Vitis vinifera: why is it so important?
In the production process of a good wine, several factors come into play. Among them, the vine certainly emerges. Grifo Marchetti, who for more than fifty years has been supporting farmers in the production of wine through quality wine machines. To avoid confusion, let’s first clarify some wine making terms:
- Vine, climbing plant known for its production of berry fruits gathered in clusters;
- Vine variety, cultivated and classified according to the color of the berry, the flavor of the grape and its use;
- Vineyard, land where they cultivate the vine;
What about vitis vinifera?
Vitis vinifera is the species of vine of European origin from which comes grapes mainly intended for domestic use as wine and table grapes. The European vine belongs to the genus vitis in the family of the Vitaceae, where you can find Muscadinia and Euvitis, where the American vines belong. Vitis vinifera is the most important species due to the characteristics of its fruits. This allows to produce the much appreciated Italian and French wine. The European territory is also one of the oldest to be used as a vineyard, it is thought that it was the Greeks who introduced viticulture at the time of the Minoan era, therefore between 2700 B.C. and 1400 B.C.
Evidence of this are also the countless references to the vine and wine that Homer and Hesiod make in their works, therefore also giving a geographical and temporal context to their stories. It has always been the Greeks who introduced the culture of wine in Italy, more precisely in the southern areas. Since then wine has definitely entered the Italian DNA and still today made in Italy is synonymous with quality.
Over the years, scholars have subjected Vitis vinifera to several studies that have found its beneficial characteristics. Among the main active ingredients found, resveratrol has emerged, a phenol that in the human body has demonstrated several benefits both at the circulatory level thanks to its anticoagulant function, and at the cardiovascular level, as it goes to reduce cholesterol. At a physiotherapeutic level, you can use the leaves in the form of extract, ointment, or gel, as their ability to improve vascular trophism.
What damages vitis vinifera?
As you can imagine though, vitis vinifera requires some basic requirements of care. First of all, vitis vinifera is widespread mainly in the European continent thanks to the favorable climate of some countries such as France and Italy. Even in these countries, however, only some areas can be used for its cultivation, among the main atmospheric agents that cause damage there are: the wind, such as the Sardinian mistral, high temperatures, in particular if they exceed 40 % C, but even the excessively low temperatures can cause frost damage at -10 ºC.
Grifo Marchetti of Piadena Drizzona, wants to offer a help to companies but also to individuals who with passion and dedication carry out their work to offer the best products to their customers. The mission of Grifo Marchetti is to always propose quality machinery that respects the tradition of Made in Italy. To find out more about our wine products, take a look at the catalogue!
