Coordinator: INRAE

Partners: 18

Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI, Germany); Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM, Italy); Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (IFV, France); Ministeriums für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg (WBI, Germany); INRAE Transfert (IT, France); Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen (HWG, Germany); Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR, Italy); Horta (Italy); Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau (DLR, Germany); Plataforma Tecnológica del Vino (PTV, Spain); Comité National des Interprofessions des Vins à appellation d'origine et à indication géographique (CNIV, France); Neiker - Instituto Vasco de investigaciones agrarias (Neiker, Spain); Mercier Frères (Mercier, France); Verband Deutscher Rebenpflanzguterzeuger e.V. (VDR, Germany); Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Förderung pilzwiderstandsfähiger Rebsorten (PIWI Int, Austria); Istituto di Genomica Applicata (IGA, Italy); Moët Hennessy (France); Institut za Primeneu Nauke u Poljopriverdi (Serbia).

Affiliate partners: 2
Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL, Switzerland), Union de Coopérative Foncalieu (Foncalieu, France)

(HEU Horizon Europe 21-27) - This project aims to develop disease-resistant grapevine varieties that are adapted to local environmental and pedoclimatic conditions to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides. It will also study consumer perceptions of the new resistant varieties and their resulting wines, which remain less familiar than traditional varieties. The project will also provide farmers, winegrowers and advisers with best practices and guidelines for integrated pest management in order to promote more environmentally friendly and sustainable viticulture in Europe.

The project has five objectives:

1. Co-design a shared approach with stakeholders along the value chain in different European regions
2. Lead in-depth research for a better understanding of the molecular basis behind vulnerability and resistance of grapevine to pathogens and how it interacts with its environment 
3. Develop traditional breeding programmes for new disease-resistant varieties in partnership with local stakeholders
4. Lead research to develop emblematic varieties that maintain traditional characteristics in wine but are also disease resistant
5. Design and share decision-making tools and best practices to optimise growing practices adapted to resistant varieties.

According to the World Economic Forum and the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are major threats facing humanity in the next decade. Massive consumption of chemical pesticides in agriculture is a significant contributing factor. Viticulture ranks high among the crops that depend on a massive consumption of chemical pesticides, consuming approximately sixty percent of the fungicides applied in the EU, making it a priority target for reducing the use of chemical plant protection products. At the same time, grapevine is economically and culturally important in the EU, with wine being the largest EU agri-food sector. Recent advances and new perspectives in grapevine breeding have opened the possibility for GrapeBreed4IPM to address the reduction of fungicides and preserve biodiversity. Lessons learned from past experience in viticulture have shown that success in improving sustainability relies on global involvement of all actors. Therefore, we brought together the top European research groups in grapevine breeding and involved different stakeholders along the grapevine industry value chain in a multi-actor and co-design approach to produce the best insights for maximum impact. The project will develop grapevine varieties with resistance to relevant diseases, adapted to local environmental and pedoclimatic conditions, and with the goal of reducing reliance on chemical pesticides. In addition, the project will provide farmers, winegrowers and advisers with best practices and guidelines for integrated pest management, adapted to disease-resistant varieties, as ingredients for their largest possible adoption and leading to a long-awaited more environmentally friendly and sustainable viticulture in Europe. The project’s outcomes will support evolution of the grapevine market to meet regulatory requirements and consumer expectations, a market that is expected to reach nearly EUR 204 billion by 2025.