Cycling is often a team game, and today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia, Ponte di Legno-Lavarone, comes to a place where the saying ‘there’s safety in numbers’ has been put into practice.
In the province of Trento, 4,000 farming families have joined to create the Consorzio Melinda and grow the only apple in Italy with the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) mark.
Apple growing: an ancient tradition
For centuries, the economy of the Val di Non relied almost exclusively on the cultivation of mulberry trees (the food source for silkworms), which were essential to the textile industry, and on viticulture. The latter was abandoned for good after the Great War, while several factors contributed to the decline of mulberry cultivation, not least an epidemic that struck the silkworms in the early 20th century. In any case, as early as the mid-19th century, the systematic cultivation of a variety of apples that remain juicy and healthy even in winter, without the use of preservatives, began in Trentino.
Consorzio Melinda is founded
Over the years, as irrigation techniques improved, dozens of apple growers consortia sprang up in Val di Non and Val di Sole.
In 1989, the growers, to be more competitive, decided to merge into one large consortium under the single brand Melinda to evoke a healthy, clean apple. They adopted a detailed code of ethics with principles that inspire the Consortium’s culture and conduct, and also signed a protocol for integrated production. They invest in environmentally friendly packaging and advertising. They invest in environmentally friendly packaging and advertising.
Storage in underground cells
The consortium uses only renewable energy sources and generates 11% of its own energy requirements. Melinda has chosen to store its precious fruit in underground chambers to reduce emissions from cold storage. These are underground caves formed at a depth of 300 metres by the mining activities of the San Romedio Mine, and today they are an enormous natural refrigerator.
Today, Melinda counts 4000 members, is based in Cles (TN), and is one of the largest producers in Trentino. It is the leader in Italy, producing 400,000 tonnes of apples per year and selling throughout Europe.
Discover the other Trentino companies that make Made in Italy products known worldwide.