucial to our success is keeping careful track if the ripening curves in each vineyard, which our Gias mapping software makes possible this year: it gives us, in real time, a complete picture of the technical data for each individual vineyard parcel.

“Now that we survived the rains, downpours, and even two hailstorms in July,” concluded Ziliani, “we can finally greet August with optimism and the expectation of a great vintage.”

© www.matteorinaldi.it

© www.matteorinaldi.it

© www.matteorinaldi.it

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The first clusters hand-harvested into the picking boxes are Pinot Noir from the Brolo vineyard, which overlooks the producer’s historic cellar; they were transported to the nearby production facility and its presses, custom-designed to ensure optimal-quality processing for Franciacorta fruit.

“Although the harvest began on a note of pessimism, we are now being surprised by positive results,” stated Arturo Ziliani, General Director and Winemaker. “The April freeze destroyed quite a lot of fruit, but at this moment, the clusters are sound and healthy, thanks in part to the high temperatures in recent weeks.

“Significant day-night temperature differentials over the past few days, with cool, breezy nights, will definitely help to preserve aromatic compounds.

“We already anticipated a lower crop level, which we will be able to measure only after all the grapes are in. We do, however, have some hopes that the season may still have some pleasant surprises for us; that we may know in a few days, when we do our tastings after the first fermentations.”

In sum, a growing season that is still evolving, and it is precisely these current, unusual conditions that justify the severity of Franciacorta’s Production Code, the most rigorous in the world for this category of wines, since it requires harvesting exclusively by hand, into small boxes, to which the 2008 modification added the possibility of quality-selecting just the finest individual clusters

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Scopo dello studio era rilevare le caratteristiche pedologiche e qualitative dei singoli vigneti, in totale un migliaio, per ricavarne una dettagliata “carta d’identità”. Le uve di ciascun appezzamento sono state vinificate separatamente e i relativi vini degustati, per identificarne le peculiarità.

Mille1Vigna ha permesso alla Guido Berlucchi di eliminare gli appezzamenti non conformi ai suoi standard qualitativi. L’azienda ha così concentrato le sue energie sulle aree maggiormente vocate, identificate nei territori di Corte Franca, Erbusco e Provaglio d’Iseo.

Nel 2008 il progetto si è evoluto con l’implementazione delle mappe di vigoria. I vigneti aziendali sono stati fotografati a infrarossi dall’alto tramite un drone o un satellite. Nelle immagini, differenti cromie distinguono le aree a maggior vigore vegetativo, espresso in metri quadri di area fogliare per ceppo, da quelle meno vigorose. Nelle prime le maturazioni sono lente, maggiore l’acidità delle uve e inferiore il grado zuccherino; nelle seconde, le uve sono ricche di zuccheri e la vigna meno produttiva.

Le mappe di vigoria consentono un campionamento prevendemmiale accurato. L’incaricato si sposta tra i filari con un palmare GPS contenente le mappe, visualizza live la sua posizione e preleva campioni di acini espressivi dei vari livelli di vigoria. Grazie al campionamento, e le successive analisi delle uve campionate, si stabilirà la data di vendemmia e la destinazione delle uve alle diverse tipologie di Franciacorta. La vendemmia può così essere effettuata per microzone, rispettando la vocazione del vigneto e i differenti tempi di maturazione delle uve.

Ma non è tutto. Le mappe consentono di fertilizzare con concime organico il suolo del vigneto in modo mirato. In azienda è infatti utilizzato uno spandiconcime a rateo variabile che modula l’apporto al terreno in base al suo effettivo vigore. La fertilizzazione mirata ha dato risultati molto interessanti: nei vigneti in cui è stata adottata si è riscontrato un marcato livellamento della vigoria, a tutto vantaggio della qualità delle uve.

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Leaf-pulling must be performed early in the season, since the grape cluster has to gradually adapt to light and heat; if carried out too late, the clusters could be subject to burning, caused by the acidic components in the berries.

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Credits foto: Andrea Zampatti

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Guido Berlucchi’s agronomists use various mixtures of seeds for cover-cropping, paying close attention to soil types. White mustard is one of the preferred plants, since it has a hardy, deep-penetrating root that breaks through compact soil and improves its structure. One of its additional beneficial properties is that it combats nematodes, a type of worm harmful in the vineyard, thanks to the high sulphur content in its tissues.

Likewise much employed are vetch and favas, two legumes useful for absorbing nitrogen and fixing it in the soil, thanks to rhizobacteria present on their roots. Another useful, and quite lovely plant is phacelia, or desert bluebells; a rapid-growing borage, its blue flower attracts many bees and useful insects, while its roots strenthen the soil.

Photo credits: Andrea Zampatti

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It is a crucial and delicate moment, and the viticulturalist must be watching carefully. Spider-mites and oïdium are waiting to attack.

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Photo Credits: Andrea Zampatti

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