Future wines are the way forward
Future wines are wines made from modern grape varieties that allow viticulture without the use of huge amounts of pesticides that pollute our future nature.
"Future wines" - or in German: "Zukunft Weine" is a movement started in 2021 by some young German winegrowers on the initiative of Eva Volmer and Hanneke Schönhals, who want to focus on the use of sustainable grape varieties. Both to make the wine industry more environmentally conscious and to make consumers aware that there is a sustainable alternative to conventional viticulture.
The very big problem is that although viticulture only constitutes a very small part (1-3%) of the total agricultural area in the large wine countries, they account for the largest share of the total fungicide consumption (approx. 65%) to resist mildew and other fungal diseases in the vineyards.
The solution is found in the form of the fungus-resistant grapes that the German research centers have been working on during the last 80-90 years.
But because the old wine regions with different grand cru classifications and the like have described which grapes you can/must use in each wine region, the new grape varieties have been kept outside the "fine company", and they are called negatively charged designations such as clones or hybrids – and are therefore not considered 'real' grapes. The official designation "pilzwiederstandsfähige rebsorten" - or PIWI for short - doesn't sound very sexy either.
The group wants to change that by inventing a better name that can better penetrate and create awareness of the matter. It became "Zukunft Weine". An effective logo that draws attention to the bottle labels.
The logo of the movement
The purpose of the movement
The goal is to get as many wine growers as possible to switch to PIWI grapes, - and to teach consumers some new grape names and to understand that this does not mean a step back in the taste experience of the wine - but an expansion of the taste palette.
Skilled wine connoisseurs can taste the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir - or Chardonnay and Riesling - because they are different grape varieties that taste slightly different. That's what makes being a wine lover fun. Therefore, it is also okay that the new PIWI varieties taste a little different from the old, well-known grapes. - Because they are different grape varieties.
Now there are just a few more varieties to get to know. And they can also make fantastic wine - at the same time that it is a sustainable alternative that consumers can safely buy with a green conscience.
In a short time, the movement has grown to more than 60 winegrowers, mainly in Germany, and the message combined with the effective marketing has won several awards.
The benefits of growing PIWI grapes
Sustainable agriculture is big policy
In February 2024, the EU had to give up implementing a SUR reform package ("Sustainable Use of Pesticides"), which was supposed to reduce pesticide consumption by half by 2030. The protests became too violent.
The reform package is a follow-up to "The Green Deal" adopted by the EU in June 2023. Right now, it does not seem realistic to reach the goal of reducing pesticide consumption.
But that does not change the fact that the problems must be solved. So if the EU cannot solve it "top-down", then we must start working "bottom-up".
The solutions exist, and then we must show the way in cooperation with consumers, who must demand the sustainable products.
If consumption changes, then the producers must follow suit.
The movement is getting more attention
PIWI has become one of the central topics at the world's largest wine fair ProWein 2024 in Düsseldorf.
It is a big step for a wine grower to change his production to new grape varieties - and it takes several years. But that's why it's important to get started.
If you increase the proportion of PIWI grapes to 25% of the total cultivated vineyard area, the consumption of pesticides is reduced almost correspondingly by 25%. It is one of the few ways in which agricultural pollution can be effectively reduced.
The Danish wine growers are ready for the future
Almost all the grapes grown in Denmark are PIWI grapes, as none of the classic grapes can ripen in our latitudes. There are some growers who experiment with closely related clones of the classic grapes – such as früh-burgundy, but it is a minority in very favorable locations, and here you have to be ready to move out with the field sprayer to keep fungal attacks down.
Not all PIWIs can ripen in Denmark, but the selection of usable varieties – both green and blue – will hopefully soon become larger with the help of the breeding program FastGrapes works with at Vrangbækgaard. See the page "Development of new varieties for 'cold climate'.
We develop future grape varieties with resistance genes against fungal diseases, and therefore naturally support "Zukunfts Weine" and the movement's work towards a more sustainable future for viticulture. We have just translated the title and with the group's permission made a Danish version of the logo. 😊
The Danish wine growers struggle with the same consumer prejudices as our German colleagues.
We must teach consumers that the classic grape varieties are NOT the only right thing, and there is no reason to use diesel oil and emit CO2 to transport wine bottles from the other side of the world. When you can get wonderful wine that is grown sustainably – and produced locally!
Read more about Zukunft Weine here: https://www.zukunftsweine.de/ Or theirs Youtube channel.