Taurasi ‘promiscuous agriculture’?

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How ‘promiscuous agriculture’ is driving Taurasi

by L.M. Archer

The polycultural farming traditions in Taurasi, southern Italy, are proving effective at combatting climate change, writes LM Archer.

Taurasi DOCG, located in southern Italy’s Campania region, produces complex, age-worthy wines, most famously from Aglianico, a local red grape.

“The origin of vineyards in the Taurasi area dates back to the Etruscan period, where the vines were grown at heights with different shapes,” says vigneron Gianluigi Addimanda of Cantine Fratelli Addimanda. “These practices, handed down from generation to generation by our ancestors, have remained alive to this day.”

These ancient techniques, colloquially called ‘starseta’ or ‘raggiera’, intersperse vines among cover crops, grains, olive groves, nut trees, and fruit orchards. Other regions sometimes refer to this multi-layered, polycultural method as “promiscuous agriculture.”

The approach came about because “poor communities needed to produce the maximum from the small parcels of land available to them,” says winemaker Luigi Tecce, who inherited his grandfather’s raggiera vineyards in the Taurasi hills in 1997. Teece’s winery applied polyculture for economic needs, generating more fruits, without crowding the land with a single species, allowing plants to “coexist in a system of harmony and health,” he notes. “Taking a look, with greater attention to what more generations have done in the past could be useful [in terms of climate change].”

Resilient vineyards

It’s no surprise that biodiversity promotes resilient vineyards. “Having different plants means having a living soil, as it is the biodiversity present in the soil that makes the soil itself healthy and stronger,” explains Addimanda.

It also results in healthier, more complex grapes. “Olive trees, wheat for flour, cover crops in the vineyard rows – surely it is important to have a balance between vineyard and microorganisms,” says winemaker Sabino Colucci of Cantina Colli di Castelfranci. “So we have grapes with more complexity, and healthier.” READ MORE HERE.

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