2026-08-05
Cantina Rauscedo, the cooperative winery based in Rauscedo in the province of Pordenone, marked its 75th anniversary on Saturday with a public celebration that mixed ceremony with a clear business message: the producer is using the milestone to present a new phase centered on investment, sustainability and a stronger international profile.
The event, held at the winery’s headquarters in northeastern Italy, brought together grower-members, employees, local officials and guests. It also opened a wider anniversary program that the cooperative says will continue through 2026, a notable choice for a winery founded in 1951 and now trying to link its history to a broader repositioning effort.
At the center of the evening was the presentation of Cantina Rauscedo’s first Sustainability Report, a document that President Antonio Zuliani described as part of an effort to make the value created by the cooperative more measurable and more transparent for members and the local area. In his remarks, Zuliani said the winery’s renewal plan is built around quality and supported by new hires, technical upgrades and continued training for growers.
He said the cooperative has strengthened its production structure by adding new professionals alongside long-serving staff and has invested in modernizing both winery operations and grape handling. The goal, he said, is to improve processes continuously and help members express the identity of the territory more clearly through their fruit and finished wines.
The anniversary comes at a moment of management change. General Manager Flavio Geretto, who was appointed only a few months ago, used the occasion to outline the winery’s development strategy for the coming years. His remarks focused on balancing continuity with change: preserving the cooperative’s roots while updating its image, hospitality spaces and market positioning.
Geretto said the renovation of the headquarters is the first visible step in a broader effort to redefine how Cantina Rauscedo presents itself. The winery wants to strengthen its identity as a recognizable Friulian brand that can travel more effectively in export markets, he said, while keeping its connection to the local community and grower base.
That message matters for a cooperative of Cantina Rauscedo’s scale. The winery brings together more than 300 wine-growing families and works across roughly 2,000 hectares in the Friulian Grave, the alluvial plain between the Tagliamento, Meduna and Cellina rivers. The area is known for its stony soils and for wines that have long formed part of Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s reputation, especially whites. Cantina Rauscedo also produces Prosecco and operates in both domestic and foreign markets.
The cooperative used the anniversary to underline that scale while also stressing the pressure facing medium and large wine businesses in a changing market. Geretto said the winery is operating in an industry where competition increasingly comes from larger players and where standing still is not an option. In that context, he framed cooperation not simply as a historic model, but as a practical way to create value across the supply chain.
The evening also served as a product showcase. Geretto unveiled two commemorative magnums made for the 75th anniversary, one Refosco and one Sauvignon, each carrying a special label created for the occasion. The varieties were chosen for their connection to Friuli’s wine heritage, with Refosco representing one of the region’s best-known red grapes and Sauvignon reflecting the white wine tradition that has helped define Friulian production.
Institutional support was a visible part of the celebration, reflecting the winery’s place in the regional wine economy. Guests were shown a video greeting from Francesco Lollobrigida, Italy’s minister of agriculture, food sovereignty and forestry. A message from Massimiliano Fedriga, president of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, was also delivered during the evening. Other contributions came from Alessandro Ciriani, a member of the European Parliament, and Stefano Zannier, the regional official responsible for agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Michele Leon, the mayor of San Giorgio della Richinvelda, offered greetings from the local community that has hosted the cooperative for decades.
The presence of public officials was not only ceremonial. It reflected a broader theme running through the event: the idea that wine remains a vehicle for local identity, economic development and cultural promotion. That point was tied directly to Pordenone’s designation as Italian Capital of Culture for 2027, which the winery sees as an opportunity to place its territory and wines before a wider audience.
Geretto said the cooperative is preparing for that moment and believes wine can act as one of the most direct ambassadors for the area. For a winery in Friuli, where the relationship between landscape, agriculture and regional identity is often central to branding, the link to a culture-focused year in nearby Pordenone offers a concrete platform for hospitality and visibility.
The anniversary program included more than speeches. Guests watched a video retracing the winery’s history from its founding in 1951 to the present day. A new artwork was also unveiled in the presence of the artist Giorgio Celiberti, who explained its connection to the cooperative’s history and territory. Employees gathered for a commemorative photograph, and visitors were invited on a guided tour of the winery to see the production spaces and winemaking process firsthand.
The social side of the evening was designed to reinforce the cooperative’s community character. After the formal program, the winery hosted a buffet, and guests stayed for music and cocktails late into the night. While that part of the celebration was festive, the official messaging remained focused on long-term issues: how to modernize the business, how to communicate sustainability more clearly, and how to keep members aligned during a period of change.
Those questions are not unique to Cantina Rauscedo. Across Italy, cooperatives face growing pressure to invest in technology, improve hospitality, strengthen brands and respond to shifting consumer demand at home and abroad. For wineries with large membership bases, any change in direction requires buy-in not only from management, but also from growers who supply the fruit and depend on the cooperative’s market performance.
By choosing its 75th anniversary to release a first sustainability report and present a new image strategy, Cantina Rauscedo appears to be signaling that it wants to be judged not only on production volume and history, but also on governance, transparency and its ability to compete in a more demanding market. The anniversary, in that sense, was less a retrospective than a stage-managed pivot toward the next cycle of investment.
The winery said the celebration on Aug. 1 was the first in a series of events tied to the anniversary year. The next is scheduled for Oct. 7, when Cantina Rauscedo plans to host a conference focused on the future of the wine industry, bringing members, institutions and the local community back together as the cooperative continues its effort to redefine its role in Friuli and beyond.