The so-called “vencs”

Until twenty years ago, willow plants were a valuable resource for agriculture: the “vencs” (in Friulian dialect) were made from their branches and were used as natural ties to fasten vine shoots to iron wires.

Even today, walking among the fields, they can be spotted along the waterways, silent witnesses of an ancient knowledge, slowly supplanted by progress and cheaper solutions.

Yet the growing attention to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices could bring “vencs” back into use, returning viticulture to a more authentic connection with the land and the traditions that made it great.