"I am one of those who believe that Covid 19 is a very serious and dangerous disease and that the first obligation of every government at the moment is to protect and protect the health of citizens - writes Matilde Poggi - It equally leaves me completely disconcerted the decision taken in the last DPCM 10/24/2020 to close the administration activities at 6 pm The increase in infections, which we have unfortunately witnessed in recent months, requires a change of strategy but it would seem appropriate to stop only the activities and situations that cause gatherings ".
The letter underlines how many restaurateurs at the reopening after the forced closure of March and April have equipped themselves to be able to welcome their customers in complete safety, also investing considerable amounts. But now they find themselves paying for those who, in contempt of any directive, have continued to serve customers in front of the premises, without distancing, causing dangerous gatherings.
“Those who have decided not to respect the rules have endangered the health of others and contributed to the misperception of the category to which they belong - continues Poggi - it is therefore right that they are ordered to close. Those who have respected the rules and invested in order to adapt must be able to remain open . Italy is a wonderful country and has jewels that everyone envies us: a landscape that is unique in the world, cultural sites of global appeal and products of the highest quality from the agri-food chain, including wine ”.
Closing the restaurants means further suffering even the many artisan winemakers who with difficulty have continued to cultivate their vines. FIVI, the Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers, brings together more than 1300 winemakers who follow the entire wine production process, from the vineyard to the glass. They are small to medium-sized companies, often families, who have their only income in these activities. For winemakers, the catering sector is the preferential outlet market for their wines and a few hours after the signing of the new Prime Minister's Decree, the first cancellations to orders in progress have already begun. The winemakers, like many other categories, have been heavily weakened by the months of forced closure, but the vineyard cannot be abandoned and must be cultivated even if sales are reduced to a flicker.
“We at FIVI and all the operators in the Horeca sector - the President commented - want to be able to work safely to make our small contribution to the recovery of the country”.
FIVI - Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers
The Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers (FIVI) is an association founded in 2008 with the aim of representing the figure of the winemaker before the institutions, promoting the quality and authenticity of Italian wines. By statute, only producers who meet certain specific criteria can join the FIVI: "The FIVI winemaker cultivates his vines, bottles his own wine, personally taking care of his product. He sells all or part of his harvest in bottles, under his responsibility , with his name and his label ".
Currently there are about 1300 associated producers, from all Italian regions, for a total of about 13,000 hectares of vineyards, for an average of about 10 hectares of vineyards per farm. Almost 95 million bottles are marketed and the total turnover is close to 0.8 billion euros, for an export value of 330 million euros. The 13,000 hectares of vineyards are conducted for 51% in an organic / biodynamic regime and for 49% according to the principles of integrated pest management.
