by Roberto Merlo

The “Pettineo Project” is an agricultural laboratory, a genetic encyclopaedia, to study the grape varieties that over time have proven to survive, and to produce, even in extreme conditions.

The evolution of the viticultural world in the last 30 years has achieved unthinkable goals and continues to take constant steps forward.

The selection of genetic material has also made constant progress, influenced by viticultural and qualitative aspects at the same time. However, this evolution has determined a sort of genetic “homologation” of the viticultural heritage, which in some cases has also lowered resistance to particular diseases and impoverished viticultural “biodiversity.”

In the past, viticulture was characterized by the multiplication of varieties with positive characteristics, such as crop yield and resistance to water shortages or particular diseases. The vineyards hosted different biotypes or varieties, and with this differentiation, winemakers enjoyed greater guarantees of production continuity. The objective of good viticultural practice, in fact, was to obtain resilient strains that could adapt to variable annual weather conditions so that crop yield was constant and long-lasting over time. This is the reason why the "old vineyards" are often made up of vines that are not identical to each other, but obtained from a lengthy process of massal selection aimed at favouring cultivars that had demonstrated in the field the most-desired characteristics.

We are living in a period in which sensitivity towards the environment and in some respects the recovery of traditions are regaining ground in common thought.

The "Contrada Pettineo" vineyard, which is the fruit of massal selection, represents an example of an "old vineyard" and for this reason efforts have been undertaken to preserve it.

Note: Massal selection is the traditional technique of vegetative propagation of the vine. It is so called because it allows the multiplication of an entire vineyard, maintaining maximum genetic variability within the same variety.

Project

The “Pettineo” vineyard in Vittoria was selected because it is considered the oldest in its territory.

The first documents regarding this parcel date back to 1963, the year in which the previous owner purchased it. It is not known how old the vines are today, but at the time of purchase they were already mature and productive. The age of the vineyard cannot help but make us reflect on the great resistance that its vines have shown in surviving over so many years, many of which were challenging, due to difficult conditions that were often quite variable. It is for this reason that the Pettineo vines will furnish propagation material to preserve this precious genetic treasure and create a new vineyard.

Vineyards like Pettineo are often a source of inspiration. Here Arianna found some splendid examples of vines propagated at least 25 years earlier through the layering technique, traditionally used to replace failed vines. Today, this method has been re-evaluated and is widely used by the winery.

Note: Layering is a technique that consists in burying a shoot in order to multiply a certain plant by propagation. Layering creates a new vine that remains anchored to the mother plant.

Massal selection began with the observation of the most "beautiful" vines and those apparently free from viruses, which often affect vines in old vineyards. Subsequently, the buds were removed to produce young vines useful for replacing vines missing within the vineyard.

The production of the young shoots was entrusted to Vitis Rauscedo, a professional nursery specializing in vine propagation. The new vineyards were created by field-grafting the shoots onto previously-planted wild vines.

The aim is therefore to plant vines with un-grafted roots, that is, not grafted onto American rootstocks, in order to maintain the characteristics of the grape variety as intact as possible and the link between the soil and the grapes as direct as possible.

The vineyard recovery process will be slow; it’s likely that the first results will be observed in no less than 5 years. But if this ambitious project is successful, we will have a vineyard that can be defined as perpetual.