La Guardiense

Region: Campania

The farming co-operative La Guardiense, which is one of the biggest in Italy, was founded in 1960 by 33 farsighted and courageous farmers. Today it counts around 1,000 farmer members. They are direct winegrowers cultivating their own respective grapes on around 1,500 hectares of vineyards situated mainly on hilly soils at an average height of 350 metres and with a yearly grape production of about 200,000 quintals.

Great attention is paid to the environmental sustainability which is adopted at each stage of the transformation process using renewable energy produced by its own innovative photovoltaic system.

The Co-operative uses one of the most important systems for the production of its sparkling wine in all southern Italy.

But there is more to the winery than a list of numbers. It has been led by only three different presidents over the last 50 years, although it has been very successful in adapting to the new era and to the many market changes that have occurred over this time, thus becoming a symbol of the technological progress for the entire province of the Sannio region combining as it does experience and modernity.

The winery is situated in the Santa Lucia area of Guardia Sanframondi in the very heart of the southern Italian province of Benevento. Geographically this is part of Campania, but to understand the real identity of this land you have to fully appreciate the particular historical background of the area. This is the homeland of the ancient Samnite people, and is a land of undulating hills and plains which even has its own particular micro-climate that protects it from the excesses of heat and cold.

In fact it is well protected both by the Matese mountain chain that separates it from the Molise region, and by the Taburno massif that cuts it off from the coast.

The inhabitants of Guardia are proud to share the Samnite’s proverbial tenacity. They have successfully combined individual and collective efforts and have achieved extraordinary results of which La Guardiense, with its 50 year history, is one example.

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