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

ongoing

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.