Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

IRVO IN DIJON TO CELEBRATE SICILIAN WINE: FROM 14 TO 18 OCTOBER THE 45TH WORLD CONGRESS OF VINE AND WINE BETWEEN EXPERIMENTATION AND RESEARCH

Climate change and new experimental techniques at the heart of the participation of the Regional Institute of Wine and Oil of Sicily at the French congress

October 14 marked the start of the 45th World Congress of Vine and Wine which this year takes place in Dijon, capital of the historic region of Burgundy until October 18. Conferences, technical visits and themed evenings on the vine and wine, and above all dedicated to scientific meetings.

The participation of the fits into this contextRegional Institute of Wine and Oil of Sicily «We will be present – explains the director Lucio Monte – with two themes, one on the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts and one on late pruning of vines in Sicily. We are proud to participate in this event every year. The 2024 edition is particularly richer because it is also part of the celebrations for the centenary of the OIV. The first international government conference on wine was held in 1924».

The study of late pruning was supervised by the director of the IRVO Research Unit Antonio Sparacio and the oenologist of the experimental cellar of the IRVO of Marsala Salvatore Sparla. A work that starts from the consequences of the climate change, inevitably visible to everyone and even more so among industry professionals.

«The increase in temperatures – they explain – accelerates the ripening of the grapes which, taking place in a still warm period, leads to a rapid and excessive accumulation of sugars in the berry with low levels of acidity and color». This is where the experimentation of the late pruning of the vine, in particular for the Grillo and Frappato vines.

«Very encouraging results have been achieved in the first two years of experimentation, – he underlines I shoot – while in the following two years it caused a drastic reduction in plant fertility. Late winter pruning is therefore a cultivation technique useful in the short term, that is, only for two years, in order to promote the resilience of the vine in the areas most affected by climate change».

In the last 15 years yeasts belonging to genera different from Saccharomyces have proven to be very useful in improve the quality of the vini thanks to peculiar enzymatic activities. This is where another study carried out by Daniele Oliva, biotechnologist at IRVO, and from Lucio Monte. Another study to be presented in Dijon.

«The Institute – explains Olive – has carried out extensive work on the isolation and selection of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in various areas of the island, which has led to the identification of three strains belonging to as many species and capable of improving the quality of wine». A significant research, also from an economic point of view, for Sicilian wineries: «The isolation and selection of three yeast strains belonging to as many species has allowed the production of red wines with greater softness and fresher white and rosé wines, as well as the improvement of wines in general from an aromatic point of view. The agreements already signed with companies that distribute wine yeasts allow wineries to use these strains for their commercial production».

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