In the Castelli Romani region – known for its white wine – the Vatican has decided to launch its own red wine. Its vineyard, planted in autumn 2024, covers two hectares of the hilly terrain of the Borgo Laudato si'.
This brand new center has been designed to become a laboratory for integral ecology. It’s located in the gardens of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo (35 hectares of gardens and 20 hectares of agricultural land). In this village of Lazio, located on the heights of Lake Albano, where the Vatican has owned land since the 17th century, 8,000 vines are now slowly growing. The first harvest is estimated for 2027, which will mark the advent of the “Laudato si'” vintage.
Sustainability
The Vatican's dry red wine will be characterized by sustainable agriculture, explains Cardinal Fabio Baggio, director of Borgo Laudato si', to Aleteia.
“Environmental sustainability” and “circular and generative economy” are the watchwords of this project, which is aligned with the principles contained in Pope Francis' famous environmental encyclical Laudato si’, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
The vineyard was created by international experts coordinated by the University of Udine in Friuli. It was designed to be resistant to pests and diseases, thus limiting the use of pesticides. All production goes through “a short supply chain system, well below the traditional zero kilometer,” Cardinal Baggio emphasizes.
The annual production of Laudato si' wine could reach 15,000 liters, but this is only a rough estimate. “All winegrowers know that there are good and bad vintages,” says the Italian cardinal. In addition, the climate crisis and its complex consequences make forecasts difficult.
Contrary to what one might think, the Vatican's vintage will not be used for liturgical purposes. It will be “mainly intended to be shared with visitors to the Borgo Laudato Si',” Cardinal Baggio assures us.
For wine lovers, bottles will also be available for purchase on the market, at a price yet to be determined. Laudato si' wine will be part of a wider range of local Vatican products, such as oil (the first extractions of which were made last December), honey, vegetables, aromatic herbs, dairy products, and cheese.
The first bottle in the hands of the pope
While the fruits of the vine are still to come, Pope Francis received a “prototype” bottle of Borgo Laudato si' red wine last September. Did he taste it? “I hope so,” says Italian oenologist Roberto Zironi, one of the project coordinators.
The prototype was approved by the eight members of the “de Fructu Vineae” Commission, which was set up to develop this project two years ago. These wine experts, including Italians, a German, a Briton, and French plant genetics researcher Laurent Torregrosa, blended different grape varieties to create the Laudato si' vineyard.
“It’s very exciting to have been called upon by the Laudato si' Higher Educational Center,” said Roberto Zironi, a renowned professor at the University of Udine. He tells us that his university was selected by the Vatican because it is “at the forefront of global research” on resistant plants.
A workforce of people in difficulty
In addition, the Udine facility also specializes in training Italian winemakers. This expertise is of interest to Borgo Laudato si', as one of the center's projects is to train people who are in difficult circumstances how to work in agricultural professions.
The Laudato si' wine will be the result of collaboration between “wine experts, skilled workers from the papal villas, and people in vulnerable situations, who are being offered a concrete opportunity for social inclusion through training in viticulture and winemaking,” said Cardinal Fabio Baggio.
In his speech to those involved in the Borgo Laudato si' last September, Pope Francis expressed his delight that “both culture and agricultural production — and vineyards in particular — require a significant workforce.”
According to experts, the labor required for two hectares of vineyards represents “about 450 to 500 hours” of work per year, says the director of the ecological center.
This focus on helping people in need by offering them this path of social inclusion in an environmentally responsible project is expected to continue under Pope Leo XIV. Upon his election, the Laudato Si’ Higher Education Center expressed on its website its “profound joy,” appreciating his “wealth of experience and steadfast commitment to promoting social justice and standing close to the poor.”
It also “reaffirms its commitment to walk alongside the Holy Father, contributing to the mission of caring for creation and serving a wounded humanity.”
