Natural wines: transparency operation for VinNatur

The VinNatur natural wines are analyzed every year on 190 active ingredients of pesticides that currently the law allows to use in the wine field, of which even minimum presences are found. A monitoring of sulfur dioxide is carried out, too. To perform the analysis, the Enocentro Laboratory (Bussolengo, Verona) certified Accredia and accredited at the Mipaaf Ministry.

This year on a sample of 151 wines collected, only 4 wines natural wines have pesticides, while 147 are rather negative to any active ingredient. The amount of chemicals detected in the 4 samples are far below the average values of a wine from conventional viticulture. «In recent years there was a steady reduction in the number of producers whose wines resulted positive to pesticides – Angiolino Maule, founder and president VinNatur, emphasizes – in 2014 they were 8, this year only 4; and this is a satisfaction to us. Another fact that makes us very proud, is that of the 65 wines bearing only traces of sulfur (ie the presence of less than 10 mg/l). It is not easy to pursue this route at the time of winemaking and, after the difficult 2014 year, we are all more aware of it. These numbers represent confirmations, because they demonstrate the goodness of the choices made in the past and comfort us in our determination to proceed along the undertaken path, that of consistency between saying and doing, and of transparency to those who drink our wines. Being VinNatur members means accepting commitments and obligations – Maule concludes – means making concrete respect and loyalty to the land we cultivate, towards ourselves and our customers. We are farmers and more than others we have a role and a responsibility, we choose to accept them, every day, with our work in the vineyard and in the winery». VinNatur plans to investigate further by adding the examination of the leaf system. The effort is challenging, also economically, but the association continues to believe that transparency is a goal worth such expense. Meanwhile, in order to deepen the analysis of the four wines that have raised doubts, samples of leaves and grapes from the vineyards of those producers has been taken.