Claudio Quarta Vignaiolo

Research and sustainability

It is the duty of every generation to generate knowledge for the benefit of future generations

Five hectares to go beyond sustainability. Because just being sustainable is not enough. Leaving things as we found them to the next generation is not enough. It is not enough to repay the damages that past generations have perpetrated. It is not enough because it is the duty of every generation to leave their signature on progress.

To go beyond sustainability we have chosen the path of RESEARCH: RESEARCH generates KNOWLEDGE which is added to SUSTAINABILITY to give the following equation: SUSTAINABILITY + KNOWLEDGE = INCREASEBILITY term coined by us to represent that extra something to leave to the generations futures.

Projects in the cellar

Biodiversity Collection at Tenute Eméra

In 2007, in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Milan and the Insubria Biopark, an ambitious project was launched for the preservation and enhancement of the biodiversity of the vine. In three years, from 2008 to 2010, six replicas of over 500 rare vines from the Mediterranean basin were planted. Since 2014, a screening has been conducted every year by micro-fermentation of some varieties selected on the basis of both the aromatic profile and balance between sugar concentration and acidity as well as their possible resistance to infections. The wines thus obtained are tasted by the staff of Claudio Quarta Vignaiolo with the team of Prof. Attilio Scienza and Osvaldo Failla, of the Faculty of Agriculture of Milan. The best varieties, the so-called "Hits", are identified and monitored. Since 2017, new varieties have been planted to enrich the biodiversity heritage. Starting from 2015, the Hits selected from the Biodiversity Collection are replicated in about 60 copies in order to obtain larger quantities to be vinified on a larger scale. The Hits that confirm their positive characteristics in tasting become "Leads" and replicated even more extensively to allow for a more in-depth evaluation and to follow a possible integration process in the regional ampelographic heritage.

Winegraft at Tenute Eméra

In 2014 Claudio Quarta Vignaiolo together with some of the most important Italian wineries joined the research project "Wine Graft - The new rootstocks" coordinated by the scientific team of Prof. Scienza. The project concerns a very topical issue for world viticulture, grappling with health emergencies, the effects of water stress and soil salinity due to climate change, but also with the need to reduce energy inputs with a view to sustainability. The research is aimed at obtaining improved rootstocks compared to those used, capable of tolerating drought and resisting high levels of active limestone in the soil. In 2014, 4 new rootstocks were registered in the National Register (M1, M2, M3, M4) and research continues to obtain ideal rootstocks for all environments. The goal is now to develop a new generation more suited to stressful conditions and to be able to create individual rootstocks suitable for any type of environment. In 2018, the same Negroamaro clone was planted on the 4 traditional rootstocks and on the 4 of the M series, in rows of the same plot, and subjected to the same cultivation practices. We continue to observe its characteristics.