BOHEMIA SEKT Simulates the Conditions of Italy's Valdobbiadene Region in Its Vineyards

Key facts:

• BOHEMIA SEKT has launched a multi-year controlled irrigation trial in its Moravian vineyards, simulating the rainfall levels of Italy's Valdobbiadene region, the home of Prosecco.
• The irrigation scheme follows the phenological stages of the vine and draws on practices from Israel and Australia.
• In the first season, yields in the irrigated rows rose by several per cent compared to non-irrigated control rows.

BOHEMIA SEKT has launched a multi-year controlled irrigation trial for grapevines in Moravia, inspired by the climatic conditions of Italy's Valdobbiadene region, the birthplace of the famous Prosecco. The project aims to make the cultivation of grapes destined for sparkling wine production more efficient and to respond better to climate change, which is increasingly affecting harvest stability.

The goal of the research is to find an optimal water management model that would help vineyards cope better with extreme weather fluctuations while increasing their efficiency. The trial is based on an irrigation scheme aligned with the phenological stages of the vine – that is, the individual phases of the plant's growth.

"We drew inspiration from desert regions where working with water is a standard part of modern viticulture, whether in Israel or Australia. For the trial rows, we chose an amount of irrigation equal to the average rainfall in the fertile Valdobbiadene region, and we are now observing how this irrigation regime performs in our climatic conditions," said Petr Ptáček, Viticulture Manager of BOHEMIA SEKT and Director of the Habánské sklepy winery.

First Results Arrived This Year
The opening season brought an improvement, with yields rising by several per cent compared to the control rows without irrigation. The project will continue in the years ahead so that the long-term effect of the irrigation regime on production stability and efficiency can be properly evaluated.

The controlled irrigation trial is another in a series of activities the company is developing under the DoVinic.cz project, which it has been running since 2023. Its aim is to explore modern practices in viticulture.