Which is the best Italian Piwi wine? It is Dolce Paola Igt Veneto 2022 by Da Pieri winery

The “Absolute Winner” is Dolce Paola Igt Veneto 2022, the Passito wine by Da Pieri winery in Cinto Caomaggiore (Venice), which also won as the best wine from grapes subject to drying. And, that is among the recognitions awarded in different categories: as the best white wine, Limine Bianco Igp Venezia Giulia 2023 by Terre di Ger winery in Pravisdomini (Pordenone) was selected, whilst in the category wines from white grapes subject to prolonged maceration, the first place is for LO Spur Igt 2023 by Schmid Oberrautner in Bolzano; Cigno Nero 2023 by Parco del Venda winery of Vò (Padua) is the best red wine, and Beefour by Azienda Agricola Ceste in Govone (Cuneo) wins sparkling wine category. For the best Metodo Charmat sparkling wine, the prize goes to vegan Spumante Dolce Resiliens Bio by Le Carline winery in Pramaggiore (Venice), whilst the best Metodo Classico sparkling wine is Rosato Dosaggio Zero 36 Mesi 2020 by Società Agricola Martignago in Maser (Treviso). In the category of European wines, however, the mentions are five: None 2023 by Azienda Agricola Bianchi di Arogno (Lugano, Switzerland), Il Murchì 2022 by Fattoria Moncucchetto in Lugano (Switzerland), Alma 2023 by Azienda Agricola Bianchi di Arogno (Lugano, Switzerland), Iris bianco della Svizzera Italiana Igt 2023 by Azienda Mondò in Sementina (Bellinzona, Switzerland), and Over The Rainbow 2023 by Stairs n’ Roses in the wine region of Mosel (Germany). These are the winners of the edition No. 4 of “Piwi Wine National Review” organized by Edmund Mach Foundation (Fem) in San Michele all’Adige, with 148 participating labels by 90 companies from all over Italy tasted by 30 commissioners, and with 15 students attending the wine-technical course as support. And, that, it is increasingly more consolidated in the panorama of wine meetings, such that, starting from the next edition, the fair will open to wineries abroad.
The Review, promoted with Consorzio Innovazione Vite, and Piwi International Italia Association, aims to promote the knowledge of these new varieties throughout a debate about wines produced with at least 95% of grapes coming from Piwi varieties (PilzWiderstandsfähig): i.e. selected vines and famous for having natural traits of resistance to the main fungal illnesses, requiring, therefore, a reduced number of phytosanitary interventions. Even if, at a European level, these varieties are allowed in the different Pdos, in different Italian regions, their cultivation has not been authorized yet, even to produce Igt or generic wine. The National Register of Wine Varieties includes 36 Piwi varieties all over Italy covering a cultivated surface of several thousands of hectares. The widest is located in Veneto, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
With this Review, Fem intends to valorize also the activity of research, and experimentation about respectful varieties. A strategy that brought to sign in the National Register up four new selections, also thanks to the collaboration of Consorzio Civit: Termantis, Nermantis, Charvir, and Valnosia. The history of genetic improvement in Fem has a long time period: the activity of genetic selection aimed at the resistance, by creating an intersection plan, began in 1987. Today, 35,000-40,000 seeds are produced every year divided in about 100 intersection combinations. The mixing allows to select genotypes with different resistance characters towards the various illnesses (for example powdery mildew, downy mildew, and grape black rot). To make the selection phase even more effective, selection techniques with markers of resistance characters to fungal illnesses are implemented. In addition to this aim, Fem boasts an intense intersection activity also among pyramidal parents, and the most cultivated varieties of Vitis vinifera in national areas, including Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Verdicchio, and Schiava. “This interest towards Piwi wines is part of the mission of our institution - said president Fem Mirco Maria Franco Cattani - Edmund Mach Foundation is a sort of ice breaker, initiator, as our statute foresees. We have the task to interpret the ferments arising from the primary sector: we are the interpreters of an ever-changing evolution”.