Germany

Do you know that? You talk your mouth frayed and in the end people do what they have always done: namely buy what they know. The willingness to try something new, let alone find it good, is ... let's say diplomatically, a rare commodity.

No, of course there are no THE people! If we ask consumer researchers, we get 1000 conditions for when which target group buys what and why at what price. The bottom line, however, is: supposedly “new” is and has always been there, but must always be at least 80 percent the same and therefore known in order to be accepted.

So your wine may differ from what your customers know about you by a maximum of 20 percent from year to year? Yes, this deviation can be precisely quantified and measured. Food and product designers pay meticulous attention to the fact that customers don't notice a deviation of less than 20 percent; especially not if it can be done slowly. But if the deviation is more than 20 percent, it becomes noticeable. And immediately the product is viewed with skepticism and no longer bought.

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Press release from the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI), Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants No. 1/2021

The new breed from the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) is resistant to powdery mildew, downy mildew and black rot.

(Siebeldingen) Every wine consumer in Germany knows wines made from classic grape varieties such as Riesling and Pinot Noir. Wines from new varieties that can defend themselves against harmful pathogens, such as the fungus-resistant Piwis, however, are still waiting to be discovered. The Felicia variety, the lucky one, joins this growing segment of the PiWi avant-garde in Germany. Wines of this white grape variety have been available from the Julius Kühn Institute in the wine shop of the Institute for Vine Breeding at Geilweilerhof for several years. The variety has had plant variety protection since 2004. At the end of 2020 it received its approval from the Bundessortenamt. This means that it is approved for quality wine production in most wine-growing regions, and experimental cultivation is no longer necessary. Even under the new wine law, the gates are open for a prosperous development. After Calardis Blanc in spring 2020, Felicia is the second fungus-resistant, so-called PiWi variety from the JKI, which was approved in 2020.

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The country needs new vines - PIWI Deutschland e. V. founded

This autumn, a lot has become quieter among German winemakers: fewer broom taverns, fewer vineyard festivals and only small wine tastings. But pausing and focusing on the essentials also had its good points: After the grape harvest, the time was ripe - ripe for taking a step towards greater presence of the new mushroom-resistant grape varieties (= PIWIS). Because this pandemic has brought sustainability and regionality more into the public eye. The topic has long been present in agriculture and on the shelves of shops - in viticulture the topic of sustainability is still in the shadows, too few consumers are familiar with the new PIWI grape varieties, which with up to 80 % less crop protection, whether organic or conventional, get along.

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