The Consorzio dei Vignaioli del Lazio is born. This is how artisan producers challenge the agro-industrial model

by Jacopo Manni

The Consorzio dei Vignaioli del Lazio has been established, bringing together 29 independent wine producers from across the Region, with the aim of promoting a new and shared vision of viticulture: deeply rooted in the land, environmentally conscious, open to collaboration, and guided by an ethical view of the landscape. Leading the project is Stefano Matturro, winemaker at L’Avventura in Piglio, supported by a diverse group of producers (including wineries such as Merumalia, Tre Botti, L’Avventura, to name a few), who represent the new wave of Italian artisan wine.

The logo of the new Lazio consortium

The role of independent winemakers in the new Consortium

Among the leading figures of the Consortium is Ludovico Botti, a young winemaker and influential voice of the new generation of Lazio wine, recently elected Vice-President of CEVI – the European Confederation of Independent Winegrowers. His appointment not only highlights the vitality of the FIVI movement in Lazio but also signals the Consortium’s openness to transnational networks of independent winemaking, which today more than ever represent a cultural, social, and ecological stronghold across Europe.

The challenge of communicating Lazio’s viticulture

With over 18,000 hectares of vineyards and a production of around 730,000 hectolitres per year, Lazio is a region with an ancient and diverse winegrowing heritage. Hills, plains, coastlines, lakes, mountains, islands, and volcanic soils: the geographical mosaic of Lazio, so unique and varied, has always favoured a wide range of wine styles. However, the presence of 36 DOPs and IGPs, many of which were created in the 1970s and are now seen as fragmented and redundant, has made it difficult to establish a coherent and recognisable narrative for Lazio’s wine. It is precisely this discontinuity that the new Consortium aims to address, offering an alternative based on shared practices, strong territorial identities, and a renewed culture of cooperation.

The Consortium is part of a broader shift in how we inhabit and shape our spaces. As geographer Michel Lussault reminds us, now more than ever we need a "new terrestrial urbanity", based on mutual care, cohabitation between humans and the environment, and shared responsibility for our territories. When applied to viticulture, this means that the agricultural landscape can no longer be seen simply as something to be preserved, but rather as a living space to be co-created—where sustainable practices and social relationships shape a more equitable, liveable, and resilient territory.

The debut of the new Consortium

After a first introduction at Vinitaly 2025, within the Lazio pavilion, the Consortium will make its official debut at Vinalia Priora, an event dedicated to the wine geographies of Lazio, taking place in Frascati from 25 to 27 April. On Friday 25 April at 12:00, the masterclass titled “Viticulture and Landscape: the new Consorzio dei Vignaioli del Lazio presents itself” will offer an opportunity for open discussion on the new perspectives of Lazio’s rural landscape. At the heart of the discussion will not only be the protection of the historic landscape, but above all, the need to imagine new shared spaces capable of meeting contemporary challenges.

An alternative model to agro-industry

The Consorzio dei Vignaioli del Lazio presents itself as a laboratory of territorial innovation, where the quality of wine is closely linked to the quality of relationships, the sustainability of agricultural practices, and the commitment to building alternatives to the dominant agro-industrial paradigm. In a context marked by climate crisis, economic inequality, and the erosion of local identities, the decision to create a network among small producers also becomes a political act: a way to reaffirm the value of agricultural labour, of the land, and of rural communities.