Ca’ Rugate winery, located in Verona, has become in 2019 a certified “Educational Farm”, providing several activities to families and especially children, building an informative pattern that brings awareness on sustainability, biodiversity and the inextricable bond between culture, local traditions and the historical heritage.
The owner of the winery, Michele Tessari, reports that they managed to bring hundreds of young students to their winery, letting them to discover the art of winemaking.
As he reported: “We have multiple educational routes, which naturally include our Enomuseum, however, the highlights are the entomological showcases where bees, useful and harmful insects in viticulture are placed, so that children can see and recognise them. We want to make them understand what they are used for, how one insect can defend the vine from another harmful one, and then discuss sustainability and the environment with them. We want to explain children biodiversity and its value for the land and for their own future.”
There are two main educational offers that Ca’ Rugate proposes:
- Enomuseum and sensorial patterns
The first one involves the Enomuseum and different sensorial patterns, which takes off directly from the museum itself, which testifies the agricultural and winemaking activities of the Tessari’s family, from the very beginning to the modern technologies implied. Here, families and children can discover the journey that leads grapes to become the well-known Ca’ Rugate’s wines. After the visit, there is a guided wine tasting experience of three selected wines following the five senses, aiming at educating adults in the true olfactory memorisation. This experience is addressed to assorted groups of people, families, secondary schools, universities and companies, in order to make them more responsible consumers.
- Winemaker: present and past in comparison
With the second proposal people can get in touch by one of longest-lived activities in human history, that of the winemaker. Guests can see the various stages of grape processing up to the transformation into wine, and understand how they take place today and how they took place in the latest century.
During the visit of the Enomuseum there is an in-depth look at the concepts of organic farming, with the support of an educational entomological display case containing the useful insects normally found in vineyards, sharing with children the knowledge about this functional insects, their characteristics, explaining in simple words the concept of sustainability and the value for their future and the land they live on. This particular proposal is mainly aimed at students, starting from Nursery schools, to Primary and Secondary schools. The main goal is to rediscover ancient traditions, raising awareness and knowledge, respect and protection of the environment, the rhythm of nature and sustainable development.
Ca’ Rugate winery often participates in initiatives promoted by the Veneto region, such as the latest “Open grape harvest in the cellar”, dedicated to families and children. During this particular day, several activities were organized, including a visit to the vineyard, crushing grapes with the feet and hand-crafting the label to be affixed on the bottle.
Especially for the young visitors, the day has been enriched by the presence of a “bee corner”, where children could learn more about beekeeping and taste the winery’s honey, and the entomological showcase corner, where children could discover which insects are useful in organic farming and how to preserve them.
On 20 January 2023, Ca’ Rugate also obtained recognition as a Social Farm. This is the first winery in the Veneto Region to be registered as a Social Farm.
For the Tessari family’s company, this is the crowning achievement of a long journey of growth that began in 2019 when it became an Educational Farm.
This milestone represents the continuation of a virtuous and inclusive path, whose primary objective is to donate time, energy and care to guests with different emotionalities.
Creating and dedicating playful, creative and educational moments in contact with nature to children and adolescents, especially those who need it most, helps them breathe a better present and future.
For this purpose, workshop days are organised on nature themes, declined according to the various age groups and the passing of the seasons, as well as courses focusing on psychomotricity, emotions and relational skills, also contributing to the training of parents.
Photos Credits: Ca’ Rugate
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