As part of the Tinazzi (R)Evolution project, our company has decided to initiate a truly innovative experiment in its vineyards by planting our first PIWI vines specifically in these first days of spring.
The word PIWI may scare the most inexperienced, but it is actually the acronym of the German word “PilzWiderstandsfähige” which indicates innovative vineyards resistant to fungal diseases.
In more technical words, vines resistant to fungi originally come from the cross-breeding of Vitis Vinifera with other species belonging to the Vitis genus to obtain vineyards that boast great organoleptic qualities as well as resistance to these pathogens.
Initially grown in northern Europe and, more precisely, in Germany around the year 1800 to counter the spreading of phylloxera, they arrived in Italy only towards the end of the 1990s and found their home in the Trentino, Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto and Lombardy regions.
It is important to stress that these vineyards were not obtained by genetic manipulation, so they are not GMO, but rather thanks to cross-breeding and selections of plants predisposed to face the future challenges caused by climate change and the onset of fungal diseases.
The resistance obtained thanks to this cross-breeding will enable us to zero and limit treatments, lowering the environmental impact of the system and considerably reducing management costs. PIWI vineyards are in fact sustainable from both an agronomic and economic point of view.
We have planted around 6,000 rootings of Souvignier Gris in our vineyards in Tenuta Valleselle in Bardolino (VR) and Cascina Montelupo in Soana (VR).
Now it will take a few years of growth and study to obtain our first PIWI Vineyards and we cannot wait to see the results!