Ungrafted vines: protection also goes through Unesco recognition

An international project that aims to obtain Unesco recognition for ungrafted vines, i.e. those vines growing with their own roots, without grafts on American vines. An ambitious initiative that combines history, traditions, biodiversity, and wine valorization proposing to certify and make the uniqueness of this heritage be known at a global level. It is the aim of a meeting that occurred in the last days in Naples, the first one in Italy which united wine producers, researchers, wine experts, and sommeliers coming from different countries, including France, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Argentina, and, obviously, different Italian regions, such as Sardinia, Valle d’Aosta, Trentino, Lazio, Basilicata, and Campania. The event was organized by Comitato Italiano per la Tutela del Piede Franco (Italian Committee for the Protection of Ungrafted Vines), headed by Silvano Ceolin, and coordinated by vicepresident Adele Munaretto, in collaboration with French Association Francs de Pied, headed by Loïs Pasquet.
“Sardinia – as highlighted by  Mariano Murru, president Assoenologi Sardegna, and delegate of Comitato per la Tutela del Piede Franco - is among the most important regions, both in Italy, and in Europe, with a vineyard area estimated at over 430 hectares. Among the most representative territories, are Sant’Antioco Island, Sulcis, and the zone of Badesi”. “These vines, cultivated on sandy, volcanic, or at high altitudes, have been capable of resisting phylloxera, the insect, which, in the second half of the 1800s devastated most European vineyards. Sardinia is carrying out an important work of census of ungrafted vines thanks to Laore Sardegna, the Regional Agency for the realization of programs in agricultural field, and for rural development, and to Università di Sassari, which will supply a detailed map of these precious vineyards, confirming Sardinia among the first regions in Italy to have carried out this precious work”, added Murru.
“Unesco recognition can bring to great benefits to producers, communities, environment, and landscape”, concludes Erica Verona, representative of “Comunità Carignano a piede franco” on Sant’Antioco.