VITEVIS, TEN YEARS OF HISTORY BETWEEN ROOTS AND FUTURE

Milestones and horizons. From the cooperative's first 10 years , spent with over 950 winemaking members active in the hills of Vicenza and Verona, to sustainable developments , such as purchasing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Founded on July 1, 2015, from the merger of Cantina Colli Vicentini (now celebrating its 70th anniversary), Cantina di Gambellara, and Cantina Val Leogra, and later incorporating Cantina di Castelnuovo del Garda, the Cantine Vitevis agricultural cooperative closed the 2024-2025 fiscal year with a turnover of €69.6 million and 13% of its revenue from exports.

These numbers emerged from the shareholders' meeting held last Wednesday, November 26, at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Montebello Vicentino, where Vitevis took stock of a decade of growth – the result of an average of 45,000 tons of grapes produced annually in the 2,700 hectares of vineyards – and of the many investments for the future : for example, the revamping that will soon begin on the Montecchio Maggiore bottling line , a project that is one of the cornerstones of the second Sustainability Report, presented during the meeting.

Silvano Nicolato , president of Cantine Vitevis , a company with 107 employees, reflects that "these first ten years of ours are the result of vision, commitment, and community. In celebrating them, we honor the collective work and trust of our members, the lifeblood of an enterprise now rooted in the Veneto and national winemaking scene . We will continue to innovate on the roots of tradition, looking to the future through the lens of environmental, economic, and social sustainability , which translates into stability, dialogue, and solid relationships with our stakeholders: this is also demonstrated by our Vitevis Academy , the training project that nurtures skills and vision among our younger members."

In a complex market influenced by new consumer habits , still, sparkling, and spumante wines produced by Vitevis members recorded revenues of €38.8 million in the Italian market in 2024/2025, combined with growth in the foreign market , which reached €28.4 million in turnover, with the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States representing the three main outlets, and the combination of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and US tariffs influencing the overall scenario. Despite the slight drop in total turnover, due primarily to the decline in consumption, the value paid by Vitevis to members remained virtually unchanged compared to 2023/2024 . "The world of wine is facing a complex period in which the market is changing rapidly, consumption is declining, and consumer habits are evolving, " said Nicolato. " The answer, as always, lies in the quality of our wines, our choices, and our way of working, which guarantee value and stability to our Cooperative." Given that bottled wine sales generated a value of 43.3 million, 19% compared to 2023/2024 (with 6.7% of bottles produced), Vitevis is already looking to the future and to the many sustainability projects, as emerges from the data of the Sustainability Report.

Among the "green" goals achieved by 2025 is the purchase of electricity from 100% renewable sources . "In all production facilities," as emphasized during the shareholders' meeting, " photovoltaic systems are installed that allow us to generate clean energy directly on-site, significantly reducing the need for energy drawn from the grid." Not only that. Since last spring, 19 weather stations have been operational , installed throughout the Vitevis vineyards, for "constant monitoring of agricultural and meteorological conditions and optimization of decisions in the vineyard : from temperature to humidity to solar radiation, the data transmitted to the Sencrop app, accessible from a smartphone or computer, leads to personalized alerts in the event of the risk of fungal diseases, water stress, or the need for irrigation." This is a significant innovation, considering how viticulture is "increasingly exposed to the dynamics and unpredictability of climate change." These factors, however, did not prevent the recent harvest from seeing approximately 415,000 quintals of grapes delivered to the Vitevis cellars in 50 days. "This result ," Nicolato commented, " is a testament to the members' commitment in a challenging year."

During last Wednesday's meeting, Vitevis General Manager Gianfranco Gambesi highlighted the strategic project to revamp the Montecchio Maggiore bottling line , work on which will begin soon. "The project will improve production efficiency by over 25% while maintaining the same energy and human resources. Using cutting-edge technologies, we will achieve more streamlined management, reduced processing times, and a faster response to customers. Furthermore, we will further raise quality and hygiene standards, ensuring the control of every single bottle during filling, corking, and packaging." Gambesi also mentioned the redevelopment of the reception area at the Castelnuovo Winery , with "new spaces for events, tastings, company meetings, and special moments dedicated to customers." These are two investments that "represent a concrete step toward the modernization and competitiveness of our production facilities."

Then there is the circular waste management which, during the 2024/25 financial year, thanks to proper sorting, saw a 21.6% reduction in unsorted waste from mixed packaging , well beyond the 10% reduction target set in the first Sustainability Report. Then there is the investment in people through a program inspired by the principles of Lean Thinking and the Kaizen philosophy. The idea, as Vitevis explains, is to "disseminate a culture based on efficiency, innovation, and responsibility, shared with area managers and destined to gradually involve the production departments as well."

Among the new features planned for 2026 in the Sustainability Report are the testing of DSS (Decision Support Systems) for the proper implementation of phytosanitary treatments and the development of thematic maps for recommended grape varieties based on vocational units and bioclimatic indices. "Our concrete commitment ," explains Nicolato , " starts in the vineyards to progressively reduce the environmental footprint and promote an increasingly efficient and resource-friendly production model."