Official launch of the transfer of the collection " Vigne de Vassal"
Three scientists from UMR Agap Institute, Philippe Chatelet (INRAE), Thierry Lacombe (L'Institut Agro) and Patrice This (INRAE) were present at the official inauguration of the transfer of the Vassal vine collection to the Pech Rouge experimental unit.
The launch was orchestrated by Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE on August 31, 2022, alongside Thierry Bonnier, the prefect of Aude, Didier Codorniou, Mayor of Gruissan, First Vice-President of the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, Hélène Sandragné, President of the Departmental council of Aude and Didier Mouly, President of Grand Narbonne and Sophie Béjean, Rector of the Montpellier and Occitanie academic regions.
The Vassal vineyard collection represents a unique heritage in the world. In the face of the challenges posed by climate change and agro-ecological transition, it represents an essential resource for varietal improvement and an unprecedented scientific resource.
This transfer project aims to protect the collection and enhance its value by integrating it into a coherent "gene-to-bottle" research and experimentation complex on the Pech Rouge site. It will run until 2032 and is supported by the French government, the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée region, the Aude departmental council, the Greater Narbonne agglomeration community and the Gruissan commune.