The nineteenth and twentieth centuries Giovanni Lanza was an important member of the Agricultural Association of Turin, of which he was also secretary for a period. The Association, founded in 1842, represented the most innovative and progressive part of the Piedmontese nobility and bourgeoisie. Lanza collaborated for a long time with the «Gazzetta of the Agricultural Association», writing numerous articles, particularly on viticulture and wine production. In issue 20 of the magazine, published in 1846, Lanza described the situation of Piedmontese viticulture, stating that wine is one of the most important agricultural products of the region and that the vine is cultivated on about one-tenth of the agricultural surface of the Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia. Lanza identified the areas most suited to viticulture, such as the Asti area, Monferrato, Alessandria area, Tortona area, Valenza area and Voghera area, without forgetting Alba, Mondovì, Pinerolo, Aosta and Canavese. Furthermore, he denounced the lack of precise statistical data on wine production and emphasized how the peasants of the time did not possess sufficient oenological knowledge to produce quality wines with long conservation. Due to these difficulties, Piedmontese wines could not be transported over long distances without losing quality, limiting their commercialization to local markets. This problem became even more urgent in 1846, when Austria imposed customs barriers on Lombardy, hindering the export of Piedmontese wine.