Vineyards, “no to the indiscriminate use of explants”. To reiterate it Unione Italiana Vini - Uiv

At least officially, in Italy, no one has asked for it to rebalance the supply and production, compared to the demand for wine, as we have reported here. However, the issue of vineyard harvesting has now taken centre stage in the debate on wine policy. And to return to the subject, reiterating a clear “no to the indiscriminate use of vines”, is the Unione Italiana Vini – Uiv, led by Lamberto Frescobaldi, meeting today in the National Council at the Crealis Group’s plant in Bodio Lomnago (Varese). “Vine-growing brings life. Saving the vineyard means repopulating the areas: removing the vineyard means returning to abandonment, the interior areas of the country are a living example of this. We therefore ask that any plan to abandon vineyards can be considered provided that vineyards in hilly and mountain areas are excluded, as well as those which have already benefited from restructuring and conversion aid”, said Frescobaldi. He added: “the premiums for planting guaranteed by Europe some fifteen years ago, in addition to having cost 3 billion euros and having provided only a temporary response to the problem of overproduction, have favoured a gradual shift of vines to the plains, which in a little more than 20 years has gone from 30% to 50% of the total vine-growing in Italy”.
The trade association, which represents more than 150,000 wine growers, according to the position shared by the Council, is opposed to using the Pns funds to finance any new subsidies for abandonment of vineyards and, in any case, asks that the issue be considered only after the competent ministry has drawn up a specific plan. The National Council, which began yesterday with a dinner in the presence, among others, of the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, and which today concluded its work with the greeting message from the Minister of Economy and Finance, Giancarlo Giorgetti , then took stock of the current affairs of the sector, from the Com promotion to alcohol-free products and the theme of wine and health, starting from the discussion in Brussels on the introduction of new health warnings in Belgium, up to the activities of Wine in Moderation (Wim) for the promotion of conscious wine consumption.