Settled in the hillsides of the Marche region of Italy, Terre Cortesi Moncaro is a cooperative winery producing delicious, organic wines. The winery manages 4,200 acres of vineyards, one-hundred of which are cultivated organically; in addition to these vineyards, they have roughly 1,200 cooperative growers around the region, who sell their harvested grapes to the winery.
Terre Cortesi Moncaro pays its growers based on the quality of the grapes they bring in and adds 20 percent to those whose fruit is organic. The grapes go through a rigorous selection process in order to ensure Moncaro’s strict standards are upheld. In 1980, Moncaro began experimenting with organic practices and sustained viticulture methods, following European Union regulations. In the following decades, Moncaro sought to master techniques of low environmental impact, a philosophy the company has followed and of which it is extremely proud.
The company learned how to avoid pesticide use during the growing process, as well as how to reduce sulfite levels in the wine itself. Sulfites refer to the sulfer dioxide, a chemical compound that occurs naturally (at low levels) during the process of wine fermentation; they are responsible for the headache that can sometimes occur after drinking wine. The vineyard believes that with fewer sulfites, wine drinkers will have a better wine-drinking experience, and this has been proven by the increase in demand for organic wines.
