Short supply chains and the cultivation of fungus-resistant grape varieties
Robert Finger, Lucca Zachmann, Chloe McCallum*
The grapevine is economically and culturally central to Swiss agriculture, but it is also the crop with the greatest use of pesticides. By using fungus-resistant grape varieties, the use of pesticides could be significantly reduced while maintaining the same quantity and quality of production. However, these varieties have only rarely been used to date. Using survey data from 775 Swiss vine producers (from now on 'producers'), we examine factors that influence the use of fungus-resistant varieties and analyze in particular the importance of marketing channels and the role of short supply chains. 20.1 % of respondents grow fungus-resistant varieties, but the acreage is only 1.2 %. Our results lead to a simple conclusion: the closer producers are to the end consumer, the more likely it is that fungus-resistant varieties will be used. For example, producers who mainly sell their wine through direct marketing are significantly more likely (8-38 %) to use fungus-resistant varieties.
Short supply chains and the adoption of fungus-resistant grapevine varieties
Robert Finger | Lucca Zachmann | Chloe McCallum
Agricultural Economics and PolicyGroup, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Correspondence:
Robert Finger, Agricultural Economicsand Policy Group, ETH Zürich,Sonnegggstrasse 33, Zürich 8092,Switzerland.Email:rofinger@ethz.ch
Funding information:
Swiss National Science Foundation,Grant/Award Number: 193762; FederalOffice for Agriculture
Editor in charge: Mindy Mallory
.Senior authorship is shared among allthree co-authors.
Abstract: Using fungus-resistant grapevine varieties can reducepesticide use substantially, while maintaining productionquantity and quality. Using survey data from 775 pro-ducers in Switzerland, we investigate the adoption offungus-resistant varieties and especially analyze the rele-vance of marketing channels and short supply chains.We find that 20.1% of respondents use fungus-resistantvarieties but the acreage is only 1.2%. Our results narrowdown to a simple conclusion: the less distant the pro-ducer is from the final consumer, the more likely theyuse fungus-resistant varieties. For example, producersselling their wine mainly via direct marketing have ahigher (8%–38%) uptake of fungus-resistant varieties.
Cooperation with wein.plus: Benefit as a member of PIWI-International!
There is a cooperation between PIWI International and wein.plus that aims to promote the association and its members on wein.plus. In this webinar, which lasts no more than 10 minutes, Utz Graafmann will show how you as a winery can benefit from this.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 6 p.m. (the webinar will be recorded)
Sell wine successfully with wein.plus for wineries
Find out how you, as a winery, can maximize your wine sales, find stockists across Europe and get support in the sales process. Learn methods to increase the visibility of your winery on wein.plus and increase your sales figures. Use wein.plus to bring additional visitors to your winery or to advertise events.
Language: German
Duration: 20 minutes
PIWI in Venice – the first edition a great success
Great success for the first edition of I VINI PIWI A VENEZIA on 03-12-2022. The event was attended by 18 producers from all over Italy. Great participation of the public, winemakers and journalists. The need for national cohesion is presented and everyone's needs are taken into account. We are shaping the future now, together.
The next events in 2023 will take place in Milan and Cortina!
We thank Renato Vettorato for the beautiful photos, Gianpaolo Baly Ballielo and others who contributed their photos to this album.
In praise of piwis
- Chris Boiling 2022-12-13
German winemaker Jürgen Amthor has successfully harvested his Cabernet Cortis – 95% healthy after only two sprays a year. We look at this and the potential of other leading disease-resistant grape varieties…
Jürgen Amthor, the owner of the first probiotic PIWI vineyard in Franconia, Germany, is happy about his harvest of the fungal-resistant red grape variety Cabernet Cortis. The grapes are 95% healthy. They have a very ripe and fruity aroma with a sugar content of 85°Oe (20.5 Brix) and balanced acidity.
Hybrids: Finding a Place
In a world apparently tiring of experts, there is at least one in the viticultural sphere that we should be grateful for. In 2020, research led by Andrew Walker, a geneticist and professor of viticulture and enology at UC Davis, led to the release of five new grape varieties. They have some advantages in common. Sarah Philips McCartan reports.
Reading time: 5m 45s
The great challenge of the resistant vines - success for the 2nd PIWI - wine competition in Italy
The second edition of the event on the theme of PIWI vines has come to an end
The great challenge of the resistant grape varieties, success for the 2nd PIWI wine competition in San Michele
Friday 02 December 2022
PRESS RELEASE
The second edition of the national tasting of PIWl wines organized by the Edmund Mach Foundation to promote “sustainable” grape varieties bred to be resistant (or rather tolerant) to the main vine diseases: powdery mildew and downy mildew , completed successfully.
