Penedés promotes a sustainable viticulture week with CLUB PIWI and Demovinya
Penedés has hosted several key events for the present and future of the wine sector, with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and vineyard adaptation.
Among them, the first meeting to establish the Club PIWI Spain and the fourth edition of Demovinya 2026 stand out, bringing together hundreds of professionals from across the entire value chain.
As a prelude, the Vinseum in Vilafranca del Penedès hosted a tasting of PIWI varieties, organized by INNOVI with the participation of VRIACC and Agromillora-VCR, highlighting the growing interest in these materials from both an agronomic and oenological perspective.
Club PIWI Spain takes its first steps
The Can Torres estate hosted the first meeting to lay the foundations of the future Club PIWI Spain, an initiative aimed at promoting the development and adoption of disease-resistant grapevine varieties, as well as generating technical, agronomic, and qualitative knowledge around them.
The event brought together nearly 50 professionals —including researchers, technicians, winegrowers, and wineries— who agreed on the need to create a common platform to advance in a coordinated way in this field.
During the meeting, experts from institutions such as EVEGA, NEIKER, INCAVI, and ITACYL highlighted the growing uncertainty faced by vineyards. The resurgence of diseases previously considered secondary, together with recent episodes of strong pressure from powdery mildew and downy mildew, as well as climate irregularity, make it difficult to define stable management strategies.
In this context, PIWI varieties, obtained through interspecific crosses, are emerging as a key tool to reduce the use of plant protection products and improve crop resilience. However, participants stressed the importance of combining genetic improvement with agronomic validation and adaptation to each territory, thereby completing the varietal portfolio of each region to achieve more sustainable and efficient viticulture.
Significant progress in varietal development was also highlighted, with particular interest in resistant varieties with local parentage such as Garnacha, Macabeo, and Godello, as well as the expectation of new registrations in the vineyard register in the coming years.
Demovinya 2026 brings the sector together around innovation
At the same time, Penedès hosted Demovinya 2026, held at Bodegues Sumarroca, which gathered more than 300 professionals, companies, and institutions for a day focused on cultivation challenges.
Key topics addressed included sustainability, market evolution, mechanization, and the integration of new technologies. Panel discussions emphasized the need to move towards production models that integrate efficiency, resilience, and profitability, in a context shaped by climate change and regulatory pressure.
From a technological perspective, the growing role of mechanization, precision agriculture, and digital tools was highlighted as a means to optimize crop management, reduce costs, and improve decision-making in the field.
The event concluded with practical demonstrations, showcasing real solutions in machinery, vineyard management, and applied technology, strengthening knowledge transfer between companies and producers.
Club PIWI Spain takes its first steps
The coincidence of these events in Penedès reinforces a shared vision within the sector: the future of viticulture lies in combining genetic innovation, technology, sustainability, and collaboration.
In this context, the momentum behind Club PIWI Spain represents a strategic step to accelerate the adoption of solutions that reduce inputs, improve environmental adaptation, and respond to new market demands, consolidating a more efficient viticulture prepared for the challenges of the coming years.
