The wine production chain is made up of a relatively complex series of distinct activities, which can be summarized as follows:
the cultivation of vines
vinification and refinement
marketing
They are certainly distinct activities, but for the purposes of the final result of the producer's work - that is the quality of the wines made and their availability for consumers - they are by no means independent. Anyone who “makes wine” knows this very well.
It is obvious, first of all, that winemaking strictly depends on the fruits obtained from the first phase, that of growing the vines. But here we want to point out that this dependence is very strict. It is much more so than non-experts believe.
In fact, "the wine to come" is decisively influenced by the planning of the vineyard itself, with the choice of vines to implement, their arrangement on the land, etc., and then by the management of the vineyard, with all the specific works and techniques to direct fruiting towards the desired result. And finally from the fruit harvest, the timing of which is subordinated not only to the type of grape variety (the different grape varieties ripen at specific intervals), but also to the level of maturation required by the type of wine that is intended to be produced from it.
What about marketing?
Here the interdependence would appear to be insignificant.
And yet, on closer inspection, it is not so. In fact, all the choices we mentioned above are ultimately influenced, and also in a decisive way, by the identification of the type of consumer one wishes to address. The type of wine, its quality standard, its destination for certain consumption occasions rather than others, and finally the price - all of this implies a careful prediction of the characteristics of those to whom one intends to offer one's products. And it therefore implies specific decisions regarding distribution/marketing, to ensure that one's products actually reach those for whom they were conceived.
On the other hand, it is known that marketing is based on choices that are closely related to each other, relating precisely to the product, price, communication and distribution.
Now, there are wine production chains in which the phases we have enumerated are separate, at least because the subjects to which they belong are different.
In fact, there are companies that deal exclusively with the cultivation of vines, which sell the grapes produced to other companies (the winemakers). And even if the recipients choose or select the grapes to buy on the basis of the vinification to be carried out, it is still evident that the disjunction of the subjects radically weakens the specific and virtuous connection that should link the choices relating to cultivation to those of the subsequent vinification. With the further, very important consequence that this way of doing tends to destroy the very territoriality of wine production, or rather the differentiating element that makes Italian enology rich.
The supply chain, then, is very often disconnected even in marketing, led by subjects other than the producers. Even this last disjunction interrupts the harmony and synergy of the phases mentioned above, to the detriment of the satisfaction of those who love wine.
Fortunately, there are many producers who instead take care of the entire supply chain and work with the harmonizing logic that links the choices of grape cultivation to those of winemaking and marketing.
This type of producers, to whom we pride ourselves in Le Colline, have founded an association that aims to protect their work, distinguishing it precisely from that of separate supply chains.
This is the FIVI association - Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers.
A non-profit organization, "FIVI aims to promote and protect the figure, work, interests and technical-economic needs of the independent Italian winemaker, understood as the subject who implements the complete wine production cycle, from the cultivation of the grapes to bottling and marketing of the final product" (https://fivi.it). The association intends to stem the disintegration and dispersion of knowledge handed down by authentic Italian winegrowers, underlining how "independent winegrowers are the custodians of authentic viticulture, an expression of the cultures of the territories, bearer of increasingly recognized and appreciated values in the wine market” (ibidem).
For this reason, the FIVI brand, affixed to the label, offers consumers "a way to immediately recognize a bottle produced by an independent winemaker, as a guarantee of the values of craftsmanship, territoriality and sustainability, which are the pillars of our work" (ibidem).
At Le Colline, we are proud to belong to the FIVI group of winemakers, i.e. the group of friends who passionately dedicate their work to preserving the ancient and authentic winemaking vocation of the Italian territories.