TAIEX in the Argentine province of Tucumán

TAIEX technical exchange strengthens wine industry in the Argentine province of Tucumán.

Promoted by ORU Fogar, from June 24 to 28, a TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument of the European Commission) technical exchange was carried out, for which four Catalan and one Italian expert traveled to the wine-growing areas of the Argentinean Province of Tucumán.  The mission, entitled "Appellations of origin for the wine industry in the Province of Tucumán", was aimed at strengthening the wine sector by working for a week with winegrowers and winemakers, associations and cooperatives. The objective was for them to apply business models based on product innovation through the quality regulation of their wines, based on their terroirs of origin, enhancing characteristics, differential attributes and, therefore, giving added value to the production of the Calchaquí valleys of Tucumán, Argentina.

On behalf of the Catalan Government, the director of INCAVI (Catalan Institute of Vine and Wine), Alba Balcells, accompanied by the head of INCAVI's viticulture service, Xoán Elorduy, and the head of the secretariat service, Xavier Agell, travelled to Argentina. The general director of Agrifood Companies, Quality and Gastronomy of Catalonia, Joan Gòdia was also present. The delegation was completed by Bartolomeo Filadelfia, a food inspector from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, with extensive experience in carrying out TAIEX exchanges related to food issues.

INCAVI explained the system of appellations of origin in traditional production territories (comarcas). The system for verifying compliance with the specifications of the appellations of origin through annual audits, for which INCAVI is the competent authority, was explained, as well as all the support measures regulated by the Common Market Organization (CMO).

Beyond the appellations, the project to promote Qualified Single Vineyard Wines was presented, a distinction of the Government of Catalonia that aims to be a lever to increase the notoriety, internationalization and prestige of Catalan wines, showing their strong roots in a specific territory.

Always with the aim of further enhancing the value of the wine sector, transforming tools such as cost per grape studies or research on grape varieties were discussed. Thus, INCAVI's R&D experience in recovered varieties, water stress control and winery technology were shared with grape growers and winemakers in the Calchaquí Valley.

The experience of the INCAVI Laboratory has also become a reference in terms of analytical services made available to the sector, to better understand vineyard cultivation and winemaking procedures and to comply with the obligations of quality parameters.

For the director Alba Balcells, "this mission is especially relevant because apart from exposing good practices in Catalonia, it allows us to establish alliances and lines of collaboration with Argentine research centers jointly, facing the challenges facing viticulture with climate change".  

With regard to the knowledge of the agri-food companies, Joan Gòdia highlighted all the work that has been carried out thanks to the cooperative movement in the wine sector in Catalonia, as well as all the inspections carried out by the Competent Authority. Finally, he explained the Food Strategy of Catalonia. Director Godia remarked that "it is a mission that has allowed us to share experiences and where the need to have mature and shared projects with the sector in order to move towards environmental, economic and social sustainability has been highlighted".

Bartolomeo Filadelfia showed that the European Commission's support to the Tucuman wine sector could continue with the eTwining platform.

Carles Llorens, ORU Fogar's Secretary General, celebrated this new technical exchange exercise as an activity that is perfectly in line with the organization's objectives. "The TAIEX programs -said the general secretary- allow the bilateral relationship between two of our members, in this case, Catalonia and Zicosur, which is who brings us to Tucumán".