A Catalan delegation made up of twelve oenologists, wine growers and researchers from the Catalan Institute of Vine and Wine (INCAVI) visited several places in Switzerland this week in order to exchange knowledge and practices for adapting vine growing to climate change. The exchange led to meetings with Swiss representatives from various wine producing regions in the country and with counterpart researchers from the Haute Ecole de Viticulture et Oenologie in Changins.

With these initiatives, the Government of Catalonia is making a firm commitment to promoting exchanges and visits with international leaders to promote the exchange of knowledge and positive experiences in the wine sector. This week's trip is the result of a collaboration between INCAVI, the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to Switzerland, and DIPLOCAT, the public-private consortium dedicated to raising Catalonia's profile all over the world.

The Catalan Government's delegate to Switzerland, Gabriel Boichat, and the director general of INCAVI, Alba Balcells, pointed out that missions to other countries provide opportunities to learn from the best international benchmarks and are an essential forum for positioning Catalan wine as an international reference. They are also a key contribution by Catalonia to international viticulture.

Climate change and viticulture

The trip combined working sessions focusing on research projects with visits to leading Swiss wineries in order to work on the challenges posed to winemaking by climate change.

The discussions focused on research and development projects on water and soil management in Catalonia and the canton of Valais, the digitalisation of work in the field, hybrid varieties and drought-resistant rootstocks.

The Catalan delegation visited two wineries in Valais to round off all the theoretical knowledge with a more practical aspect: the Domaine Chappaz of Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, and the Domaine du Mont d'Or.

Strengthening the wine sector and future partnerships

The main result of this exchange of knowledge and good experiences of the Swiss and Catalan wine sector is the reinforcement of those involved against climate change, which is a major challenge for the future.

The entire Catalan delegation rated the exchange of experiences and knowledge very positively, and especially the various opportunities for future partnerships that have begun to emerge in fields including soil and water control and the mechanisation of vineyards with steep slopes.