Montalcino: kick-off of the area mapping project

The project, entirely funded by the Brunello Consortium, is the first of this magnitude in Italy

The 24 thousand hectares of the Montalcino area will be scanned through the use of geolocation systems, and each type of cultivation will be catalogued, becoming available to a public of enthusiasts and tourists. This will allow for planning of visits to wine estates or itineraries through vineyards, woods, villages, the Mediterranean scrub, the Crete, and other cultures.

Twenty-four thousand hectares made available to tourists and wine enthusiasts, for them to discover, become acquainted with, savour and saunter through a territory, which is an icon of Tuscany throughout the world.

This is the heart of the area mapping project pursued by Consorzio del Vino Brunello, which has signed an agreement with the Montalcino company Copernico in order to obtain a detailed mapping of the entire area of the Municipality of Montalcino. A project unique in its kind in Italy, that will give visitors the location of the vineyards and of all other cultures present, paying tribute to a unique element that characterises Montalcino, Brunello wine: biodiversity and the balance between the various territorial areas.

The basic idea is to start from the enhancement of this concept: Montalcino is not a boundless vineyard, but a unique setting created over decades, which has made it possible for Brunello wine to gain worldwide recognition. A setting that the Consortium wants to render more and more accessible to both wine enthusiasts - who not only wish to visit the wineries, but also see the vineyards where their favourite wines come to life – and to tourists who want to best enjoy what the area has to offer.

In this light, the mapping project that is being kicked off will provide the basic database for the creation and implementation of major Web and mobile device applications dedicated to the receptive tourism sector, to be made available to Montalcino producers and operators.

The system will make use of the most advanced geolocation technologies for private use currently available, and will be the first of its kind to offer interactive mapping of an area with a strong calling for viticulture and oenology, and an exceptional environmental value.

Fabrizio Bindocci, Chairman of Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino, states that “it is a tool we make available to producers to best enhance their wines and, above all, to give even more prominence to the concept of terroir that is the driving force for our territory”.

For Deputy Chairman Ripaccioli, who in recent years has coordinated communication and promotional efforts, “it is an innovative project that combines the need for a vast area to become accessible to keen tourists, and the first real mapping of the Montalcino area, highlighting the immense value of diversity; a value that makes Montalcino great worldwide, enabling it over the years to gain a leadership position at international level.

Deputy Chairman Cencioni, coordinator of the Consortium’s technical committee over the past few years, further confirms that it is an implementable launch pad, a service offered to wine producers, who will have the opportunity to develop and customise it to better manage their estates.

The project has already been assigned and the final results will be presented at Benvenuto Brunello 2017, on occasion of the celebrations for the Consortium’s 50^th anniversary.