Geology and Wine: Landscapes in a bottle (remembering Lucilia Gregori)

The socio-economic scenario of a region is closely linked to the geomorphologic arrangement of the land. By integrating geology and land use, it is possible to study the relationship between landscape and wine areas. The production of wine is one of the most important component in the Italian culture as well as in the economy. At the same time, it is an expression of the territory: in this way it becomes a "medium" to communicate the landscape and to promote the sustainable development. In this context, the conferences on "Landscapes of Wine"created and organized by Lucilia Gregori, Professor of Geomorphology at the University of Perugia, dead in January 2012, have been for many years an opportunity for a significant and permanent dialogue between the experts (academics, producers, consumers) offering proposals for knowledge and qualified enjoyment of the best iIalian wines. One of the most important Lucilia's projects was the realization of "geological labels" on the wine bottle, describing the landscape of the production area by a geo-morphologic point of view. We are trying to continue these projects, following an integrated methodological approach, GIS based. The Geographical Information Systems represent new tools and new ways of dialogue, aimed at an easier access to the information in a scientific and cultural way, using simple communication codes. GIS technologies can synthesize, manage and represent large amounts of data, giving the researchers as well as the public, a complete information about wine, landscapes and territory. A further and interesting opportunity is the identification of those wine-producing areas characterized by environmental and cultural value such special to be considered as geosites. A multidisciplinary methodology allows a complete knowledge of territory, useful in territorial planning policies oriented to a sustainable development, and contributes significantly to a better understanding of the culture of Italian wines.