The new-generation resistant varieties represent the first proactive approach to the sustainability of wine production. Sustainability has indeed become the central topic both in global public discourse and in the minds of all the professionals in the industry.

The limitations in the use of copper compounds in agriculture, the withdrawal of many active ingredients, the implementation of ever more restrictive rural policies, as well as the problems related to climate change, cast a shadow of uncertainty on the future of viticulture. From this point of view, one of the most tangible responses we can offer to winegrowers is the introduction of new varieties that are resistant to downy mildew and powdery mildew. Already in 2006, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo grasped the importance of giving tangible answers to the emerging sustainability needs both in the nursery and in the winegrowing industry. For this reason, they sought out for fruitful collaborations with institutions such as the University of Udine and the Institute of Applied Genomics with the purpose to offer winegrowers new wine grape varieties resistant to the main diseases (downy mildew and powdery mildew). Resistant vines are obtained through interspecific crossings between susceptible Vitis vinifera varieties and some selections bearing the characters of resistance. These selections have resulted from 50 – sometimes 100 – years of repeated crossing between the European vines and some hybrids, which were obtained by using American and/or Asian vines during the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century.

With these resistant varieties it is possible to cut down the number of pest control treatments, limit water waste, avoid unnecessary soil compaction and reduce production costs. All this can be achieved without harm to the quality, the healthiness and the character of the resulting wine, as highlighted by several lab tests and tasting sessions, which have shown how the final consumers appreciate the aromatic and organoleptic profile of these wines. Now, assuming that organic farming, in order to be profitable, needs special pedo-climatic conditions and therefore it cannot be practiced on any territory, the use of these varieties may be a viable option in compliance with the EU limitations on copper which are increasingly shrinking the areas suitable for this model of agriculture.