The Vice-President of the OIV, Ms Monika Christmann, affirmed the importance of all the OIV Member States and consumers particularly by presenting the OIV Merit to Mr Dirk de Maeseneer (Belgium), who for 15 years actively participated in the work of the OIV, especially during the period of re-establishment of the Organisation.

Mr Alejandro Marianetti (Argentina) received the Merit Award from the Director General of the OIV, Mr Jean-Marie Aurand, who praised the agricultural engineer's career serving his country as part of the National Institute of Vitiviniculture (INV) as well as within the OIV, and also as a representative of all of the Institute's collaborators for their involvement in the organisation and the success of the World Congress of Vine and Wine.

Mr Yves Bénard, Vice-President of the OIV, gave an award to his oenologist colleague from Morocco, Dr Ahmet Kamal, who took part in the activities of the OIV for 34 years and was an adviser at the state company for agricultural development and Director of the state company Sincomar, which manages the production, packaging and distribution of 80% of wines in Morocco.

Finally, it was with a great deal of emotion that the President of the OIV paid tribute, posthumously, to his Argentine compatriot and former President of the INV, Mr Raúl Horacio Guiñazú, for his national and international action in the wine sector and his determining role in Argentina's active participation within the OIV.

During an interview with the Director General of the OIV, he recalled the long-standing viticultural tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, some of whose native vine varieties – such as Zilavka and Blatina – are part of the world wine heritage.

Jean-Marie Aurand stated the importance of each OIV Member State actively participating in the scientific and technical activities of the Organisation and called to mind that, in 2012, the OIV recognised the specific characteristics of Bosnia and Herzegovina's viticulture by presenting the OIV Award to the book "Hercegovina Zemlja Vina - Hercegovina Wine Country" by Branimir Martinac.

In response to the invitation from Professors Vasco Boatto – President of the University of Padova and Director of the University Centre for Research in Conegliano – and Eugenio Pomarici – Professor at the University of Naples and President of the OIV "Economy and Law" Commission – the Director General of the OIV visited the Conegliano Interdepartmental Centre for Research in Viticulture and Oenology on 9-10 December 2014.

On this occasion, before an assembly of teacher-researchers, students and professionals in the vitivinicultural sector, Jean-Marie Aurand gave a presentation on the OIV and the main issues for the wine sector in the years ahead.

The Conegliano Interdepartmental Centre for Research was founded in 1876 – making it the oldest in Italy. It provides professional and academic training in the fields of viticulture and oenology, as well as conducting research in these areas.

The trip was extended to include discussions with members of the board of directors of the "Consorzio" for the protection of Prosecco and visits to companies in the sector. These meetings resulted in a number of conversations about the state of the wine market and its developments.

and was coordinated and organised by VIMAC (Foundation for Vineyards, the environment and consumers) in partnership with the Catalan Wine Association, the Cava Institute, the Catalan Regional Government's Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Food and the Environment, the INCAVI (Catalan Vineyard and Wine Institute) and a variety of sponsors and trading associations.

Representing the OIV as Head of the Viticulture Unit, Mario de la Fuente spoke about the current initiatives within the organisation's various committees and expert groups in relation to the sustainability of the vitiviniculture industry. These, he said, were focussed primarily around 5 key areas: climate change, water footprint, reduction of pesticides in viticulture and standardisation of MRLs, recommendations for the exchange of plant material and the definition of general principles for sustainable viticulture based on environmental, social and economic aspects.

The forum's technical presentations highlighted some key issues for sustainability, such as reducing the use of copper, the application of silicon on vines and the search for alternatives to phytosanitary products used on the vineyards, the use of sustainable and recyclable materials in the vitivinicultural sector, calculation methods and sustainability indicators (ECO-PROWINE Project) and the use of agricultural machinery powered by alternative fuels such as biodiesel, biomass or hydrogen. In addition, government representatives underscored the commitment made to reduce greenhouse gases by 2020 (the Spanish Climate Change Office, OECC) and detailed the improvements in the new EU regulation on organic production.

During an open debate, experts in viticulture, the environment and ecology took part in this important forum, where it was underlined that the sustainability of vineyards relies on the sensible management of production, the environment, economic output and social aspects that affect consumers and the sector.

Developing a new sustainable production system represents a serious challenge and requires the involvement of the entire vitiviniculture sector (producers, companies, governments, etc.). Therefore, the legal framework and all current and future recommendations need to be concrete, flexible and comprehensive in order to provide suitable responses to the needs of the vitivinicultural sector.

Ultimately, EcoSostenibleWine made it clear that the vitiviniculture sector can take on this challenge and meet the needs of consumers, who are increasingly concerned about sustainability and all that it entails, and demanding products which are consistent with these principles.