Avignonesi

A love for Tuscany and wine brought owner and winemaker Virginie Savery to Montepulciano where she purchased 20% of Avignonesi in 2007, completing the entire winery’s purchase in 2009. Spending two years in Bordeaux, this wine consumer learned winemaking. Being a detail-oriented attorney who brokered deals for her well-known Belgian shipping family, she brought a skillset and a vision of eliminating herbicides and pesticides from all phases of production to her new business.

Savery’s goal was to marry consumer education, organic and biodynamic agriculture, and sustainable distribution systems. She provides English lessons to her workers’ children to enhance employability as adults. Avignonesi uses naturally-occurring yeast in their vegan wines, earning the Benefit-Corp Certification in 2022 for their efforts of being stewards of the land, mitigating impact, and being socially and environmentally responsible.

The creation of a poly-culture, a mixed planting of grape vines and native plants to attract pollinators and beneficial animals, is testament to her commitment to “Working every day to become a good ancestor, nourishing the land and people, creating a better world for those to come.” The Robert Parker Green Emblem was awarded to Avignonesi in 2022 for their sustainability efforts.

Whether diversity affects wine flavor and evaluating native grapes as hedges against climate change and weather unpredictability are studies currently being conducted. Of the 432 acres planted, 247 are Sangiovese, divided into small 3.7-acre plots which are vinified and harvested separately in order to appreciate the true character of each.