Luigi Moio: “the wine of the future needs science, knowledge and a multidisciplinary approach”

Studying and sharing knowledge, even more so than today, with an increasingly multidisciplinary approach to better respond to complex issues, so that wine - which is a vector of culture, just as drinking it is a cultural act - in the future, will be of increasingly higher quality, despite the increasingly sensitive impact of climate change and its effects, to have viticulture that is increasingly targeted and functional to what it is intended to produce, and so that what ends up in the goblet is a reflection of the territory, in an increasingly punctual manner. This is where the future of world wine lies, according to Luigi Moio, president of the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine), as he explained in the speech that, in Dijon, opened OIV Congress No. 45 (staged from yesterday to October 18), as part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the “UN of Wine” (1924-2024).
Professor Moio, who, in his speech, traced the history of the Organization and stressed the fundamental value of this body for the scientific growth of the sector, but also for its cultural preservation, looking to the future, stressed that “the Congress is, for me, the beating heart of international scientific cooperation. This is the ground of research and knowledge that fuel OIV activities. It brings together, every year, between 500 and 700 researchers and practitioners of vine and wine from five different continents. This year the theme, chosen by France, “la vigne et le vin: un patrimoine innovant face aux défis du siècle” (“the vineyard and wine: an innovative heritage in the face of the challenges of the century”, in Italian), seemed very relevant and topical. This sums up, in a nutshell, all the modern challenges related to the world of grapevine and wine. Reading through the scientific program, I trust in the ability of researchers to advance knowledge and find solutions: for example, I was impressed by the large number of communications about the genetic heritage of grape varieties and about identifying new varieties that are more resistant to disease and drought. In the program, I also found many innovations aimed at better environmental performance and improving vine resilience as a factor in adapting to climate change”.
An issue, that of climate change, which is inescapable, tangible even in the vineyard, and which must be addressed by also looking at innovation, and with a multidisciplinary approach, Professor Moio stresses, in order to continue to produce high quality wines. “The wine of the future”, explains the OIV president, “will need more and more knowledge, and viticulture will have to be functional to the wine to be made, because wine will have to be more and more a reflection of its territory. Despite climate change, we must continue to produce high quality wines, as much in historic production areas as in new ones. The vineyard and the wine will have to continue to be what we know, even in a future strongly influenced by the challenges that we have, now, well in mind: climate change, sustainable development, protection of the environment, biodiversity, and consumer demands for transparency, safety and wholesomeness. However, the increasing complexity of these problems makes a scientific approach complicated, with the risk of a slowdown in the process of knowledge growth especially if, as in the past, it is carried out by a single researcher locked up in his laboratory, rather than by a team. A few years ago, a single researcher had the ability to solve some technical problems in both vineyard and wine studies. But today, because of the complexity of the challenges we face, it is necessary to have collaborations between multiple research organizations with different specializations. In practice, it is necessary to have a greater number of researchers working toward the same goal. All this assumes, of course, a rapid transfer of information, an increasing circulation of knowledge and ideas, and an increasing number of human relationships. This is why, in my opinion, the OIV is a world scientific reference in the wine sector: it promotes scientific debate among researchers from the different member countries (now 50, representing 75% of the world’s vineyard, 87% of production, and 71% of wine consumption globally, ed.), which will be even more crucial in the future, in the second century of its life, for the progress of vine and wine. For me, it is not possible to think of a future without wine because wine is a vector of culture and drinking it is a cultural act. But, above all, it is not possible to think about wine without the OIV. I am sure that in the future this historical and prestigious institution”, Moio concluded, “which with its monumental headquarters in Dijon will further strengthen its image and universality, will be increasingly indispensable and vital for the world wine industry because of its diplomatic character and scientific independence”.