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HEDoctoral network2023–2027

Eco2Wine · Natural microbial interactions in winemaking-associated ecosystems as a tool to foster wine innovation

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-12-01 → 2027-11-30
EU contribution
€2,413,169
Participants
21
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Natural microbial interactions in winemaking-associated ecosystems as a tool to foster wine innovation

Preserve and Use Biodiversity While Promoting Sustainable Wine Production: The Eco2Wine Project The wine industry faces growing challenges across environmental, economic, and societal dimensions. Environmental concerns include the impacts of climate change, overreliance on chemical inputs, and unsustainable resource exploitation. Economically, the sector seeks to improve profitability and maintain competitiveness, while socially, issues such as wine authenticity, health, and food safety demand attention. The project focuses on harnessing microbial diversity, a critical, yet underexplored, resource in winemaking. Eco2Wine offers an interdisciplinary training environment that combines cutting-edge research with practical applications: • Mapping Ecosystems (WP1): Led by the UL, this WP focuses on understanding microbial interactions within winemaking ecosystems • Microbial Consortia (WP2): The UB leads efforts to define stable microbial communities for sustainable winemaking • Domestication Drivers (WP3): The UMIL studies plant domestication and the development of bioprotective agents • Fermentation Insights (WP4): The SCSIC explores microbial ecology through fermentation experiments • Marketing Strategies (WP5): HGU develops guidelines for biodiversity conservation and marketing approaches • Science Communication (WP6): SU leads efforts to bridge science and industry, ensuring effective knowledge dissemination • Coordination and Dissemination (WPs 7-10): These WPs, managed by multiple institutions, ensure seamless project execution and communication By promoting sustainable winemaking practices and reducing the industry's ecological footprint, the project aligns with European Union policies on biodiversity and climate action. Its findings will support stakeholders in adopting environmentally friendly approaches and creating wines that embody their geographic and cultural origins. The integration of social sciences and humanities ensures that consumer perceptions and market dynamics inform scientific advancements, fostering a robust dialogue between research and society.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The Eco2Wine project aims at providing a new generation of PhD graduated employees for the wine sector who will be able to manage winemaking-associated ecosystems, protect and control the biodiversity, and use this knowhow to reduce unsustainable interventions in natural environments while improving wine sustainability and “natural wine” production. Winemaking-associated ecosystems are complex environments in which more or less stable and evolutionary relevant interactions among species, and between each species and abiotic components, are established. In recent years the direct manipulation of these ecosystems has gained considerable interest in wine science because of the need of boosting sustainable, socially relevant and ecofriendly choices for the wine production while meeting the growing consumer demand for more diverse wine styles. To better map and exploit the natural biodiversity of winemaking-associated ecosystems, the understanding of the relevant microbiota, the various ecological interactions within those biota and of the molecular mechanisms involved in interactions is essential. Such studies will allow to describe how these ecosystems work and how their intelligent exploitation can benefit the wine world. The training program is divided in 4 areas of interest: wine ecology, wine innovation, wine business and wine science communication. The consortium includes 9 beneficiaries and 12 partner organizations that possess complementary competencies and are working with success in wine research. The level of quality of these institutions, the long-term collaborations established in the past joint European project, YeSVitE (GA612441), and the appropriate exchange scheme of training with private companies will sustain an efficient transfer of knowledge between PhD students, the broader scientific community and the relevant social and economic actors. The project will have a relevant impact on the wine research field, winemakers and all potential stakeholders.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO · MilanoCoordinatorItaly
  • AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridSpain
  • FUNDACION RIOJA SALUD-FRS · LogronoSpain
  • GEORGIAN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY · TbilisiGeorgia
  • HOCHSCHULE GEISENHEIM · GeisenheimGermany
  • Izidor PetricSlovenia
  • MIGUEL TORRES SA · Vilafranca Del PenedesSpain
  • National Wine Agency of Georgia · TbilisisGeorgia
  • PARSEC SRL · FirenzeItaly
  • Reyneke Winery · StellenboschSouth Africa
  • SICAREX Beaujolais S.A.S. · Villefranche Sur SaôneFrance
  • STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY · StellenboschSouth Africa
  • South Africa Wine NPC · PaarlSouth Africa
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE CADIZ · CadizSpain
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PERUGIA · PerugiaItaly
  • UNIVERSITE BOURGOGNE EUROPE · DIJONFrance
  • UNIVERSITE MARIE ET LOUIS PASTEUR · BesanconFrance
  • UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI · LjubljanaSlovenia
  • VIVAI COOPERATIVI RAUSCEDO SOCIETA COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA · Rauscedo PnItaly
  • Wine Company SHUMI LTD · TbilisiGeorgia
  • azienda agricola FerghettinaItaly

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union