Today, in the Aula Magna, in the presence of well-known international experts in the field of genetic research and sustainable viticulture, the award ceremony for the award-winning wineries took place. 44 Italian wineries took part in the event, which was supported by the Consortium for Wine Innovation and the association PIWI International. The 82 competition wines, divided into six categories (red, white, orange, sparkling, crémant, classic method), were judged on November 9th and 10th by a panel of 30 qualified experts, assisted by the students of the viticulture course .
Registration of the Dutch PDO 'De Voerendaalse Bergen'
Notice 2022/C 444/09 on the registration of the PDO "De Voerendaalse Bergen" in the Netherlands for the production of wine and quality sparkling wine was published in the Official Journal of the EU C 444 of 23.11.2022. Depending on the type of product, the minimum alcohol content is between 9.5 and 11.0 % vol. The maximum yield per hectare is set at 55-85 hectoliters, depending on the variety. There are 9 varieties in total, including 2 PIWI – Monarch and Solaris. The vine variety blue monarch has a maximum yield of 75 hl/ha, the white Solaris 55 hl/ha. The total area of the new PDO is approximately 900 hectares and is located in the outskirts of the city of Voerendaal.
Official Journal of the EU C 444 of November 23, 2022, Jiří Sedlo
PIWI International Meeting from November 11th to 13th, 2022 in Neustadt ad Weinstrasse – Germany
Author: Jiri Sedlo
Members of the "PIWI International" association from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands met in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse for the annual general meeting. Most of them are winemakers who grow (sometimes exclusively) PIWI grape varieties.
A board meeting of the organization was held on Friday morning, followed by a visit to Rebschule Freytag, which is one of the main suppliers of these resistant grape varieties, giving participants an insight into their work and interesting information about breeding and propagation (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Volker Freytag (left) at a presentation on his farm
Press release on the PIWI meeting in Neustadt aW Nov. 2022
Press release PIWI International
November 2022
Viticulture must respond to climate change
A large number of members of the "PIWI International" association from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands met last weekend in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse for the annual general meeting. Most of them are winegrowers who (sometimes even exclusively) grow new grape varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew and downy mildew, among other things. This means that treatment with pesticides can be significantly reduced, which is good for the environment and lowers the costs for the winemaker.
Big investment at Kullaberg – new winery for 100,000 bottles
While the harvest was still in progress, Scandinavia's most serious investment in wine production was inaugurated - a new winery at Kullabergs Vingård with a capacity for 100,000 bottles per year.
– Beverage is an important part of Skånes gastronomy, and it is important that we have people who dare to invest and work hard, said governor Anneli Hulthén, who cut the blue and yellow ribbon.
The building, planned since 2017 with construction starting exactly two years ago, resembles a typical quadrilateral local farm and, like everything else in the business, has an environmental focus.
– With a frame made of glulam and walls made of solid wood, we live up to our requirements for sustainability, said architect Paulina Berglund, also part of the owner couple behind Kullabergs Vingård.
SOUTH TYROL: FIELD LAB FOR FRUIT AND VINE GROWING OPENED
At the end of October, a digital outdoor laboratory for fruit growing and viticulture, also known by the abbreviation LIDO (Laimburg Integrated Digital Orchard), was inaugurated at the Laimburg research center (South Tyrol). The aim of the smart, innovative and sustainable outdoor laboratory is to promote innovation in the field of digitization and robotics in agriculture.
Since the end of October, the LIDO has been available to companies and research institutions to use, test and demonstrate to the public existing and new technologies under practical conditions. The goal: Digitization and robotics can support sustainable, knowledge-based production and the careful use of resources in order to equip agriculture for the challenges of the future. For this reason, the Laimburg Research Center has dedicated itself to the topic of "Digital Innovation and Smart Technologies" in one of its five main research areas until 2030. Numerous projects and activities related to digitization, big data, non-destructive quality determination, automation and modern breeding technologies contribute to the implementation of this focus. Against this background, the test center has set up two outdoor laboratories for fruit and wine growing. "We stand for smart and quality-oriented food production that is more efficient, economical and ecologically sustainable," explains Michael Oberhuber, Director of the Laimburg Research Center.
Source: SZOW – Swiss magazine for fruit and wine growing
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