Raboso del Piave is the only native red grape variety of Eastern Veneto and among its many peculiarities there is also that of having the longest vegetative cycle among all the grapes grown in this area: it is the first to germinate and the the last to be harvested.
In the vineyards of the Giorgio Cecchetto Estate, for nineteen years now the Raboso harvest has been special and involves people with Down syndrome thanks to the collaboration with the Italian Association of Down Syndrome People (AIPD) – Marca Trevigiana section.
Next Friday 13 October, the perfect ripening of the grapes evidently wins over superstition (in Italy Friday 13th is considered a day of bad luck), the AIPD guys and girls will carry out the harvesting of the Raboso and the subsequent manual pressing using the ancient manual press in the cellar.
Their involvement, however, does not end here, because in the spring of 2024 they will return to the cellar to bottle the 1,500 bottles obtained from their harvest and label them with hand-drawn and signed labels.
AIPD people are therefore involved in the entire process from the vineyard to the bottle, carried out only with manual operations that use their skills. It is no coincidence that the Cecchetto winery’s Raboso project is part of the broader social autonomy project carried out by AIPD.
Raboso del Piave and social sustainability are two founding elements of the identity of the Giorgio Cecchetto Estate.
The objective of enhancing and making known this wine historically considered difficult, “angry”, has in fact been what has guided Giorgio Cecchetto since the 1990s, when he took over the helm of the family business.
Part of this vision is his participation as a founding member of the Confraternita del Raboso del Piave in 1986 and even the adoption of the rabosopiave.com domain as the company website.
A vision that led to the grape being declined into four different wines, demonstrating the versatility of Raboso: “Rosa Bruna”, a classic method rosé brut sparkling wine, “Gelsaia” with partial use of dried grapes, “Raboso Cecchetto” with long aging and “RP”, raboso passito.
Equally important is the commitment to 360° sustainability, i.e. to the territory in which the company lives and produces.
In 2017, two certifications were obtained: S.Q.N.P.I. (National Integrated Production Quality System) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, and V.I.V.A. (The Sustainability of Vitiviniculture in Italy) released by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
From 2020, the energy used in production processes comes only from renewable sources, thanks also to the use of photovoltaic systems installed in the winery
In 2022 the company presented its first Sustainability Report, drawn up using the international reference standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
In 2023 it adopted the legal form of a Benefit Company, including the commitments and objectives of economic, environmental and social sustainability within the corporate purpose of its statute, which thus become a founding part of the company.
The appointment is therefore at Vinitaly 2024 at the stand of the Veneto Region, where AIPD and the Cecchetto family will present the fruit of their work together.
