Guarantee

Point 1:: Fattoria La Vialla’s produce comes from organic agriculture and is labelled with the European logo valid for all countries and with the symbol of ICEA , the organisation that certifies organic farming methods. Where it is shown on the labels they are also certified biodynamic.
This organic and/or biodynamic certification guarantees not only healthy and natural farming methods, respect for the biodiversity of plants and animals and the fertility of the land, but also the entire production system, with periodic controls and analyses (organic certification, furthermore, excludes the use of GMOS throughout the entire production process, from seed, to plant, to raw material).
Point 2:: In addition, Fattoria La Vialla has complete analyses carried out on each batch by specialised, approved laboratories. These systematic analyses assure the absence of any type of synthetic chemical residue and are available for viewing at any time.
: This symbol indicates products that, for their organoleptic qualities and nutritional properties, are suitable and recommended for children (generally from 12 months of age).
Fattoria La Vialla’s products respect the Baby Food directive.
NB:: Due to the artisan and “gentle” type of workmanship involved (e.g. limited filtering to avoid denaturalising the physical and organoleptic characteristics and the natural, beneficial properties of the ingredients) and to the absence of preservatives, some products require a little extra care. The appetizers, sauces, preserved tomatoes, jams and preserves, grape juice and Mostovino once opened, should be kept in the fridge and consumed within a short time. A little natural sediment may form in the bottles of oil and wine. The pecorino cheese is accompanied by a small booklet giving instructions for its correct storage. In the event of a complaint, the product will be replaced as soon as possible. In the wine, the only preservative used (and well below the limits permitted by organic farming regulations) is sulphur dioxide (a sulphite).

La Vialla and Nature

The Fattoria has always - for over 45 years now! - cultivated the land using Organic Methods and since 1997 also Biodynamics.

Organic agriculture doesn’t just mean not using chemical pesticides and fertilizer, it promotes the soil’s natural fertility, certifying and guaranteeing: crop rotation, periodic rest of the soil, the choice of selected varieties of plants and seeds (organic seed register), green manuring and the ban on GMOs (genetically modified organisms). It requires ample space in barns for the animals, insists on the use of grazing, prohibits the use of hormones and only permits antibiotics in the actual event of illness, safeguards the dignity of life and likewise the way it ends.

Biodynamic agriculture enhances the organic quality by improving the soil’s fertility and the biodiversity: it considers an entire farm as a single organism, in which the land, plants, animals and man can live in a harmonious, closed cycle - from cultivation, to production, to recycling waste through composting. This circular system foresees the use of Biodynamic Preparations, concentrated compounds (also produced at the Fattoria) to be sprayed periodically on the crops; of a biodynamic compost heap and macerated plants and flowers; as well as having a lunar calendar for the main operations of cultivation. Biodynamics is essentially the good, wise, meticulous agriculture of our forefathers, who managed to produce healthy fruits and look after the environment for centuries without wastefulness and without chemicals.

At La Vialla 832.66 hectares of vineyards, fields, olive groves, vegetable and fruit patches (71% of all the Fattoria’s land) are cultivated using Biodynamic Methods and have obtained Demeter certification. Then there is the land recently “adopted”, 100.95 hectares of which are already certified organic, and another 235.92 hectares are undergoing conversion; the produce made with crops from these areas is labelled with the specification “in conversione all’Agricoltura Biologica-Organica” (= in conversion to Organic farming) for the period foreseen by European regulations.

To the certified Organic and Biodynamic methods we add La Vialla’s method: it’s more a way of being and of doing things, which pervades the hearts of all the “Viallini”, both staff and family, with the common intent of respecting people, animals and the earth.

La Vialla’s method

Giuliana and Piero Lo Franco’s dream was to see abandoned countryside come back to life. They began by getting an old farmstead back into operation and didn’t have to think about which method they would use for cultivation. For them, the only way that existed was the organic method (which, in 1978, was not yet defined by law; it was only officially recognised various years later, giving it the importance it deserved). Twenty years later, driven by the desire for continuous improvement, together with their sons, they began to “try their hand” at biodynamics. La Vialla is certified biodynamic since 2005.
Giuliana, Piero and then their sons - Gianni, Antonio and Bandino - have always been inspired by the idea of good, healthy food, and the consequent (and at the same time antecedent) protection of nature and its fruits. Today Fattoria La Vialla is an example of what it means to be ecological and sustainable and, with the help of the Lo Franco Family Foundation, it has made it possible to convert a total of 939 hectares of land to organic and biodynamic agriculture, as well as helping 91 “farming friends” to adopt the same sustainable methods on their land (in total 1,177 hectares).

The latest “ecological footprint” balance sheet, regarding the 2021-2023 three-year period, shows that the amount of CO² fixed and avoided through careful resource management, photovoltaic systems, constructed wetlands, carbon dioxide fixation in woodlands, crops and the soil thanks to organic agriculture, as well as emission compensation through environmental projects, exceeds the quantity of CO² emitted by the production activities, for a total of 35,168.97 tonnes of CO²e.
In 2009 La Vialla participated at the Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), as an example of sustainability in Italy.
In 2017 it won the B.A.U.M. (German Environmental Management Association) Environmental Award for “outstanding commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development”.
In 2020 the Fattoria was promoted from “Carbon Neutral” to “Climate Positive” by natureOffice, the German company that implements environmental and climate protection projects, with which La Vialla has been collaborating since 2010.
In 2022 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) chose Fattoria La Vialla as one of the #GenerationRestoration Partners for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The Programme aims to create a global movement to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems, in which sustainable and regenerative agriculture plays a key role. Read more at www.decadeonrestoration.org

The Lo Franco brothers, in Frankfurt, receive the BAUM environmental award for Fattoria La Vialla’s eco sustainability