PIWI ITALIA IS ESTABLISHED TO PROMOTE GRAPE VARIETIES RESISTANT TO FUNGAL DISEASES

Press Release April 2023 – Source: Wineroots.it

The new Italian section of the association, which already has 16 sections worldwide, was founded at Vinitaly

On the occasion of Vinitaly, the Italian PIWI regional associations founded PIWI ITALIA, a working group for the promotion of products made from fungus-resistant grape varieties.

This working group, made up of producers of wines and grape varieties defined as resistant to fungal diseases in vines, as well as some representatives of Italian research dealing with the selection of these grape varieties, laid the foundations for the new organization PIWI Italia, the will be part of the international network of PIWI International.

The association was created with the aim of strengthening the activities of the regional groups of Alto Adige, Trentino, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy and Piedmont, and to spread the cultivation of varieties resistant to fungal diseases in other regions.
To spread fungal diseases of the vine to other regions and to support these applications with scientific information, viticultural techniques and in-depth analysis.
Scientific information, viticulture techniques and economic insights to show how these varieties can be taken into account to make viticulture more sustainable.
The governing body of this working group in Italy will be composed of two representatives from each region or autonomous province, to which all those interested in viticulture and oenology of the PIWI who want to be informed and interested in oenology of the PIWI varieties can turn are.
Today in Italy, 36 varieties are registered in the national register of grape varieties for wine, 18 red and 18 white varieties.
The regions that have authorized the cultivation of these varieties (in whole or in part) are Abruzzo, the province of Bolzano, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, the province of Trento and Veneto.

The number of companies marketing wines made from grapes of these varieties is 165, with the marketing of 290 wines and an estimated acreage of several thousand hectares. In 2022, almost 4 million vines were grafted from PIWI varieties in Italy.

PIWI International, based in Wädenswill (CH), is an international working group to promote fungus-resistant grape varieties. resistant grape varieties, which was founded in Switzerland in 1999 on the initiative of Pierre Basler. In June 2000, the abbreviation PIWI was used for the first time after the designation "International Working Group for the Promotion of Fungus-Resistant Vine Varieties Resistant to Fungi". Mathias Wolff founded "PIWI International". In October 2004, the word and figurative mark PIWI was registered in the trademark register and entered in 2015.

The goals of PIWI-International are:
● exchange scientific and practical knowledge in the field of fungus-resistant vines at national and international level and make proposals;
● Support and encouragement of professionals working with these varieties, with an information network, with conferences or regional working groups dealing mainly with the practice of viticulture, oenology with advice and research. Numerous fungus-resistant cultivars have been selected and entered into the registries National registries and some only on an experimental basis. There is a great need on the part of oenologists to obtain comprehensive information about these grape varieties. This includes detailed descriptions of their properties, guidance on optimal winemaking, tastings, discussion of marketing issues and consumer information.

Verona, April 3, 2023