Irresistible PIWI: vines that defy climate, market, and challenges
Not substitutes, but supplements. These are PIWI varieties, from the German pilzwiderstandf ähig, (literally: "fungus-resistant vines"), varieties created a couple of centuries ago from multiple crosses (one of the best-known examples is probably the strawberry grape, a cross between Vitis labrusca and Vitis vinifera), and which have been brought back into the spotlight in these challenging times,
The "Irresistibile Piwi" fair, the first festival and market for these varieties, recently took place at the Verona fair. Around fifty producers were present, mostly from Veneto and Trentino, but also some from abroad (Germany, Spain, Canton Ticino, France, and Slovakia).
The program of technical conferences was packed, demonstrating that the event's goal was not just to promote the product to consumers, but also to foster mutual understanding among colleagues and provide updates on the state of the art of this viticulture.
"Although PIWI has been talked about around the world for a couple of centuries now, we're actually still in our infancy," confirms Luca De Palma, an Italian winemaker working in the Canton of Ticino, who, along with his agronomist colleague Igor Bonvento, organized the two-day fair. "Modern PIWI viticulture is recent; the first experiments date back 10-15 years, if you exclude the pioneers who now have 30-40 years of experience behind them. The companies currently on the market are those that planted resistant grape varieties when it was still essentially prohibited, or those permitted were very few. Therefore, the bottles of PIWI wine on the market today are those of varieties permitted 10 years ago, while the wines from the new generation of grape varieties—which are equally interesting, because they are more closely tied to Italian terroirs—we'll be looking at shortly."
To date, there are over 200 Italian producers of PIWI grape varieties, 50 of whom were present at "Irresistibile PIWI." Furthermore, many of these producers are members of PIWI Italia, the national branch of the larger PIWI International, founded last December and officially presented at this year's Vinitaly. The president of PIWI Italia is renowned researcher Marco Stefanini from the San Michele all'Adige Institute. "He is the head of the vine genetics and breeding department at the San Michele Institute, and has also been working with these grape varieties for years. He was the most knowledgeable person there is," says De Palma. "We are delighted that he has agreed to lead PIWI Italia, because this association aims to be a home for all the producers who have chosen to work with these grapes."
Let's talk about producers in general. They're all more or less concerned about climate change, but could PIWIs be a solution?
"Yes," De Palma confirms, "but it won't be a replacement for existing varieties, but rather an integration. We must never view viticulture as a static sector. If the context changes, it's only right that the other parameters of what we call terroir should also change. And the grape variety is one of these parameters. Improvement or supplementary grape varieties have always existed: when the situation required it, production regulations opened up blends with other varieties capable of compensating for the characteristics that traditional varieties lacked or were losing. PIWIs serve the same purpose: they can open up new territories because they are suited to colder climates, or higher altitudes, or even harsh environments, which are therefore difficult to work. But they can also complement existing territories."
PIWIs are especially renowned for their disease resistance, making them ideal for organic growers. It's no coincidence that many of the wineries present at this event are organic...
"Resistance is just one of their advantages," the consultant explains. "Because among the PIWIs, there are varieties that, in addition to being resistant, are also late-ripening, and one that, perhaps, will provide the little bit of pyrazines needed to make a certain blend. These are supplementary grape varieties, as we said, to be used alongside other varieties. But they could also produce great wines when, in a second phase of study and experimentation, the synthesis is achieved. Today, it's nice to see everyone planting a little bit of everything," he concludes. "In the future, we'll discover that even among the PIWIs, there are grape varieties better suited to some areas, and others to different territories." As has always been the case.
