Ornella: 'the earth is our home, we must care for it and protect it'.

For Venica & Venica, sustainability is certainly not a marketing slogan, it is a daily commitment that starts far away.

An interview in 'WOMEN OF FOOD' with Ornella Venica dedicated to the topic of sustainability, the important road that VENICA & VENICA has taken by joining the special project for sustainable viticulture called V.I.V.A together with other companies in the wine chain from different Italian regions. VENICA & VENICA on 17 February will present its first sustainability report to its network of agents, a document that only large listed companies are required to present.

"THE WOMEN OF FOOD" - The champions of Italian Agribusiness

by Alessandra Apicella

"Last year, 650 guests stayed at the Venica & Venica estate, and the most common reaction is always the same, amazement: they had seen the pictures on the website, but here everything is more beautiful in person. "They are won over by the green, which in this land has hundreds of shades and which instils a sense of peace and balance, they confide it to us but then they talk about it with friends and acquaintances, they become our best ambassadors," says Ornella.

Ornella is Gianni's wife, the company and its land are her home, she has been telling them with passion for 32 years as the whole family does.

The brothers Gianni and Giorgio are the third generation of the Venica family, but today the fourth generation is also entering the field, the sons, who, with the same attachment to the land and its fruits, are committing themselves to a path of continuous improvement and enhancement. Everyone is carving out a different role for themselves, but they all know very well how their wine is made and know the secrets of their soils.

"Collio is an area of 1300 hectares, famous for its DOC wine, which it produces and exports all over the world. 7 million bottles a year are produced. - says Ornella - Our company occupies the northernmost part of Collio, there are 40 hectares located on different hills, each with different microclimates, and we are 40 metres from the sea as the crow flies. A magical situation that infuses the wine with unique and multifaceted nuances."

The company has long been committed to sustainability.

"In the beginning, our ancestors cultivated respecting the rhythms and needs of nature," Ornella says, "then there was the boom of efficiency and productivity.  Herbicides and synthetic products helped to ward off insects and diseases, everything seemed to give faster more results. But at some point we realised the tide of damage we were helping to create. This way of operating was ruining the land, we started to study and came to scientifically discover that our ancestors had made the right choices. We went back to basics, we switched to organic and biodynamic. And the health of the land and the quality of the wine proved us right'.

Pilot project for sustainable viticulture: V.I.V.A.

In 2011, the Ministry of the Environment, in cooperation with a number of universities, launched a special project for sustainable viticulture called V.I.V.A. and Venica & Venica participates in it with other companies in the wine chain from various Italian regions. It is a pilot project based on a scrupulous path that has all stages - from cultivation to production, to bottling - monitored according to four parameters: water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and social relationship.

"It is truly a complex path, which involves continuous improvement and all stages must be recorded and certified by an external body. Each new milestone is the starting point for better results. In 2013, the first certification arrived and we were very proud of it. We are passionate about sustainability because we love our land. We are certain that only by committing ourselves to respect nature and mankind will we be able to leave our children and our children's children all the resources they need to live well."

New at Venica: The first sustainability report

Venica & Venica on 17 February will present its first sustainability report to its agent network, a document that only large listed companies are required to present. This is a strong and important signal for the precious little company in Collio."