A groundbreaking tasting of over 30 fungal resistant grape varieties that are helping to address the environmental challenges facing global viticulture took place in West London yesterday (June 18).
The UK’s inaugural walkaround tasting focused exclusively on PIWI varieties was held at West London Wine School in Fulham, hosted by founder and wine educator, Jimmy Smith.
“This tasting is about discovery,” he said. “PIWIs don’t get much coverage here in the UK and it’s important to bring these varieties to the attention of the UK market.”
The open format, self-pour tasting featured 37 wines from cool climate regions including the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Italy and Poland. Grapes showcased included the white grapes: Bonner, Cabernet Blanc, Donauriesling, Hibernal, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris and Solaris; plus reds Cabernet Cortis, Merlot Khorus and Kanthus, Monarch, Regent and Rondo.
PIWIs – short for pilzwiderstandsfähig, meaning ‘fungal-resistant’ in German – are hybrids bred to naturally resist disease like mildew, thus reducing or eliminating the need for chemical treatments. As climate change and sustainability take centre stage in the wine world, these grapes are gaining recognition for their environmental and qualitative potential and, according to Smith, represent an intersection of sustainability, innovation and quality.
However, while many cool climate regions in Europe are embracing PIWIs, there appears to be resistance in the UK – not just from consumers, who might be unfamiliar with the varieties, but producers too.
“The level of take up here is far smaller than in places like Germany and Poland, where they are embracing PIWI production wholeheartedly, which considering our climate here, is somewhat ironic,” he said.
For some European winemakers it’s not just about ‘experimenting’ with PIWIs, but there has been a complete shift in focus.
“Due to their hardy nature, PIWIs are usually planted on poorer sites but producers, such as Germany’s Michael Koch from Abthof Winery in Rheinhessen, dedicates two thirds of production to PIWIs with an increasing number of plantings on plots that would have otherwise been reserved solely for Riesling,” Smith explains.
Two of Koch’s wines, 2023 Auftakt Fume Souvignier Gris and 2020 Auftakt Monarch Reserve, proved popular at Wednesday’s tasting.
The dismal 2024 harvest was the catalyst for Smith, who is also the owner and winemaker at Beare Green Winery, a small operation in Surrey/Sussex producing small-batch wines from grapes grown in vineyards across southern England, to investigate the potential for growing PIWI varieties here in the UK.
“It was a difficult year, for us there was no Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. However, we found a Kent producer growing Souvignier Gris, which was bright and healthy – it seemed bullet proof.”
While many English and Welsh producers are releasing still wines made from Solaris – four of the seven English wines at the tasting were Solaris from Yorkshire Heart, MDVC, Blacksfield and Halfpenny – Smith believes Souvignier Gris could be more successful as a white wine grape here in the UK.
“It makes great sparkling, so ticks the box for the more traditionalist sparkling-focused winemakers, it can make decent pet-nat, so great for the Gen Z market and it’s great for skin contact too,” he said. “It has huge scope.”
