Wine notes

Wednesday, 22 October 2008

“ACHIEVING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE UTILIZING ORGANIC MATTER DISCARDED DURING THE VARIOUS VITICULTURAL PROCESSES”

THE LUNGAROTTI BIOMASS PROJECT GAINS MOMENTUM

This mouthful merely states that Lungarotti, one of the largest producers of Umbria, made famous by the late Giorgio Lungarotti, now can supply all of its hot water as well as 30 per cent of its electricity entirely on its own.This new energy production system, which was inaugurated two weeks ago, feeds on organic material and produces both the heat and the cooling necessary for vinification, bottling and storage of the wine. As such it is the first winery to do so in Italy and also, according to Lungarotti, the first in Europe.
Lungarotti subscribe to a thoroughly ecological philosophy and tend their vineyards largely according to organic principles. The estate was therefore chosen to feature in this project conducted by the Centro Ricerca sulle Biomasse dell’Università di Perugia (CRB), Perugia University’s biomass research centre. But an equally decisive factor was the size of their vineyard holdings, more than 250 ha, which could actually render enough ‘critical mass’ to produce the organic waste needed. For example, the cuttings discarded during pruning are burnt in a furnace bearing the charming title ERAASPV – Energia Rinnovabile per le Aziende Agricole derivante da scarti di Potature dei Vigneti (renewable energy for agricultural concerns from vineyard pruning by-products – I would love to see that on a business card) and this is co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to Chiara Lungarotti, who has been in charge of the estate since her father’s death, this project is only the latest of a range of measures in their pursuit to reach complete sustainability in the production of their wines.