Green White & Red

There's nothing greener than a vineyard... unless you're talking about Monte Vibiano, in Umbria, Italy's only carbon-neutral winery.

Italy's first carbon-neutral winery hopes to make great wine as well as a difference to the planet. Marie Cleland takes an eco-tour of Monte Vibiano, nestled in the Umbrian countryside. Photography by Damien Knowles

It’s a sun-drenched autumn day in Umbria and I’m whizzing past grapevines in an electric buggy. Back and forth along the rows, over bumps, up a hill, then under a canopy of olive trees laden with fruit. It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before. The same wind that nuzzles the grapes and teases the olives is rushing gently past my face – the air is alive with the scent of flowers and herbs, and the afternoon sun alights on bunches of purple globes ripe for the picking, with romantic names like Sangiovese, Syrah and Sagrantino.

My heart races with the excitement, then calms down as our convoy of buggies comes to a halt. The soft buzzing of the electric motors fades out and is replaced by the serene quiet of the verdant landscape.

This is no ordinary tour, and no ordinary vineyard. In February, Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio became Italy’s first carbon-neutral winery, fulfilling ISO 14064, the international benchmark for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But it wasn’t done just to be “environmentally conscious”. You can buy carbon offsets for that. For the vineyard’s owners, the Fasola Bologna family, and in particular CEO Lorenzo Fasola Bologna, it was about reducing carbon emissions from the ground up, continuing to protect the land as his ancestors had done, and keeping the vineyard viable in today’s tough market by producing the highest-quality extra virgin olive oil and wines, including Super Tuscan-style reds and a refreshing white.

“To make the best, you have to start with the environment, because olives and grapes absorb everything around them,” Lorenzo explains as we stand admiring the view. In the old days, everything was carbon neutral. But as machinery and chemicals started to invade the land, the grapes and olives soaked up the carbon dioxide and pesticides. As people power was replaced, the hands-on nurturing died out and, Lorenzo believes, the flavours deteriorated as a consequence. But will we really be able to tell the difference between carbon-neutral and non-carbon-neutral wines?

Standing beneath the ancient castle of Monte Vibiano, home to Lorenzo and his family, and looking out at the jaw-dropping vista, it’s clear the land supports a thriving ecosystem. He gives us some impressive statistics: 400ha of forest, all planted by the Fasola Bolognas over the past 200 years; 10,000 trees planted by Lorenzo’s father, Andrea, alone; 25ha of flowers solely for feeding bees, so they can pollinate the crops naturally. But how exactly does a winery become carbon neutral?

Before heading back down into the valley, Lorenzo explains some of the low-emission elements. The roof of the main fermenting building has been double-layered and painted white to reflect the sun’s rays and minimise the amount of energy needed to cool it, which has reduced carbon emissions by an incredible 25 tonnes. The whole complex is run on solar power – the nifty electric buggies we’re riding in (also used to ferry staff) are charged with this renewable energy on-site. Even the office equipment has had a green makeover.

Lorenzo would argue it’s a holistic approach to sustainability. But how much does it cost to go carbon neutral?

“Around €10 million. Being carbon neutral is not profitable in itself,” he says, adding that Monte Vibiano will recoup the sum in 20–25 years’ time. But if that can help them to be the best and produce the best, and to help safeguard the environment into the future, that will justify the expenditure.

“My father always told me, never choose the road where the business plan looks fantastic, but always what your heart tells you. First the passion, then the profit will follow.”

As our drive through the vines winds up we come to a section where the grapes are being picked carefully and very contentedly by some of the vineyard’s 70 employees. The olive harvest will be happening soon too, in late November and December. They’re all locals and enjoy a high quality of life. If they can’t make the commute by walking, Lorenzo supplies them with electric bicycles – happy workers are productive workers, he believes.

We follow a tractor – running on biofuel, of course – as it carries the crates filled with fruit to the winery, where they are offloaded into an electric processing machine and checked manually for quality.

Finally, it’s time for a drink, and we clamber from the buggies and enter the vineyard’s Green Wine Bar – created by Lorenzo’s interior designer wife, Maryam Shams. Locally made oak chairs cluster around tables made from old wine barrels, embellished with discarded corks. The polished wooden bar, which was rescued from a nearby churchyard, stretches out in front of a feature wall of wine bottles and timber off-cuts arranged in mosaic patterns. It’s a true showcase for Monte Vibiano’s sustainable approach.

“Some people think there are only two types of wine: the ones they like and the ones they don’t,” says Lorenzo, holding a glass of the MonVì, their “evergreen” red. “I think it’s important to meet the wine producers and in our case to understand what it means to be a zero-carbon-emission winery. By experiencing where the wine comes from, you get to know more about the wine. And enjoy it more.”

And then there’s the olive oil. Behind the bar bruschetta is being freshly toasted under a grill and drizzled with this truly incredible liquid. Bright green and smelling like freshly cut grass, it tastes packed with goodness. Lorenzo explains that the olives are picked and pressed, and the oil bottled and frozen all in one day to retain all the flavour and goodness. The quality is so high-end that the oil is sold like medicine in 10ml servings (in recyclable packaging). That’s because once olive oil is opened and comes into contact with the air and light, it starts to deteriorate, so it’s best to start and finish a bottle in one go.

As Lorenzo fills our glasses with wine he explains why he’s particularly happy today. He has just returned from a charity event in London where a specially crafted, 27-litre bottle of Monte Vibiano wine was auctioned off. The winning bid was a whopping €70,000, making it the most expensive bottle of Italian wine ever sold. And we are about to try this star tipple, L’Andrea. It’s a wonderful full red that dances around the mouth. Aged for more than a year in French oak barrels, and a further six months in the bottle, it’s a complex mix of the best of the winery’s grapes and a real tribute to the Fasola Bolognas’ ground-up approach.

We descend to the cold cellars for a sneak peek at a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon that’s been in oak barrels for just six months. I’m no wine expert, but I know a red that’s still being aged still has complexity to develop. So I’m pleasantly surprised to find it so fruity and flavourful – proving the carbon-neutral quality really can be tasted. And it’s exciting to think this wine is only going to get better. Leaving via the shop, I can’t resist picking up a few bottles of the “light one”, a white we tasted that slipped down like a summer breeze.

Back at the bar, Lorenzo winds up our tour. He’s been a journalist, a racing car driver and a semi-pro tennis player, but his dream job, he says, is to give tours of the vineyard every day for the rest of his life. I wouldn’t mind the job myself. With a one-minute drive to work and an office that encompasses idyllic Umbrian hills, he’s struck a work-life balance that is likely to have guests on his eco-tour turning green with envy for many years to come.

ECO-TOURS ARE FREE, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO PRE-BOOK. THE SHOP SELLS MONTE VIBIANO WINE FROM €4.50 A BOTTLE; AND OLIVE OIL FROM €9.20 FOR A BOX OF 12 10ML BOTTLES. FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT WWW.MONTEVIBIANO.COM

Three more eco-friendly vineyards

MOVIA
PISARNA, SLOVENIA

Ales Kristancic runs Movia on biodynamic principles, planting and picking according to phases of the moon. Enjoy tastings and stunning views over the Brda Valley, which straddles the Italian/ Slovenian border. WWW.MOVIA.SI

SEDLESCOMBE
ROBERTSBRIDGE, UK

England’s oldest organic winery, established in 1979, now has biodynamic accreditation, and offers tours April–October. WWW.ENGLISHORGANICWINE.CO.UK

CHAMPAGNE VEUVE FOURNY & FILS
VERTUS, FRANCE

Brothers Emmanuel and Charles-Henry Fourny, fifth-generation Champagne makers, put a big emphasis on sustainable development, using natural methods throughout their vineyard. WWW.CHAMPAGNE-VEUVE-FOURNY.COM

Fast facts

GETTING THERE

Perugia airport is located at Sant’ Egidio, 12km from central Perugia in the rustic central Italian region of Umbria. Ryanair operates flights from Barcelona (Girona), London (Stansted) and Trapani. For more details, visit www.ryanair.com. The journey into Perugia takes 30 minutes by bus, taxi or hire car. Hertz (www.hertz.com) is Ryanair’s exclusive car rental partner and provides special rates for Ryanair passengers.

WHEN TO GO

Perugia and the Umbrian countryside are lovely all year round. However, if you visit in November and December you get the added bonus of being able to experience the olive harvest and get your hands on a batch of olive oil as fresh as can be.

STAYING THERE

When in Umbria you could stay at one of the many agriturismo hotels, farmhouses and B&Bs in the medieval villages that dot the region. Try pretty farm villa La Piaggiola degli Olivi (from €350 a week, www.lapiaggioladegliolivi.com), near the village of Panicale in hills surrounding Lake Trasimeno. Its three large apartments can accommodate couples and families.