PIWI International
PIWI International is an international working group for the promotion of fungus-resistant grape varieties .
The aim and purpose of the working group is to exchange scientific and practical knowledge in the field of fungus-resistant grape varieties at national and international level and to provide suggestions. Above all, practitioners working with these varieties are to be supported and promoted and new ones gained. The working group was founded in Switzerland in 2000 and is an information network for fungus-resistant grape varieties and all the people involved. PIWI International has over 350 members from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Canada and the USA.
The development of fungus-resistant varieties is important for organic viticulture . Around half of the vintners in Germany consider the cultivation of these grape varieties to be sensible. Since the 1960s, for example, the red wine varieties Regent and Cabernet Cortis and the white wine variety Johanniter have been specially bred for resistance to fungi. These varieties have been in productive viticulture for a long time. The main distribution area of the Regent is in Germany and in 2012 comprised around 2% of the German vineyard area
In the 2000s, fungus-resistant grape varieties found greater acceptance in practice, some of them only on a trial basis. In 2011, in Rhineland-Palatinate , grapes were produced on a total of 1768 hectares (= 2.8 percent of the area under vines) using such varieties. There is a need on the part of the winemakers to obtain information about these grape varieties. This includes descriptions of their properties, instructions for optimal winemaking, tastings, discussion of marketing issues and information for consumers.
Members of the working group can be any person, institution or company who is active in viticulture, research, consulting and teaching. Anyone can become a sponsoring member. The board consists of five members who come from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Hungary.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fungal-resistant grape varieties as an alternative to plant protection? Survey by the Agricultural Market Research Institute Kleffmann Group among 600 German winegrowers, published May 6, 2014; accessed June 15, 2014
- ↑ 2,047 ha / Federal Statistical Office, as of July 31, 2012
- ↑ Regent Forum
- ↑ Fungal-resistant grapevines