March 22nd every year is World Water Day (established by the United Nations in 1992 as a result of the Rio conference). The States that sit within the United Nations General Assembly, together with various non-governmental organizations, are invited to raise awareness on the issue, so as to never forget that we live thanks to water and that each of us has the duty not to waste it . And water is also important for wine.
Farmers have played an essential role in the management of water resources for centuries , controlling the water cycle on a local level. Today, more than ever, the adoption of adequate agricultural practices is crucial to meet the needs of a growing world population, in the context of ongoing climate change which requires precise answers.
The vine also has specific water needs that depend on many factors (at least 50 cm per year to reach 75 cm in arid areas) and must be able to enjoy the right amount of water to best carry out its vegetative cycle. Naturally, the water needs of the plant also depend on the relationship between water and soil, another essential combination for the cultivation of vines.
The phenomenon known as the Renaissance of Italian wine (of which the main driving force and theoretician was Luigi Veronelli ), which began in the 1960s when Italian winemakers began to favor quality over quantity, is evolving today towards increasingly sustainable: water control is a full part of it, being one of the concrete actions that precision viticulture uses.
The now essential objective for winemakers who do not want to escape the challenges of contemporaneity and who care about current and future environmental conditions is sustainable viticulture .
It is a matter of working to ensure that viticultural activity respects natural resources as much as possible and in this logic, water plays a central role: a precious and increasingly less available asset, it is mandatory to adopt innovative systems that allow it to be conserved and maintained clean.
For the men of today and for those of tomorrow.
