OIV, a “Centenary Cuvèe” to celebrate 100 years of the foundation, in the sign of Pasteur

100 years is not a few years to celebrate, especially for a body such as the OIV - International Organization of Vine and Wine, which, over the years, has been and is fundamental to the development and dissemination of wine culture and market, thanks to the development of internationally shared solutions in the analysis and production of wine itself. And now, among the many activities that its president, Professor Luigi Moio, is putting in place to celebrate the century of life that occurs in 2024 (the founding of the OIV dates back to November 1924), the “Centenary Cuvèe” is also born, which is also linked to one of the names that have most marked the history of scientific research related to wine, such as Louis Pasteur, a chemist and microbiologist born 1822 in Dole, France, and considered the “father” of modern enology. After discovering in the Oiv cellar some bottles of wine from the Vigne de l’Oiv, donated to Arbois 30 years ago, in 1994, by Mr. Henri Maire, President Moio wanted to combine these geographical and historical elements and create a cuvée of the same terroir, based on the 2022 vintage, the year of the bicentennial of Pasteur’s birth, who, precisely in Arbois, conducted his first oenological experiments. A tribute to Pasteur, to the OIV and to Pinot Noir, a grape variety that Professor Luigi Moio knows very well, thanks in part to research he conducted 30 years ago at the Laboratoire de Recherches sur les Aromes of Inra and at the Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin de l'Université de Bourgogne in Dijon.
A wine project, the one conceived by President Moio, that immediately garnered the enthusiasm of Jean-François Curie and family, current owners of Domaine Maire et Fils, who made available to Luigi Moio several parcellar selections of Pinot Noir from Arbois from the 2022 vintage. After three tasting sessions in September 2022, March and June 2023, the Oiv president worked closely with winemaker Jacques Hauller, director of Domaine Maire et Fils, to select a cuvée from 30-year-old vines planted on clay-limestone soils. At the final sensory evaluation session on June 22, the final cuvée was identified at the winery as “H29”, since the 29th is the day the Oiv was founded in November 1924.
A special bottle, which, without a doubt, will be the official and most appropriate toast to 100 years of an Organization that is fundamental to the future of the wine world.