Water is a precious and strategic resource for viticulture, and in the Prosecco Territories, sustainable water management is a priority. The A.Q.U.A. project – Approaches for the Quantification and Sustainable Use of Water in the Prosecco System – was created precisely to respond to the urgent challenges posed by the growing uncertainty of water availability, identifying the best sustainable water management practices that can be adopted by companies, both in situations of drought and, conversely, in the presence of excessive rainfall in short periods of time.
The project will also be a virtuous example of cooperation between consortia, research bodies, institutions and wine companies in the various areas that characterise our designation system. In fact, participants include PSR & Innovazione Veneto S.r.l. (lead partner), ANBI Veneto (Regional Association of Consortia for the Management and Protection of Irrigation Water); CIRVE (Interdepartmental Centre for Research in Viticulture and Oenology) of the University of Padua; the Consortia for the Protection of the Prosecco, Conegliano Valdobbiadene – Prosecco and Asolo – Prosecco appellations; the Association for the Heritage of the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene; four pilot farms (Borgo Antico, 7 Nardi, Rech Simone and Cescon Giuseppe and Antonella).
Planned actions
We will begin with an in-depth study of the soils, analysing their physical and morphological characteristics, as well as their water infiltration and storage capacity. This knowledge will allow us to classify them according to their intrinsic ability to manage variable water flows. Subsequently, targeted interventions will be designed, which on the one hand aim to improve soil quality (for example, by acting on the depth of exploration of vines and grass cover) and, on the other, to adopt technological solutions for adaptation, such as the design of storage basins and efficient irrigation systems.
Expected results
The objective, with a view to adapting to climate change, is to be able to define, also for the different territorial areas of Veneto, a replicable, resilient and innovative model capable of improving water resource management in situations of water scarcity or excess.
