The 100 Guardians of Graspo Win the 2025 OIV Award

A true UN of wine.

OIV Awards therefore represent the highest international recognition for scientific works presented in the various categories.

The OIV Awards Jury, composed of experts from member countries, selected the winners based on reviews from readers around the world. Scientific and technical excellence are at the heart of the selection process, ensuring that only the highest-quality works are recognized.

This prestigious award further enhances the work of GRASPO (Ampelographic Research Group for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Viticultural Originality), a young but dynamic Veronese association dedicated to the global protection of rare grape varieties.

100 custodians for 100 vines, Viticultural Biodiversity in Italy , explains Aldo Lorenzoni, founder of GRASPO and co-author of the book, opens an important window and highlights the many witnesses of Italy's rich viticultural biodiversity in an ideal journey from the Aosta Valley to Etna.

Stories where, perhaps for the first time, alongside the identification, history, and characteristics of the grape variety and wine, the people we call custodians are highlighted. An experience spanning over 100,000 kilometers across numerous Italian regions, meeting countless producers, sampling countless plant material to establish the vines' identity, discovering 15 new grape varieties to date, and producing over 100 microvinifications in the last harvest alone.

A journey rich in original stories, often characterized by authentic heroism, but also a tale of how much institutions, research centers, and ampelographers from all over Italy have done to identify and preserve these vines.

The text is also organized into regional chapters, attempting to contextualize companies and cultivars within their respective territories where possible. The aim is to identify the person or company that has become its custodian for each endangered grape variety encountered during the research.

Firmly convinced that true sustainability in the vineyard begins with protecting and safeguarding the viticultural biodiversity of each area, we have also included in the text some stories of mayors, small communities, associations, and companies who, sharing our vision, have collectively and concretely contributed to safeguarding local viticultural biodiversity, including by protecting old vineyards, historic training systems, and ancestral agricultural practices.

“The greatest competitive advantage of Italian wine produced with native grapes is that no one else can imitate and produce it,” underlines Monica Larner , a well-known Italian writer for Robert Parker Wine Advocate, in her authoritative introduction to the book.

The importance of genetic diversity takes on a greater dimension as we confront climate change and discuss sustainability protocols. Hidden somewhere among Italy's vast vineyards is a grape better suited to withstanding drought, heat, humidity, or whatever other challenges may arise.

The award will be presented during the official OIV Awards ceremony on October 21st at the new OIV headquarters in Dijon, France.