Resistance of grape varieties to fungi; see under PIWI.
Short name for "fungus-resistant vines", which are the result of crosses between European vines and fungus-resistant species of American vines. Sometimes they are also called fungus-resistant, fungus-tolerant or simply robust varieties. More recent breeding is very complex and Asian v ines may also be involved specifically because of the resistance to frost that is also desired. It is clear from this that all these grape varieties have not been bred using genetic engineering, i.e. without gene transfer. Most of the varieties that are today called hybrids, interspecific varieties or, erroneously, direct carriers (hybrids are not necessarily direct carriers) were developed in France between 1880 and 1935. The aim was to combine the resistance of American vines to fungi (especially mildew) and phylloxera with the quality of the European species Vitis vinifera. The hope that these vines could be grown directly, i.e. ungrafted without grafting, despite phylloxera, was unfortunately not fulfilled.
Fungal resistance means resistance to various fungal diseases (especially powdery mildew (Oidium) and downy mildew (Peronospora) as well as grey mould (Botrytis), all of which occur worldwide. These attack all traditional grape varieties; such a fungal attack can totally destroy the grape harvest. Traditional grape varieties have to be treated with fungicides six to ten times...
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien