All About ‘PiWi’ Wines

“PiWi Wines” as they are known are made from new fungus-resistant grape varieties that show particularly strong resistance to the vine diseases powdery and downy mildew.

Mildew can wreak havoc in vineyards and result in the need for multiple sprays of copper-based compounds (which can be toxic for soils, and also have to be used often under organic cultivation). With climate change causing more and more difficult conditions for winegrowers, PiWi wines (as they’re known today) are set to become increasingly popular and necessary in the future.

In this blog post, we explain all about PiWi wines, and introduce our new PiWi wine range from Domaine Colombette in the Languedoc.

What are PiWi wines? What does ‘PiWi’ mean?

These new wines are made from disease resistant PiWi grape varieties, which are hybrid varieties (no genetic modification) that have been developed for over 40+ years to be drought and mildew resistant, and at the same time provide great flavour profiles.

The term “PiWi” stands for “fungus resistant grape varieties” in English and is an abbreviation of the German term “Pilzwiderstandsfähige Reben”. Germany is leading the way when it comes to the development of PiWi grape varieties, you can find out more by visiting this page about PiWi wines from Wines of Germany here.

These new grape varieties allow for a significant reduction in the use of pesticides and up to an 80% reduction in plant protection measures. This is beneficial for the environment and grapevine and overall vineyard health as fewer contaminating substances are used, not to mention the CO2 emissions saved from producing and transporting these inputs. You can also read more about PiWi wines via PiWi International here.

The outstanding results of these new varietals are now clear in the new PiWi wines (they’re certified organic too) we have chosen to list from Domaine La Colombette, which has been run as a family estate for four generations.

How we discovered Domaine Colombette’s PiWi wines

Life is full of ‘stumblings’, where we unexpectedly come across something good quite by accident. We’ve all had it happen to us, and it’s what helps keep life interesting! The curious are often rewarded in this way, though some say it was never an accident, and was always meant to be.

Whichever way you think, it was a bit like that at this year’s enormous Organic Wine Fair (Millesime Bio) in Montpellier, France. Day two, already through hundreds of organic wines and working round four huge exhibition halls, our co-founder Neil stumbled upon the ‘La Colombette’ table. The labels looked interesting displaying grape variety names he was not familiar with, like Cabernet Noir and Souvignier. Not expecting too much, he thought best to try one.

A nice friendly guy behind the table and ‘wow’, the wine really packed a concentrated punch of lively flavour, it stood out. Attention captured, and even more so after learning the very reasonable export prices, this does not happen too often! What followed was a half hour conversation about the history and philosophy of the family-run estate, and how and why they had invested so much time developing new hybrid resistant grape varieties. Fascinating stuff and five months later we’re now delighted to have Domaine Colombette’s three organic PiWi wines in our collection to introduce you to.

Three New PiWi Wines from La Colombette

Domaine La Colombette is located at the gates of Bezier facing the Mediterranean Sea in France’s Languedoc region. Now largely run by Francois Pugibet, his son Vincent and wife Sophie, PiWi wines represent about 60% of their estate, which is currently the largest estate in France growing PiWi varietals.

As their vineyard land is surrounded by homes, and also to respect the health of their workers, Vincent made the decision to plant and work with more PiWi varietals. As the Pugibet family say, “What a pleasure it is to be able to cultivate the vines with just sun and rainwater”. We currently have two PiWi whites and a red available from Domaine La Colombette, which are also lower in ABV (alcohol) too.

La Colombette Vin de France Souvignier Muscaris: Made from 50% Souvignier and 50% Muscaris, this refreshing white is golden in colour with expressive aromas of melon, citrus and herbs. On the palate, the tropical fruit flavours are surprisingly rich, yet lively and well balanced. You may not know the varietals yet, but we think you’ll love this wine.

La Colombette Vin de France Cabernet Blanc: Made from Cabernet Blanc, another new resistant grape, this other new Languedoc white from Colombette also has a beautiful golden colour. Super expressive on the nose with enticing notes of baked apple, citrus and peach, and a lively palate of kiwi, lime and apricot flavours that are big and complex for a wine of this price.

La Colombette Vin de France Cabernet Noir No Added Sulphur: A Languedoc red made from Cabernet Noir, a rare crossing between Cabernet Sauvignon and a wild vitis varietal. Clean tasting and succulent, this new easy drinking red is made with no added sulphur and has delicious notes of forest berries, violet and ripe blackcurrants to name a few.

Another Organic PiWi Wine from Spain

Albet i Noya La Volada: This is a rare white from Albet i Noya in Penedes, Spain that can proudly claim the title of Spain’s first PiWi wine! It’s also made from ‘PiWi’ varietals Marina Rion, Muscaris and Sauvignac. A rich and refreshing white has emerged with lush aromas of citrus and subtle white blossoms, followed by an enticing palate of refreshingly clean citrus and tropical fruit.

For more information about these wines, feel free to get in touch.