PIWI Wines: vines that resist, wines that look to the future. When climate change meets agricultural innovation and respect for the land.

Viticulture has always been a delicate balance between nature, human labor, and culture. But in recent decades, this balance has been increasingly challenged by extreme environmental conditions: more aggressive fungal diseases, drought, late frosts, rising costs, and the urgency of sustainable production.

It is in this context that PIWI wines were born: a concrete, intelligent, and profoundly contemporary response to the challenge of producing wine while respecting the land.

What are PIWI grape varieties?

The term PIWI comes from the German pilzwiderstandsfähig , meaning fungus-resistant.

We are talking about grape varieties obtained from natural crosses between Vitis vinifera (the classic European vine) and American or Asian varieties resistant to the main fungal diseases such as downy mildew and powdery mildew.

Please note: these are not GMOs or artificial vines. These are varieties created using traditional agronomic techniques, now refined through decades of research, especially in countries like Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France.

Why PIWIs are important today

PIWI grape varieties allow for a drastic reduction in the number of chemical treatments in the vineyard, in some cases up to 70–80% less than conventional viticulture.

This means:

• Less environmental impact (less soil and water pollution);
• Better health for those who work in the vineyard;
• Greater sustainability for companies

A more resilient future for quality agriculture

In an era when we are (rightly) talking about ecological transition, PIWIs represent one of the few concrete innovations already practicable, capable of combining technology and vision.

But are they good?

For years, PIWIs were viewed with suspicion, especially by the traditional wine world, which considered them inferior in terms of organoleptic quality. Today, however, this belief is increasingly outdated.

Many Italian and international producers are demonstrating that these grape varieties can also produce elegant, complex, and territorial wines, capable of telling stories and terroir.

It takes time, it takes research, but above all it requires a change of mentality: it's not about replacing traditional viticulture, but rather complementing it with new and contemporary solutions.

The vine that changes so as not to disappear

PIWIs aren't a fad, nor are they a one-size-fits-all solution. But they represent a concrete opportunity to address challenges we can no longer ignore. Changing the vine to save wine: it might seem paradoxical, but it's actually an act of love for the land, agricultural work, and the future of our communities.

Because producing well is no longer enough.

We need to produce well and correctly, with the awareness that every choice in the vineyard is also a cultural choice.