Resistant grape varieties: toward 100% sustainable agriculture
Pilzwiderstandfähig, PIWI: easier than that!
PIWIs are fungal disease-resistant vines, the result of constant human research and selection, in place for several decades, of crosses between vitis vinifera (wine) and American vine varieties (resistant to fungal diseases), which are allowed for all purposes for the production of quality wines. The advantage of these vines is the minimal number of treatments (from 2/4 annually) carried out and the resulting environmental impact for their cultivation.
The winery project
Still in the experimental stage, our PIWI project started during 2017 representing, to date, the research and development aspect that is yielding excellent satisfaction in the vineyards.
Initially, we approached the Piwi world with two distinct approaches: on the one hand, the creation of a vineyard in which many PIWI varieties allowed in the Veneto specification were planted, and on the other with the monovarietal planting of individual PIWI vines selected after extensive research to identify which vine was best suited to the terroir of the Piave area. As a result, 15,200 new rootstocks were planted in just over 4 hectares in early 2017.
At the beginning of our journey, the productions, although still limited, were particularly interesting and promising both from an agronomic and enological point of view.
Bronner, Sauvignier Gris, Johanniter, Prior proved to be the most promising varieties with which we decided to compose our Piwi wines from resistant vines.
"For these projects we decided to observe both grape varieties created by the University of Udine and those produced abroad, especially in Freiburg. This was in order to better understand which grape varieties were best expressed in the Veneto region and, more specifically, in the Treviso area.Thechoice to include also grape varieties created outside in our experimentation, lies in the fact that many grape varieties with a name half-unknown in Italy, such as the Bronner from Freiburg, boasted well-known parents such as Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Merzling and Saperavi, all varieties capable of surprising for their organoleptic characteristics and of giving life to exciting wines," explains Settimo Pizzolato.
Over the past five years, it has been shown that the average treatment in such varieties ranges from 50 percent to 90 percent less.
To date, the production of Piwi wines, is also consolidated by the experiences gained in previous years. The number of hectares dedicated to the cultivation of Piwi wines has increased to 16, and the resulting wines are 5 in total:
- "Hoopa", sparkling with the bottom coming from Johanniter grapes.
- "Huakai", a still white from Bronner grapes
- "Kontiki", still red from Merlot Khorus, Cabernet Cortis and Prior.
- "Hurrah'", sparkling rosé with the bottom coming from Prior grapes.
- Novello Piwi, still red wine made by carbonic maceration from Merlot Khorus and Cabernet Cortis grapes.
The variety, on the other hand, that is being experimented with and not yet destined for a final product is Souvignier Gris. During 2021, the winery produced from this grape variety both wines to be destined for a sparkling wine base and to produce a still white Piwi wine.
In the first case, the grapes were harvested slightly in advance of the ripening time in such a way
as to have organoleptic characteristics appropriate to the final objective: high acidity, low sugar content. The wines obtained were sparkling both with the Martinotti (Charmat) method, using selected yeasts and a sparkling method entirely the same as that for other sparkling wines produced on the farm, and with the Champenoise method. In this case, the proof is during bottle aging.
