The PIWI-CH association
Executive Board
- Roland Lenz, President info@weingut-lenz.ch
- Bea Steinemann, Vice President, Board Member PIWI International bea.steinemann@fibl.org
- Bruno and Philippe Bosshart, PIWI Weinzeit info@bosshartweine.ch
- Thomas Zimmermann, communication, website, media thomaszimmermann1991@hotmail.com
- Nora Breitschmid, Events nora.breitschmid@sitenrain.ch
- Daniel Rediger, actuary and minutes daniel.rediger@gmx.ch
- Remo Räz, finance and secretariat info@piwi-ch.ch
Become a Member
In our brochure you will find information about our association. To register, please fill out and sign the membership application/bultin d'adhésion info@piwi-ch.ch to send.
agenda
- Mon 28 Aug 2023 Swiss Wine Tasting, Kunsthaus Zürich – PIWI Atelier with PIWI winemaker
- Fri, October 06, 2023 Gala des vins suisses (Grand Prix du Vin Suisse), Kursaal Bern
- Tue, December 05, 2023 Practitioner Day PIWI-CH
- Thu/Fri, 11./12. January 2024 Wädenswil Wine Days. Focus on Piwi grape varieties, including the Best of Souvignier gris wine competition
- Tue-Thu January 23 – 25, 2024 Agrovina, Martigny
- Fri, February 02, 2024 Culinary theme: Wine & Dine in the Zunfthaus zur Waag, Zurich
- Fri, February 23, 2024 General Assembly PIWI CH
- Fri, August 23, 2024 Vineyard tour/wine journey
Events on the topic of PIWI
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Free webinars on the nutritional table & e-labels with Holger Kiefer and Winestro
DATES: Thursday September 7th, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Thursday November 9th, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m
The introduction of the e-label is getting closer and closer: We are therefore offering free webinars on the topic for everyone in the wine industry. On these dates, I will explain to you exactly from the point of view of a lawyer specializing in wine law what there is to consider about nutritional declarations and e-labels, and the Winestro.Cloud team will present the most important points on how you can deal with the topic for you in the coming year can solve the problem technically in a relaxed manner.
PIWI WINZER STAMMTISCH always on the last Monday of the month!
The desire to have an opportunity for informal exchange with fellow winegrowers has already been expressed several times. There should now be a digital winemaker regulars’ table for this. We cordially invite you, themselves on the last Monday of every monthats at 6:00 p.m. for an exchange in the virtual room. The regulars' table will organized alternately by different national groupsto shed light on the diverse facets of our association.
The first digital regulars’ table will take place on Monday 28 August 2023 at 6 p.m in German, followed by the second on September 25th in English and planned on October 30th in Italian.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86879712269?pwd=ZG4vSUtMR2Q2SC9ZbEMyb09PVW1kdz09
Meeting ID 868 7971 2269
Registration is not required.
The other regulars’ table dates as well as all dates on the subject of PIWI can be found in our Calendar on website.
Interest in PIWIs is also increasing in Austria
Contribution and source Olivier Geissbühler DELINAT
On June 22, 2023 took place in Krems, Austria German-language PIWI symposium instead of. It was organized and carried out by the «Winzer Krems» cooperative and «PIWI Austria» in cooperation with PIWI International. International scientists, vine growers and winemakers spoke about their experiences and the importance of new varieties for the future of viticulture. Here are a few insights that became (again) clear to me that day.
Straight to the video
https://youtu.be/5nCBWSC6wWI

Spotlight on PIWI varieties by Edy Geiger
Since 2021, when many winegrowers were only able to keep fungal diseases under control with great difficulty, interest in PIWI vines has risen sharply. Especially because of the prospect of financial aid for new plants. PIWI pioneer Edy Geiger presents what he sees as the most promising varieties.
Source: Swiss magazine Obst + Wein April 2023
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
First Worldwide Online PIWI SUMMIT
The Green Deal, the CRISPR-Cas technique and the resistance gene in the spotlight: Are we excited or not?
As PIWI representative in Spain, I was delighted to attend this first summit.
I took part with the aim of training myself, because resistant varieties are a new world that is opening up to us and I am convinced that it will represent the viticulture of the future.
I am happy to see this development:
- how the idea of crossing Vitis species with each other to make vines more resistant came about,
- in which countries these new varieties spread the most
- knowing that each new PIWI grape variety requires more than thirty years of research.
Climate change and the Green Deal are so topical and omnipresent that we now have to rethink and take the bull by the horns.
Although Spain's wine legislation does not yet provide for the cultivation of resistant varieties for commercial purposes, it is clear that this must change immediately.
PIWI International is represented and active throughout Europe and the response to these “NEW WINES” is spectacular, especially for their quality and sustainability; a must with regard to environmental protection and health.
With regard to the Green Deal, I was captivated by the lecture by Dr. Wolfgang Häussler, PIWI winemaker and EU advisor.
The F2F strategy (Farm to Fork) and the strategy to promote biodiversity for sustainable food production envisage a reduction in the use of pesticides by 50 % by 2030.
