02.10.2025 - News
Fasoli Gino Centenary
Fasoli Gino Centenary – Sunday, September 14
The Fasoli Gino winery celebrates its centenary, a milestone that intertwines family tradition, innovation, and a pioneering choice: organic farming, embraced as early as the 1980s, when few foresaw its significance.
To mark the centenary, the Fasoli Gino Winery organized a special day on Sunday, September 14, dedicated to showcasing its work and offering tastings of its iconic wines.
The day began with the Centenary Harvest at Tenuta Le Cave. An unforgettable experience dedicated to friends, clients, and partners, aimed at showing the passion and hard work behind every glass of wine.
The harvest marking the winery’s centenary could not have taken place under better conditions. “The year has been regular – says Natalino Fasoli – with well-distributed rainfall and heat: the vines withstood the summer heat peaks and today reward us with healthy, high-quality grapes.” The harvest has already begun with Pinot Grigio and Garganega for sparkling bases, followed by Chardonnay. In the third week of September, it will be time for Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella, destined for Amarone drying. “This year’s grapes – Fasoli stresses – are excellent.”
After the hard work, a break with a glass of wine and a sandwich was a resounding success.
The day continued with a lunch at the Tenuta Le Cave Restaurant, where a true food and wine journey began. The winery’s flagship wines were presented, along with the special centenary wine: Fasoli Gino 100.
In the afternoon, a roundtable was held at the Sports Hall in Colognola ai Colli, entitled “Fasoli Gino, One Hundred Years of Agriculture: Past, Present, and Future. A Land to Save.” The discussion focused on sustainability, climate change, the value of technology, and policies to support those working the land.
Introduced by journalist Elisabetta Gallina, Natalino and Matteo Fasoli shared their story of “One Hundred Years of Wine: Roots in the Past, Vision for the Future.”
The company’s sustainability path, launched in 1986 by combining ancient farming knowledge with practices that restore vitality to plants and counteract the imbalances caused by intensive farming, has become a compass against consumerist habits that only teach us to take, use, and discard. The Fasoli Gino Winery has set the goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency within a couple of years. Following the already installed 99 kW photovoltaic system, further investments will bring capacity to 200 kW. The winery also plans to recover heat produced by bottling and production machinery, which will then be used to heat offices and produce washing water in a circular approach. Already today, the company collects between 3,000 and 4,000 cubic meters of rainwater, of which 80% is reused for irrigation and other purposes, such as bottle washing. “Another step forward in sustainability will come from new futuristic machinery managed by a control unit, which will allow us to reduce consumption, for example, by limiting the amount of water used.” Further choices include expanding the use of lightweight glass for packaging, using only 100% recycled paper, and even considering eliminating capsules where possible. “The idea is an ethic present throughout the entire supply chain,” say Natalino and Matteo Fasoli.
Next, Federica Cantatori, head of environmental affairs at Airbus Defence and Space, presented how Airbus satellite images provide reliable data, easy access, and innovative digital services to support agricultural productivity and sustainability.
“Forecasting Climate: Tools and Strategies for Winemakers and Farmers” was the contribution of Prof. Paolo Ruggieri of the University of Bologna. “The challenge,” he explained, “is to make forecasts increasingly aligned with decision-making needs, transforming them into reliable tools for those working in the field.” Ruggieri also highlighted the role of Copernicus, the European Earth observation program: “Through this platform, we aim to bring people closer to available climate data, making them more accessible and useful for everyday decisions.”
Prof. Davide Gaeta of the University of Verona offered a critique of European agro-food policies. “Italy,” he observed, “has the highest energy costs in Europe, and there are no adequate policies for the agricultural sector.” On organic farming, Gaeta pointed out its flaws: “It was born from an ineffective regulation that failed to convey real added value to consumers.” But the main issue remains profitability: “The real problem is the low margins for farmers, further worsened by the international situation.”
Dr. Emanuele Fontana of Crédit Agricole addressed “Credit in Agriculture: Models and Solutions.” Referring to ESG systems (Environmental, Social, and Governance), he noted: “Talking about sustainability and linking it to a reward system for agricultural credit is rather complex.” The solution, he explained, lies in a different banking approach: “We need a concrete strategy based on knowledge of the productive factors of each farm. Only with continuous dialogue can we identify real potential and enhance sustainability aspects for access to credit.”
On sustainable mechanization, Dr. Antonio Maria Ciri of Italian Tractor presented the case of the first tractor powered by biomethane, a purified gas derived from the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter. “This machine,” he explained, “allows farms to produce their own fuel, using their own waste, including livestock manure.” A model, Ciri added, that helps close the virtuous cycle of sustainability.
Senator Luca De Carlo, chairman of the 9th Senate Committee (Industry, Trade, Tourism, Agriculture, and Agri-Food Production), highlighted agriculture’s strategic role: “In Europe, over the past three years, we were the first to reaffirm that agriculture’s main duty is to produce food to feed the world. With the global population expected to reach 10 billion soon, the challenge is to increase production without ignoring climate change.” An ambitious goal, he noted, that cannot be achieved in just a few years: “We know we cannot change the world in three years, but in Italy we have already allocated significant resources: €12.3 billion over this three-year period.” Speaking about Made in Italy, the senator stressed: “Our products are an excellence, with a record number of PDOs and PGIs, with Veneto leading the way. Our strength lies in quality and food safety: strict controls make Italy a global benchmark and a trusted guarantee.”
Dr. Salvatore Carfì of AGEA illustrated the future potential of the graphic registry in the wine sector, an information and cartographic tool that records a farm’s vineyard areas on a regional basis, linking them to cadastral data and agronomic features. “This tool,” he explained, “is crucial for monitoring production potential, managing authorizations, and accessing support measures.” At present, he recalled, the system is “mainly alphanumeric, based on text data and codes.” The graphic registry, instead, allows immediate spatial visualization of vineyard data, becoming a valuable tool for territorial and management analysis, surpassing the limits of a purely text-based approach.
On “The Role of Bioenergy in Agriculture: Bioenergy, Biogas, Digestate,” engineer Stefano Svegliado of FemoGas Spa explained: “Biomethane is a renewable energy that does not deplete exhaustible resources.” FemoGas has chosen to produce biomethane ethically, using agricultural matrices: livestock manure (both bovine and poultry) and agri-food waste, such as olive pomace. “Our biomethane,” he emphasized, “not only contributes to Italian and European energy self-sufficiency but also provides concrete support for the agricultural supply chain.” A key aspect concerns environmental impact: the anaerobic digestion process used in the company’s plants significantly reduces CO₂, methane, and ammonia emissions, which are among the main greenhouse gases.
The celebrations concluded at Villa Vanzetti with one last toast to these incredible 100 years of history.
