Loading...
24 Feb 2020

A competition to select the world’s best vine pruners

FELCO postpones the international pruning competition due to the coronavirus propagation.

In light of the current European and global epidemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the uncertainty linked to the global spread of the virus, as well as cases detected in Switzerland, FELCO has the responsibility to anticipate risks to our employees, subsidiaries, partners and visitors.  In this type of situation, it is best to side with safety, and caution must be applied, especially as over 70 international guests and 150 Swiss based guests planned to travel to the Neuchâtel region.  For these reasons FELCO has taken the decision to postpone the international pruning competition.

In viticulture, annual pruning is a key activity to ensure the success of future harvests and the life of the vine.

FELCO SA, a global leader in pruning shears, is organising the first International Vine Pruning Competition. This will take place on March 10th, 2020 in the magnificent vineyard of the Chateau d’Allaman, near Morges (canton of Vaud), Switzerland.

This international competition will be the grand finale of vine pruning competitions organised in 2019 and 2020 by our subsidiaries or partners in 13 countries: South Africa, USA, New Zealand, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, England, Slovakia and, of course, Switzerland.

The best vine pruners from each country will compete in the vineyard before a jury of six vineyard pruning specialists from around the world.  FELCO brand ambassador, Marco Simonit, the Italian master pruner, will be the president of the jury. Technique, work quality and speed will be the criteria used to rate each competitor on their “single Guyot / Cane” and “Single Cordon permanent / Spur” pruning.

FELCO SA also aims to bring Swiss wine-growing professionals together during the competition and invites them to attend.

“The goal of this competition is to show the importance of pruning know-how in wine-growing.  Events like these are essential for our company to become even closer to users, and fully understand their needs and offer them tools and solutions perfectly in line with their expectations.  

FELCO SA also now intends to be a real player in the transmission of knowledge and pruning techniques. This type of competition makes an important contribution, alongside the courses given worldwide by our teams and partners”, explains Christophe Nicolet, CEO of FELCO SA.

This international pruning competition will also mark the launch of the 75th anniversary festivities of FELCO.  Various events will be organised throughout the year in the spirit of “Swissness” to celebrate FELCO values of innovation, quality and tradition that define the brand and products.