the harmful consequences of growing prosecco

Is the spritz, an aperitif loved all over the world, a threat to our environment? Its main ingredient, prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine, worries. Produced on the hills of Veneto (Italy), its production has jumped by 75% in twenty years, moving from artisanal cultivation to an industrial production method, with regular use of pesticides.

Exploitation has become intensive

The prosecco vines now occupy all the space, getting closer and closer to the houses. A man’s house is located below an intensive farm. “When they spray, you have to close the windows for 48 hours”, says Fabio Magro, resident. He decided to film these treatments, which take place in the spring and at the end of the summer, to show the hidden face of this globally successful wine. The inhabitants of Follina (Italy) demonstrate every year in the streets of the town to denounce the ecological problems linked to prosecco such as soil erosion and the disappearance of biodiversity.