The technical activity of the Consortium for the Protection of Gavi involves various projects, both in the vineyard and in the cellar: from clonal selection to thematic maps of the area (sunset, slope, altimetry and exposure), from the regulation of sprayers to the study of native yeasts. The projects have a very specific purpose: to improve vineyard management techniques, whilst respecting environmental sustainability and biodiversity, in addition to updating winemaking practices in the cellar whilst respecting tradition. 

Online protection: this activity involves the monitoring of Italian and international websites, aimed at protecting the image of Gavi docg in Italy and abroad.

The Consortium also carries out annual surveillance activities on the entire D.O. Gavi by means of checks carried out by supervisory agents during the marketing stage to ensure that the protected production meets the requirements set out in the product specification. A series of bottles of Gavi docg on sale both in the mass retailing (supermarkets and Hard Discount) and hospitality & retail (wine shops) sectors all over Italy: the wines taken are subjected to chemical-physical analysis and administrative checks on the compliance of the labels with what is written on the state label. In the event of irregularities, a report is made to the ICQRF – Central Inspectorate for the protection of quality and fraud repression of agri-food products.

The subject is esca disease : not a single disease, but a series of pathogens that affect the vine plant at different times and in different ways. They are, in fact, better defined in the plural as wood diseases and pose a serious threat as they affect increasingly young vines. The Consortium for the Protection of Gavi organised a focus that brought together the leading national and international experts in this disease. The conference proceedings are available for free download.

For three consecutive mornings on 19, 20 and 21 April 2017, exceptional weather conditions occurred. In some areas of Piedmont, minimum temperatures reached as low as -4°C, whilst the vegetative cycle of the vines was approximately 10-15 days earlier than normal, with shoots as long as 15-20 centimetres. It was a complex and varied event with major destructive consequences. Damage was not only localised on the valley floors, but also along the hillsides and up to high altitudes, affecting various exposures, young vines and old vines. The Consortium monitored sample vineyards over the course of two harvest years in order to analyse the incidence of the phenomenon on the vines and on production.

The project of functional regulation of spray driers has been developed by Consortium Tutela del Gavi in collaboration with Cadir Lab of Quargnento (AL). It stems from the need to identify a standard and general guidelines to carry out a targeted action of treatments in the vineyard in respect of the environment and beekeeping. This is “a practical sustainability project” to show winemakers what is happening in the vineyard by comparing single-row and alternate-row treatments, the use of the overhead diffuser and the influence of topping in distribution.
In addition, thanks to the participation of the manufacturers, it is possible to see, in action, the company’s machine Vma – model SV5 and the trailed machine/series Tav (Dragone) that is also used with anti-drift nozzles (Abbà). In May, the first tests in the vineyard begin, through the positioning of the water-sensitive maps at various heights in the leaf wall of the treated row, but also in those more distant as on the ground, to verify the drift of the product.
The activity continues in the vineyard during June and July with the Open Day in the field between the rows to then collect and process all the data.

Since the 2015 harvest, the Consortium has started the Project of selecting indigenous yeasts, in collaboration with the Italiana Biotecnologie – Enartis laboratory, to increase the viticultural value of Gavi Docg.
The project studied the yeasts present on the grapes, in organic and conventional vineyards, to select those able to best enhance the characteristics of Cortese. In 2015, bunches were sampled in each project vineyard (9 total vineyards: 3 conventional vineyards and 6 organic vineyards) and delivered to the Enartis Laboratory, which is responsible for the isolation and preservation of yeast strains from fermenting musts, the molecular and biological characterisation of the isolated strains, oenological tests (fermentative power, production of volatile acidity, SO₂ and glycerol) and comparison with commercial dry yeasts.

For the 2016 vintage, two different strains of indigenous yeasts, labelled CTdG12 and CTdG07 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae from samples taken last year and prepared with the contribution of Enartis, were introduced for the first time and tested by some wineries of the Gavi Appellation. As soon as the wines are available, we will proceed with a technical test and tasting to verify the compliance of these yeasts.