Viticulture: climate change demands diverse change – noe.ORF.at

Traditional wines such as Grüner Veltliner and Riesling and Co. Increasingly struggling with the sweltering heat of summer and the growing fungal diseases in the vineyards, favored by climate change. Piwi wine is a fungus-resistant grape variety that resists many of these problems. Experts at the first international Piwi symposium in Krems agreed they could be part of the solution. “We produce varieties that are resistant to sunburn, ripen later and are disease resistant,” said Reinhard Töpfer, director of grape breeding in Germany.

Sustainable vines have also been grown and grown in Austria for several years. Almost two percent of the total vineyard area in Austria is actually planted with Piwi trees. And the possibilities are increasing, because climate change also calls for a diverse change, so the substance. 30 million grapevines have been planted in Europe in the past three years. This means that Piwi wine is part of the way we will grow wine in the future,” said Wolfgang Renner, President of Piwi Austria.

Less spray, healthier grapes

“Since we are convinced that Piwi wine is a sustainability strategy for the future, it is important that everyone involved sits down at the table to work on the problem together. And that is exactly what we have created at the Piwi Forum,” said Ludwig Holzer, Piwi Seminar Organizer and Managing Director of Winzer Krems.

Among other things, marketing strategies and savings measures that new varieties bring were discussed with them. Because of their disease resistance, the winemaker doesn’t have to spray the vines as often. Not only does this reduce the costs of the spray operator, but it also reduces CO2 emissions because the tractor has to make fewer trips. Politicians were also convinced: “The future of viticulture is to develop varieties so that grape growers can continue to produce healthy grapes with fewer pesticides,” says Johannes Schmockenschlager, president of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture.