Divona - Agroscope’s New Disease-Resistant White Grape Variety

Bern, 30. Agroscope, the Swiss federal centre of excellence for agricultural research, is launching the first multiresistant white grape variety, Divona. The fruit of twenty years of research, Divona is resistant to fungal diseases, and well-suited for the production of high-quality wines - two characteristics that make it a popular variety for viticulture and winemaking. Named in homage to the Celtic spring goddess, Divona helps promote ecologically friendly viticulture by reducing the use of plant-protection products. The new grape variety was christened last Tuesday 30 October on the occasion of an event organised by Agroscope and the canton of Geneva. A pioneer in viticulture trials, Geneva canton has been growing Divona in its vineyard since 2009. Head of Agroscope Eva Reinhard is delighted with the results: "Breeding allows us to develop disease-resistant varieties from which high-quality wines are produced." Agroscope's First Multiresistant White Grape Variety Produced from a cross between the varieties 'Gamaret' and 'Bronner', Divona shares the same parentage as her big brother, the red-wine variety Divico.