The Edmund Mach Foundation of San Michele all'Adige and Banfi agricultural company of Montalcino have signed an agreement for development and technological cooperation in the field of vine variety improvement, which envisages the creation of an experimental field in Tuscany, where eight prototypes of varieties selected by the FEM genetic improvement activity for their tolerance to botrytis will be bred.
These are 6750 rooted cuttings that will be placed in two plants of two hectares each in the municipality of Montalcino, where the Banfi company has 2800 hectares of property. These are varieties derived from crosses of Vitis vinifera tolerant to botrytis. Other varieties produced by the San Michele research will also be planted in the plantation: namely 900 rooted cuttings of Iasma Eco 1 and 900 rooted cuttings of Iasma Eco 2 already registered in the national register of vine varieties for wine, which Banfi will test in the field to assess their oenological potential and to obtain registration in the list of vines for planting in Tuscany.
Managing Director Sergio Menapace, who signed the agreement with Banfi, explains: 'By signing this agreement, we are consolidating a relationship of collaboration with a company that has a strong propensity for innovation and research, in an important Italian wine-growing area, and at the same time we are helping to publicise and enhance the quality of the genetic and varietal improvement work in the wine-growing field carried out by FEM.
Sustainable experimental vineyard
"For Banfi this, in addition to strengthening its relationship with FEM, represents a natural step in the path of research and innovation undertaken 40 years ago. Our desire for knowledge is, and always has been, a strong stimulus to improve by interpreting change, always in full respect of the territory in which we operate," says Enrico Viglierchio, General Manager of Banfi.
The aim is to make viticulture increasingly sustainable and thus reduce its environmental impact. As the head of the Vine Breeding Unit, Marco Stefanini, explains. "We researchers are interested in observing the behaviour of selected genotypes in different environments, enriching our knowledge and transferring it to other environments.
"For us, safeguarding the cultural and environmental heritage has been a point of reference from the very beginning," says Rudy Buratti, Banfi's oenological director. "And today, when the concept of sustainability is much more felt by an increasingly attentive and informed consumer, interest in these eco-sustainable varieties is growing. The experimentation will make it possible to diversify the defence strategies and thus define a Banfi Protocol'.
The project will be widely illustrated at Vinitaly, during a press conference scheduled for Monday 10 April 2017, at 11 a.m., at the Banfi stand (Hall 9/D6).
Interested journalists are kindly invited to attend,
For information
Silvia Ceschini - Media Relations Manager FEM
email: silvia.ceschini@fmach.it - tel. 339. 7392973
Lorella Carresi- PR & Communication Manager - Banfi
e-mail: lorella.carresi@banfi.it - tel.: 0577 840 111
website: www.castellowww.banfi.it
