One thousand small wine producers from twenty countries who met in Montecatini Terme [Pistoia, Tuscany] from 5th – 7th December have produced a Manifesto for Sustainable Viticulture, reports La Repubblica. M. Xavier de Volontat, President of the European Confederation of Independent Winegrowers, explained that, although small wine producers have an important social and economic role, they feel threatened by EU proposals to apply food industry rules to wine production.
Carlo Petrini, the founder of the International Slow Food Movement, added that, as the EU is mainly concerned with multinational companies, the small wine producers must organise themselves into a multinational organisation that will interact with restaurateurs and consumers to preserve their traditions. Among points made in the Manifesto are:
The independent wine producer cares for his own vines, cellar and sales. His wine is alive, it gives pleasure and is the product of the grower’s land and his thoughts. For these reasons his wine is the expression of a culture.
The independent wine producer considers the consumer to be a co-producer.
He takes care of his land with regard for biodiversity and conserves and improves the fertility of his soil. He does not use artificial organisms in his production and he respects the environment.
He at all times strives to produce the best rather then the maximum.
He undertakes to create and nourish links with other producers, farmers, food producers, cooks, universities and research centres, educators and citizens in his own community and the wider world.
He will be open about his work. He will say what he is doing and do what he says.
The independent wine producers of Europe call upon their own governments and the EU not to burden them with rules made for the food industry as a whole but which are not appropriate in their case.
Roberto Burdese, the President of Slow Food Italia, closed the meeting by saying that the Manifesto should be read as the work of a community of wine producers who “see a bottle of wine as a cultural product, with a history, a place of origin, a tradition and an identity.”
