It is also harvest time between the Cannonau, Monica and Nuragus rows and at the “Duca degli Abruzzi” Agricultural Institute of Elmas . On the plain between the airport and the SS 131, the young people of the fifth and "sixth" classes are engaged in cutting the grapes under the careful guidance of the headmaster Maria Antonietta Atzori and the head of the institute, Salvatore Pulisci , who supervises to the care and breeding of the school's 5 hectares of vineyards. And if this year's production promises to be good throughout the island both in quality and quantity, in the Cellar of the Agricultural Institute the focus is on quality: "It is a didactic choice - Maria Antonietta Atzori explains to L'Unione Sarda. - because we are interested in training winemakers who know how to produce quality wines ".
"In recent decades the importance of the quality of wine grapes has been understood - explains Ettore Crobu , professor of Agricultural Sciences -, with quality it is possible to enhance the productions and also the territory, just think of the areas of Tuscany where Brunello di Montalcino is produced ”, and in Sardinia with Cannonau and Vermentino.
"The way the vines are trained, with a view to a quality production, is that of the spurred cordon for the reds and the guyot for the whites", explains Pulisci. The harvest therefore promises to be of excellent quality with a production of about 50 quintals per hectare and a forecast of about 15 thousand liters of product that will fill the bottles of the three DOC labels and the three IGPs owned by the Institute : "The first they are Semelia, Su Masu and Roseum - explains Maria Antonietta Atzori - while as regards the Doc our labels are Kastigu, Kirma and Moscato, all for sale, like the other products of the farm, in our company shop ".
An excellent production is therefore announced also for the favorable climatic conditions: "This summer characterized by torrid heat was providential - says Pulisci, the head of the company - because it has preserved the native trees from attacks by parasites and fungi such as powdery mildew and botrytis, except for a few rare cases in Chardonnay saplings, which in any case is not a typical grape variety of the island ”. After cutting, the grapes are placed in crates and taken to the cellar where the crusher-destemmer is used, which first separates the stalks and then crushes them. The must then in stainless steel tanks and fermented in vats at a controlled temperature of about 18 degrees for the whites for about 15 days while the reds at about 26 degrees for about a week.
Wine is also a job opportunity : “The institute offers students the opportunity to specialize with the frequency of the sixth year to obtain the qualification of wine technician - explains the head teacher -. This year we have 14 students of the sixth class who will achieve the title - concludes Maria Antonietta Atzori -, and they are highly sought after by the social and private wineries, always looking for specialized personnel ". All the young people trained last year were immediately hired "as a testimony to how valid this educational path is".
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Studenti e insegnanti tra i filari dell'azienda agricola dell'Istituto "Duca degli Abruzzi"
