Sergio Mottura Vineyards - Commitment to Sustainability in Winemaking

“I live in a vineyard...why on earth would I want to spray it with chemicals?”

  – Sergio Mottura, wine producer in Lazio, Italy

An essential part of the study abroad experience is engage in meaningful interactions with individuals from their host culture. Study Abroad Italy’s (SAI) goal is to facilitate meaningful interactions that also demonstrate an appreciation for sustainability and responsibility in the local and global community through its program inclusive events and excursions. Every semester SAI in Rome offers students the possibility to visit the Tana dell’Istrice Agriturismo and spend the day with top award-winning wine producer Sergio Mottura.

Mr. Mottura’s elegance and passion enchants students every time. He loves to interact with young people and stresses the importance of being organic, respecting the earth, and of course, enjoying great wine. Students have the opportunity to visit the vineyards, taste wine in the fermentation process and enjoy a lunch with Mr. Mottura. Casual conversation at lunch fosters understanding of the entire vinification process and offers students a truly unique and meaningful interaction with a local organic farmer who serves as great inspiration to be more sustainable in all parts of our lives. One students asked him why they decided to become organic and he responded, “I live in a vineyard…why on earth would I want to spray it with chemicals.”

La Tana dell’Istrice is an ancient family home that has been transformed into a farm-resort and restaurant. It is located in a renovated medieval palace that was built in 500 AD, in the heart of Civitella d’Agliano, the small agricultural village between Orvieto and Viterbo. The home is located in the village center where one can enjoy the peacefulness of a small hill town surrounded by green hills and vineyards and was acquired, along with the farming business, in the 1930s by Alessandro Mottura. Guests can assist in the cultivation of various products during the different seasons: in autumn the grape harvest, in winter the collection and pressing of the olives, and in the spring and summer the hike through the vineyards to try the grapes. The restaurant offers regional dishes and utilizes traditional recipes from the region with some international flare, adapted to be enjoyed with the locally-produced wines. Dinner is composed of five or six dishes made with organic ingredients and products from the farm.

The Mottura estate extends over 130 hectares in a territory rich with natural resources, from the clay badlands of Civitella d’Agliano to the valley of the Tiber. The estate was inherited in 1933 by the Mottura family who had wanted to preserve the rich, natural property. In the 1960s they started to modernize the business: they stopped using sharecropping and started to use the land for crops native to the habitat. The cultivation of wine in this area has been recorded since 1292 when the area was declared “elite for the production of wine,” although the Etruscans were producing wine here centuries before. The vineyards, many generations old, were planted with the Etruscan system where the vines are “married” to a tall, resistant plant.

During the renovation of the business, the old planting methods were gradually substituted with specialized vineyards, using modern structures and methods, but always respecting the environment. Now the vineyards cover 36 hectares, and every year new vines are planted to guarantee the continual production of high quality wines. Mostly indigenous varieties were selected for planting because they had always been present in the region. The long cultivation in the same environment produced a natural selection of species that better defends itself against local pathogens, allowing for the best gestation and organic farming.

The company logo is the porcupine, an animal that lives exclusively in places where the ecological balance is respected. The porcupine was chosen because it will not live in areas infested with pesticides or chemical fertilizers. After the farm became organic, the porcupines returned to the Mottura estate and surrounding area in masses.

The vinification center and family home is completely self-sufficient and leaves behind zero pollution. Solar panels have been installed which allow for sufficient energy to support the vineyards, wine production, and everyday life. The estate is run completely organically. “Organic vinification” means that, for the defence and nourishment of the plants, only naturally found substances or those that can be made with simple processes are used. No chemical processes, genetic manipulation, GMOs, fertilizers, or synthetic chemical pesticides are used, allowing the plants to have a life-cycle that is not dependent on chemicals. Instead specially chosen “weeds” are planted between the rows of vines to balance the soils and to add more nutrients.
The most celebrated winemakers in the world use this organic method, even without mentioning it in their label. The presumption is that by employing organic processes, better quality grapes that are truer to the varietal character and to the natural terroir are produced. These grapes embody the effects of the unique local geography, geology and climate, and the wines have a greater personality and superior quality.  

In order for a vineyard to be certified as organic it must be free from chemicals for at least three years. A regulatory body grants the organic status after a thorough inspection. Sergio Mottura Vineyards are officially certified as organic by one of these regulatory institutions.

The Motturas' goal is to create a business that has the least environmental impact possible by combining new technology with ancient farming traditions that respect the environment by reusing everything possible and by creating as little waste possible. The most important part of this transformation is keeping in mind the reasons for making such a change. By being organic farmers, the Motturas are improving the quality of life for themselves and their children. They have developed a sustainable method of farming which protects the environment and produces fabulous wines.

Sergio Mottura has been awarded some of the world’s top wine awards including Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri.