Jorge Böhm says pesticide overuse could devastate Portugal’s wine industry

During the Essência do Vinho event at the Lisbon Congress Center on November 7-8, German wine producer Jorge Böhm warned that Portugal’s continued use of pesticides in vineyards could hurt both the national wine industry and consumers.

“Portugal continues to use and overuse pesticides in vineyards, which in the short term will be a disaster for national wine and for consumers,” Böhm said, according to a statement released by Plansel on Monday, November 9.

Böhm, founder of Quinta da Plansel and Viveiros Plansel, made the remarks while presenting his new book, Livro Branco das Castas Vitícolas. He used the event to argue for faster adoption of disease-resistant grape varieties and for what he described as a more open approach to scientific innovation in viticulture.

According to the statement, Böhm said Portugal faces a risk of falling behind other wine-producing countries if it continues to resist the introduction of new vine varieties. He also said research carried out in Portugal needs continued support so the country does not become dependent on foreign varieties that may not be suited to local soils and climate conditions.

The statement did not include specific figures on pesticide use in Portuguese vineyards or name particular chemicals or practices that Böhm believes are causing the greatest risk. His comments, however, place him in a broader debate within the wine sector over how to reduce chemical inputs while protecting vineyards from disease and adapting to warmer and more unstable weather.

Böhm’s argument centers on resistant grape varieties, which are bred to better withstand disease pressure and can reduce the need for repeated chemical treatment. In the statement, he said scientific knowledge should play a larger role in decisions that will shape the future of vineyards and wine production in Portugal.

The book presentation also included musician, visual artist and former presidential candidate Manuel João Vieira. He backed Böhm’s criticism of the sector’s pace of change and said Portugal remained in the “Middle Ages” of wine. Plansel said Vieira also repeated his longstanding call for “piped wine” to be delivered to Portuguese homes.

Plansel said the work behind Böhm’s position is tied to the company’s long-running grapevine research program. According to the company, selected vine clones developed through Viveiros Plansel now account for about 50% of the certified vines produced each year for planting in Portugal and in international markets.

The company said that research has been carried out in partnership over several decades with institutions including the University of Évora and the former National Agronomic Station, now part of INIAV, Portugal’s National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research. It said the current focus is on plant material better prepared for climate change and plant health challenges.

Böhm’s ties to Portugal go back decades. Plansel said he first arrived in the country in 1961 after the sailboat he was traveling on, bound for the Seychelles, had to stop in Cascais and was later struck by a fishing boat during the night. The company said the episode led him to stay in Portugal for a period and sparked a lasting interest in the country and in the diversity of its grape varieties.

He later returned and settled in Montemor-o-Novo in the 1970s, where he began work on the study, selection and improvement of Portuguese varieties, according to the company. In 1981, he founded Viveiros Plansel, starting a research and clonal selection program that would become central to the group’s business and to the production of certified vine material.

Plansel describes Böhm as one of the figures most closely associated with the study and promotion of Portuguese grape varieties. With the launch of Livro Branco das Castas Vitícolas, the company said, he aims to push a wider discussion about how Portugal’s wine industry should respond to scientific, environmental and commercial pressures that are already reshaping viticulture.