A Catalan delegation made up of twelve oenologists, winegrowers, researchers from INCAVI and INNOVI, including INNOVI partner wineries such as Gramona, Vinyes Domènech and Roqueta Origen, visited several places in Switzerland last week to exchange knowledge and practices to adapt viticulture to climate change. The exchange has made it possible to hold meetings with Swiss representatives from different wine-growing regions of the country and with fellow researchers from the Changins High School of Viticulture and Oenology.
With these actions, the Government is making a determined commitment to promote exchanges and visits with international references to promote the exchange of knowledge and good experiences in the wine sector. The trip made this week is the result of the collaboration between INCAVI and the Department of Foreign Affairs and the European Union through the Government Delegation in Switzerland, with the collaboration of DIPLOCAT.
In the words of Gabriel Boichat, delegate of the Government in Switzerland, "the intervention of these three actors has made it possible to build a solid international project that combines both the knowledge that INCAVI has of the sector, of its needs and of the main actors, with the international experience, the knowledge of the host country and the identification of opportunities both of the Government Delegation in Switzerland and of DIPLOCAT".
For her part, Alba Balcells, general director of INCAVI, defends that "missions abroad allow us to learn from the best international references and are an essential space to place Catalan wine as a reference at an international level. But they are also a fundamental contribution from Catalonia and INCAVI to international viticulture as we share the knowledge and experience that exists in the country.”
Climate change and viticulture
The trip has combined work sessions focused on research projects and visits to emblematic Swiss wineries with the aim of working on the challenges posed by climate change for viticulture.
The debates focused on research and development projects on water and soil management in Catalonia and the Valais, the digitization of work in the field, hybrid varieties and drought-resistant rootstocks. The presentations also included a visit to different experimental plots on plant cover, where the Changins institute and the biological agriculture research institute (FiBL) are working to study different weeding formulas to find out their effects on the vineyard.
Also, INCAVI was able to present its studies in the field of controlling the water stress of the vineyard, cultural works for the retention of rainwater, the application of the plant cover in Mediterranean farming conditions , the resistant varieties in Catalonia and the drought-resistant rootstocks. A good part of the topics that focus on the 2030 Research Plan of the Catalan institution referring to vines and wine.
Visit to two leading wineries
The Catalan delegation was able to visit two Swiss wineries located in the canton of Valais to complete all the theoretical knowledge with a more practical aspect. The first, Marie-Thérèse Chappaz's Domaine Chappaz, is a small ecological mountain winery where the participants have seen the problems and solutions applied in the field by the winery in areas such as native varieties, plant covers and winemaking procedures.
In addition, with the visit to the Domaine du Mont d'Or winery, different experimental plots of vegetation were observed, where the Institute of Changins with the FiBL are working to study different weeding formulas to know their effects on the vine.
Among the most interesting points discussed by the Catalan delegation are the study network on plant covers (30 plots throughout Switzerland), the formulas for sown covers and the correlation with soil temperature, the use of alternative natural products to copper for the fight against powdery mildew and downy mildew, precision viticulture, irrigation automation and the current situation of disease-resistant hybrid varieties.
Strengthening the wine sector and future collaborations
The main result of this exchange of knowledge and good experiences of the Swiss and Catalan wine sector is the strengthening of the different actors in the face of climate change, a major challenge for their future. Hand in hand with the researchers' scientific research, the wine makers end the visit with different proposed solutions that can have a direct and positive impact on their productions.
In this sense, the entire Catalan delegation has valued the exchange of experiences and knowledge in a very positive way, especially for the various opportunities for future collaborations that have begun to emerge in fields such as: soil control and 'water and the mechanization of vineyards with a steep slope.
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