Column: Vino da Papa

Karin Leeuwenhoek is a theologian, vinologist and communications scholar. She has ninety Italian olive trees, but mostly loves wine - and philosophising about it. See also her wine blog vinoblogie.co.uk. She writes a column in every issue of WINELIFE Magazine.

At the time of writing, Pope Francis is in hospital with pneumonia. Normally he can appreciate a glass of wine, such as that from his Italian father's native region, near Asti in Piedmont. In fact, his country, Vatican City, has one of the highest per capita wine consumption rates in the entire world. And that's not counting all the mass wine. That has everything to do with its inhabitants: mostly highly educated adult men without children, who often eat together. The perfect recipe for a hearty wine intake. From 2026, the Vatican will also start selling its own wine produced on a small scale. A great story is that.

In spring 2021, Francis had two hectares of vines planted at the papal country house in Castel Gandolfo, just below Rome. Roughly three hefty football fields. Mostly cabernet sauvignon, but also a variety of other grape varieties. The project called Laudato Sì is a spin-off of the encyclical of the same name written by the Pope on the importance of caring for the earth and the environment. Borgo Laudato Sì is a large estate and training centre, a kind of ecological village with 35 hectares of gardens and 20 hectares dedicated to agriculture, including hothouses, school and conference buildings and thus vineyards. The idea is that here the principles from the encyclical are put into practice. To show that it can be done. Borgo Laudato Sì should become a place where man and nature work together in harmony. A place where everyone of good will is welcome to learn about biodiversity and where integral ecology, a circular economy and environmental sustainability become a reality. A piece of agricultural heaven on earth.