Enhancing minor cultivars in a context of climate change

The session "Broadening and improving varietal biodiversity in the "Colli Piacentini" wine district"  of the ENOFORUM 2019 congress was dedicated to the presentation of the progress and results of the first 2 years of the ValorinVitis project. The Catholic University of Piacenza presented its work on the enhancement of the vine varieties of the territory. Dr. Tommaso Frioni explained the potential of some of our varieties such as Melara and Santa Maria, and how the cultivation at higher altitudes of the varieties sensitive to summer heat as the Ortrugo can lead to more balanced wines, better suited to the demand of the current market.

As part of Action 2 of the three-year innovation project ValorInVitis (measure 16.1 of RDP 2014-2020 Emilia-Romagna), it was possible to intensify experimental activities at the vineyard-collection planted in 2003 at the winery 'Mossi 1558'. The evaluation of more than 30 grape varieties in the collection takes into consideration both the phenological and the vegetative-productive performance of the genotypes, and the quality and oenological aptitude of the grapes evaluated also in relation to absolutely innovative analytical techniques.