International soil scientists visit La Guardiense’s vineyards

On 24 May 2024, researchers from the International Union of Soil Sciences visited La Guardiense as part of the IUSS centenary tour of Italian soils and wine landscapes. Valle Telesina was one of the tour’s two principal Campania stops.

Agronomists, oenologists and the cooperative’s growers have worked on Valle Telesina vineyard zoning for more than three decades, together with Consorzio di Tutela Sannio DOP, universities, the CNR and Regione Campania. The work maps soil properties and studies how each terroir affects vine and wine character.

President Domizio Pigna connected this knowledge with three objectives: wine quality, adaptation to climate change and cultivation methods increasingly respectful of the environment and biodiversity. The researchers visited volcanic soils derived from Campanian ignimbrite and tasted wines associated with them. The Anima Lavica project applies that collective soil research to Falanghina, sparkling Falanghina and Aglianico grown exclusively on volcanic sites.