Germany

Copper is the organic answer to downy mildew and an EU candidate for substitution. Why the phase-out keeps slipping, and what stays in the soil.

PIWI grapes cross vinifera with wild American and Asian vines to carry the resistance vinifera never had. The German Wine Institute puts the payoff plainly: plant-protection measures cut by up to 80 percent.

A flat 15 percent tariff, a weak dollar, and softening American demand pulled Italy’s wine exports down $340 million in 2025. Where the losses landed, why Germany held firm, and the new map Italian producers are drawing.

A geologist with a four-pound rock hammer stands on a south-facing terrace above the Mosel and brings the head down…