In order to achieve these goals, the following measures are required in the wine sector, among others:
- provide for the use of products and techniques to minimize toxicological and ecological risks,
- to keep the soil organically active and to promote biodiversity
- start the transition from growing traditional grape varieties to growing resistant varieties.
Opinions are divided on one topic: the CRISPR-CAS9 technique, which the EU considers suitable for speeding up the breeding of resistant varieties.
Some organic winegrowers do not find this “natural”, while the proponents consider it acceptable because no genetic modification per se takes place, but only the improvement of the resistant properties is worked out, which otherwise takes years of breeding.
I will not go into any more detail as all the presentations explaining these issues can be found in the members area of the PIWI International website.
The role of PIWI International in terms of communication and lobbying was explained in further presentations: With almost 1000 members in 30 countries, PIWI International is one of the largest international winegrowers' associations.
In order to strengthen the lobbying character of the association and to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between winegrowers, researchers and politicians in the wine sector, a comprehensive internal and external communication strategy has already been initiated.
Another incredible talk was given by Vitalie Popa, the Moldovan inventor of barrels that allow the winemaking and aging process to be completely free of preservatives and additives.
And last but not least, the lecture by Remo Räz from the biodynamic winery LENZ in Switzerland, who reported on their experiences with 12 PIWI red wine varieties and went into vinification and marketing of these PIWIs.
This case clearly showed us that PIWI brings about a drastic reduction in pesticide treatments, eliminates the need for copper and greatly reduces fuel consumption compared to traditional varieties.
The world is changing and it is time to act and bring nature back into our lives.
Together we can do anything.
We therefore invite you to actively participate in our community by sharing information and contributing your knowledge or experience.
Click here for the podcast with Wolfgang Häußler and Diego Weber (German)
Become a member: https://piwi-international.org/der-verein/mitglied-werden/
Karin Lundberg – PIWI Spain in January 2023
PS: Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that the PIWI SUMMIT will take place quarterly. So make a note of the next date in your agenda: April 17, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
PIWI is developing into a quality mark - PIWI Wine Challenge 2022
High level at the PIWI International Wine Challenge 2022
Gone are the days when PIWI vines were grown primarily for environmental reasons. There are now many very good wines made from PIWI varieties, as well as numerous internationally committed winegrowers who can draw on a lot of experience with PIWIs both in viticulture and in winemaking and who bottle the best wines, which the PIWI International Wine Challenge 2022 has fully confirmed . Two thirds of the wines received SILVER or GOLD, even TOP GOLD. The high quality was generally confirmed by the visitors at the subsequent public tasting, for which all the wines were presented according to the blind evaluation. The PIWI mark, which PIWI members are allowed to put on the labels of their wines, can be considered something of a quality mark. And so PIWI wines bring environmental protection and enjoying good wines together and can be considered an important future of wine.
Divico wines blended with Pinot noir - good quality and intense colour
Divico, Agroscope's new disease-resistant grape variety, is valued for the quality of the wines made from it. Assemblage trials with the Pinot noir variety have shown that Divico is suitable for correcting color intensity.
With an area of almost 3900 ha in 2020, Pinot noir is the most commonly cultivated variety in Switzerland. It is widespread in all wine-growing regions north of the Alps. The good reputation is based on the fine and typical bouquet of its wines, which is characterized by fruity notes and a good structure as well as very delicate and velvety tannins. Visually, the color intensity is sometimes judged to be a bit weak. Dyer grapes such as Dakapo and Dunkelfelder are therefore cultivated in Switzerland, and their wines are used in low-percentage blends to improve the color of Pinot noir. With the first red grape variety developed by Agroscope and approved in 2013, which is resistant to downy mildew and powdery mildew as well as gray mold, another variety is available that is suitable for this purpose.
How, please, does VB Cal 1-28 taste? (Article Hotelrevue)
On February 10th, an article by Mischa Stünzi was published in the Hotelrevue. In it he refers to the difficult wine year 2021 in Switzerland and why PIWIs are still having a hard time in gastronomy.
Also an interview with Valentin Blattner (in French)
Mischa Stünzi is the editor of Hotelrevue – www.htr.ch.
AGROVINA press report
Agrovina 2022 - the balance sheet is mixed
After the leading Swiss trade fair for fruit and wine growing, which takes place every two years, was postponed from January to April due to the corona virus, a drop in visitors and exhibitors had to be expected. Now the fair took place from April 5th to 7th. We look back.
Agrovina in Martigny (VS) opened its doors for the 14th time. According to the organizers, around 12,500 visitors visited the 150 exhibitors at this year's Agrovina. If you look at the numbers, you have to speak of a significant decline: minus 4500 visitors, around 70 fewer exhibitor companies than in 2020. However, this trend was expected in advance, as after the announcement of the postponement, some well-known companies suspended their participation and April for many wine and fruit producers are already busy again. Nevertheless, it was a welcome opportunity for the companies involved to overcome the two-year corona lethargy and get back in physical contact with customers. As several operators unanimously believe, this was necessary in view of the uncertain price development in many areas.
Source: Obst- und Weinbau - Die Rote - Switzerland