The appeal comes from Marco Simonit , CEO of Simonit & Sirch Vine Master Pruners, who intervenes in the debate provoked by the news that Martin Foradori Hofstätter, famous winemaker from Termeno, even had to charter an airplane to bring a group of workers specialized in the work from Romania in the vineyard, not finding equally competent staff in Italy.
"The problem is emerging dramatically in this moment of pandemic, which has blocked borders - says Marco Simonit- Nature does not stop , companies need trained and specialized manpower in the vineyards and do not find it in Italy, because the Italians snub these jobs, although there is a lot of talk about returning to agriculture, green jobs, etc. "
"Since 2009 we have opened the Italian School of Vine Pruning and now the courses are also online - specific - For those who want to learn a qualified job, and therefore also well paid, there are all the tools to be able to do it. For years we have been training skilled labor teams for the main wineries in the world, who use our advice because they are well aware that the work in the vineyards (which are their great heritage) cannot be entrusted to unprepared personnel. "
"It is argued that after this pandemic we will have to start from the land and agriculture , which will return to the center, and I fully agree - he continues - But the Italians are absent. We need to recreate a" know-how in the vineyard "that they are losing and that therefore it is necessarily entrusted to foreigners . Which, for example, does not happen in France , where the vineyard skills are just as important as those in the cellar, and the staff involved in agricultural work is local, has great experience and preparation and is an added value. of a company . "
"I want to be clear - he concludes firmly - It is not just a post Covid 19 emergency issue, but a more general and very serious matter , which must be addressed once and for all. To create a true Made in Italy wine, you have to start from here , resuming work among the rows . A sustainable, local job, without environmental impact, healthy because it is done in the open air and, in these times, also safe because it is easy to keep the distance. I can only reiterate: get ready, learn. wineries there is work as long as you want! "
