At Fattoria La Maliosa an innovative method with the vineyard in the woods

Protecting biodiversity for those who work with nature is a mission. For those involved in agriculture, a duty. Which for Antonella Manuli, founder of Fattoria La Maliosa from which the wine labels of the same name are derived, also becomes a pleasure. So much passion, ideas and energy that she has put into the field since 2010 on 170 hectares, 40 of which are woodland and 10 vineyards (of which about six hectares are in production). And it is from the forest, understood as 'the place where the soil with the best biological quality is found', that the entrepreneur started out, also collaborating with Crea Abp, a research centre in Florence dedicated to agrobiology and pedology and oriented towards the study of Qbs (Biological Quality of Farm Soils).

This is why at the Maliosa di Manciano - near Saturnia (Grosseto) - they are working on the concept of bringing the vineyard closer to the forest. Which also becomes a place to host yoga activities, snacks and other bucolic initiatives. And then there is the resilience factor to climate change. The woods, in fact, guarantee the maintenance of coolness and humidity, precious given the increasingly hot and dry springs and summers even in the hilly Maremma.

Preserving the vitality of the soil - Fattoria La Maliosa's soil varies from clayey in the Saturnia area to volcanic ash-based in the Pitigliano area - is a mantra that starts from avoiding "leaving the earth bare, promoting mixed grass coverings of essences naturally present in the cultivation areas, covering the soil with vegetable mulch, in essence keeping the agricultural ecosystem in balance". Indications that come from the closed vegetable cycle production process suggested by the Corino Method (patented by Manuli) that requires very few mechanical interventions.

And then there are the 3 Rs. The founder explains them as follows. 'Reduce: we do not irrigate or fertilise; Reuse: the plant mass is reused as mulch. As for Recycle,' she adds, 'I hope that the European Union will get rid of the compulsory capsules because I consider them useless. In the meantime, compostable ones are used at Maliosa. But also zero plastic. If anything, recycled glass, in an extra light format so they have 360 gram bottles. Their top label is a 100% procanic from volcanic vineyards. What is now called Orange, but which Manuli prefers to identify as Macerato. 'Because words,' he concludes, 'must be blunt.