About PIWI Grapes

Questions

PIWI Grape Varieties

PIWI International is an international working group to promote fungus-resistant grape varieties, founded in Switzerland in 1999 on the initiative of Pierre Basler. In June 2000, the abbreviation PIWI appeared for the first time after the designation "International Working Group for the Promotion of Fungus-Resistant Grape Varieties.” After Pierre fell ill and dropped out, there were long discussions about names. Mathias Wolff then ended it and founded “PIWI-International.” In October 2004, the PIWI word and picture mark was applied for entry in the trademark register and entered in 2015.

Today, there are seven member countries, with Canada working on becoming the 8th. The working group consists of University and private grape breeds and vines sellers, along with viticulturists who produce PIWI wines. PIWI International is the umbrella that supports the growth and members help support the organization’s objective, which is simply to promote fungus-resistant grapevines.