The climate is changing, the market is changing, and the vineyard must change too. Genetic improvement is the key to combining sustainability, quality, and uniqueness, especially in the world surrounding the success of the Glera grape, which produces one of the world's most successful wines: Prosecco DOC and DOCG.
Italy is leading the way in the development of Piwi, fungal-resistant grape varieties resulting from targeted breeding programs. Five Glera offspring varieties are currently being developed . Four come from VCR, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo , and one is the result of research programs initiated at Crea Viticoltura ed Enologia in Conegliano (Treviso) by Riccardo Velasco.
The event " The Glera of the Future," organized on January 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the VCR Research Center at Via Ruggero Forti 4 in Rauscedo , in the province of Pordenone, will offer the opportunity to discover all five by comparing the micro-sparkling wines produced at the research centers' experimental cellars in a comparative blind tasting that will test the ability of technicians, producers, and opinion leaders to distinguish them from Prosecco-style wines made from their parent wines. This event takes on the character of a true Prosecco celebration thanks to the presence of the Prosecco DOC, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, and Asolo Montello Consortia, which protect this forward-looking Italian treasure.
Sustainability, lightness, and a desire for novelty and authenticity are the drivers behind the purchasing decisions of Millennials and Gen Z , the new generations of consumers who dictate market trends worldwide. Denis Pantini of Nomisma's Wine Monitor Observatory will analyze this evolution at the Friulian event.
"The new Glera daughter varieties ," says Yuri Zambon, director of VCR, " were selected to maintain the sensory signature of the Glera parent, while presenting distinct aromatic profiles and, above all, different abilities to adapt to different Italian growing areas." Resistance to downy mildew and powdery mildew is polygenic, meaning it is ensured by at least two or three downy mildew resistance genes and the same number of powdery mildew resistance genes, allowing for a high standard of sustainability thanks to the significant reduction in the need for fungal treatments. The selection process also aimed to develop genotypes capable of addressing the severe effects of climate change in the vineyards of the Northeast. Since 2021, the European Union has permitted the use of PIWI in DOC (Regulation 2021/2117, the new single CMO), and Italy is currently revising the Consolidated Law on Vine and Wine to allow their use in our most renowned appellations as well.
The world of Prosecco in Italy is divided into three large production areas managed by the three Prosecco DOC Consortia, Asolo Montello DOCG and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, without forgetting the Consortium of Colli Euganei DOC (where Glera takes the traditional name of Serprino).
The Protection Consortia are already partially collaborating in the development programs of resistant varieties derived from Glera, with the aim of combining sustainability and typicality.
Institutional support and a focus on innovation are essential to seize the opportunities presented by a market currently undergoing significant rethinking.
The VCR identikit
VCR, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, is a leading viticultural innovation company, capable, over nearly a century of history, of combining faith in progress and the preservation of tradition to offer producers the best genetic material for building their vineyards and the best opportunities to reach increasingly distant markets.
The core of the research conducted at the VCR Research Center, the venue for the event, is genetic improvement through the creation of clones (currently more than 530 are VCR-certified) and resistant varieties (14 have already been registered, developed in collaboration with the University of Udine). Since 2015, VCR has independently launched a forward-looking project to breed new disease-resistant varieties through the technique of guided breeding. Resistant Glera is the first step in this new scientific adventure, a new grape variety capable of ensuring greater sustainability while maintaining the oenological quality that has ensured the worldwide boom of this wine. The 1,200 hectares of vines and an equal number of scion mother plants managed by VCR ensure this nursery's ability to quickly reproduce the quantities of resistant Glera required by the market.
Tea-Piwi, two paths that can intersect
2026 should also be the year of the European adoption of TEA (or NGT), the new assisted evolution techniques, an exciting new chapter in the breeding of agricultural species to which VCR intends to contribute. This path, according to VCR's experience, will not be an alternative but could be parallel or even intersect with targeted crossbreeding to develop new, increasingly sustainable and efficient varieties.
The new Glera varieties for tasting
These are the acronyms used to present the new Glera daughter varieties to the CPVO, the body responsible for registering and protecting new plant varieties in Europe. The Rauscedo event will offer the opportunity to learn about their characteristics and names.
11/12/2025
20/11/2025
28/10/2025
15/09/2025
