Citizen science for promoting a disease-resistant grape variety through a wine competition

Abstract

The societal pressure to reduce the use of pesticides in Switzerland is steadily increasing. Viticulture is particularly in focus due to the frequent use of fungicides to combat downy and powdery mildew. Around 60% of all fungicides in Switzerland are used in viticulture. The most effective countermeasure is the cultivation of disease-resistant grape varieties (Piwis). Despite the many advantages of these varieties, they are only grown on 3.6% of the vineyard area in Switzerland. A significant reason for this lies in the still low acceptance of Piwi wines, more in the wine industry than among consumers. In this project, measures were implemented using the example of the Souvignier gris variety to convince stakeholders in the wine industry of the high quality potential and diversity of this variety. The goal was to develop best practice examples within the framework of a wine competition and to present the winning wines at selected events. Two workshops were held in preparation for the competition. The first workshop started in the field, where the producers shared their experiences of cultivation. Subsequently, trial variants and wines from practice were tasted and discussed. In the second workshop, the young wines were tasted. The aim of the exchange of experiences was to provide producers with further tips for optimizing their wines for the competition. The actual “Best of Souvignier gris” competition then took place in two stages. The first stage consisted of the nomination tasting, in which three wine experts evaluated the 23 submitted wines on a 100-point scale. Nine wines were nominated for the award tasting, which took place during the Wädenswil Wine Days. In the award tasting, the nominated wines were evaluated by a professional and a public jury. The professional jury consisted of eight professional and sensory-skilled representatives of the wine industry from the fields of production, trade, gastronomy, and journalism. The public jury was made up of 151 participants of the Conference. Remarkably, the evaluation showed how similarly the professional and public juries ranked, although the public jury’s ratings were much more varied. The results of the workshops and the nomination and award tastings were incorporated into a fact sheet. The nominated wines were presented at further events attended by representatives from gastronomy and wine trade. A repeat of this project with a red fungus-resistant grape variety is being planned.